This course examines the fundamental issues of justice raised by refugee and asylum policies and the way in which the United States and other countries address the treatment of people seeking refuge from persecution and war – which is both an important cause and consequence of conflict. With this conceptual background, the course analyzes: the role of international law; the economic, sociological, geographic, and demographic factors involved; and the comparative treatment of refugees by different countries – particularly those which attempt the assimilation of refugee populations versus those which nurture their hostilities by keeping them separated from the institutions of their host societies.