The Arrival of "Statelessness Studies"?

Authors

David C. Baluarte, Washington and Lee University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Statelessness and Citizenship Review

Publication Date

2019

Abstract

In this symposium contribution, the author provides a view that the study of statelessness has emerged as a multi-disciplinary field and urge that we institutionalize it as such. Statelessness is fundamentally a legal concept. The definition of ‘stateless person’ specifically refers to the operation of law, and the protections envisioned by both the 1954 and 1961 Conventions afforded to stateless persons are legal in nature. At the same time, formal legal reasoning has proven inadequate to fully understand statelessness and protect stateless persons. Moreover, factual statelessness enjoys few legal protections, but is essential to a more robust understanding of nationality and what its absence really means. Accordingly, the study of this legal concept should happen across disciplines to ensure that we take appropriate steps to integrate effectively stateless persons legally, politically, and socially, in the communities where they live.

Recommended Citation

David C. Baluarte, The Arrival of “Statelessness Studies"?, 1 Statelessness & Citizenship Rev. 156 (2019).