The Hay 30 – Alexander BETTS

Alexander Betts is Leopold Muller Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs and a Fellow of Green-Templeton College at the University of Oxford, where he was previously the Hedley Bull Research Fellow in International Relations. He received his MPhil (in Development Studies, with Distinction) and DPhil (in International Relations) from the University of Oxford.

His research focuses on the international politics of asylum, migration and humanitarianism with a geographical focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. He is author or editor of numerous books, including Protection by Persuasion: International Cooperation in the Refugee Regime (Cornell University Press, 2009), Refugees in International Relations and Implementation and World Politics: How International Norms Change Practice (with Phil Orchard, Oxford University Press, 2014). 

Alex has worked for UNHCR and as a consultant to the Council of Europe, UNDP, UNICEF, IOM, and the Commonwealth Secretariat, and his work has been funded by, amongst others, the MacArthur Foundation, the Leverhulme Trust, and the Economic and Social Research Council.

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The Hay 30 is made possible by the generous support of the CASE foundation.

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Hay Festival 2017

Alexander Betts talks to Amol Rajan

Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System

Hay Festival 2017, 

Betts and his co-author Paul Collier suggest how international policymakers can deliver humane, sustainable results that are better for refugees and host countries. Drawing upon years of research in the field and original solutions that have already been successfully trialled, they outline a compelling vision that can empower refugees to help themselves, contribute to their host societies and even rebuild their countries of origin. Betts is Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs at the University of Oxford, where he is also Director of the Refugee Studies Centre.