Displaced Burmese in Thailand: Refugee Policies and Impact on Access and Rights, 1988-2008

My thesis research centres on the question, how have refugee policy formation and ground level implementation impacted the conditions and experiences of displaced Burmese in Thailand from 1988 to 2008? I examine the effects of the production of subject categories through Thai national laws and practices, a bilateral agreement, and the United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees, in order to uncover how official policies are used to manage refugees. This study addresses questions regarding policy formation and implementation toward Burmese who have fled political oppression in Burma (Myanmar) and identifies issues related to the recognition of difference and the allocation of rights in the cultural contexts of migration and integration of minority populations. The formulation and implementation of refugee policies has global implications since policy solutions in general are developed from a perspective that ignores the emergence and significance of displacement.MAS