Join us online for a conversation with David FitzGerald, the co-author of The Refugee System: A Sociological Approach

David FitzGerald will discuss why some people facing violence and persecution flee. Others stay. How do households in danger decide whom should go, where to relocate, and whether to keep moving? What interests and conditions in countries of origin, transit, and reception shape people’s options? The Refugee System tells how one Syrian family spread across several countries tried to survive the civil war and live in dignity.

Co-authored by David FitzGerald and Rawan Arar. 

David FitzGerald is a Professor of Sociology, Gildred Chair in U.S.-Mexican Relations and Co-Director, Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of San Diego. His books include The Refugee System: A Sociological Approach (Polity Press 2023); Refuge beyond Reach: How Rich Democracies Repel Asylum Seekers (Oxford University Press 2019); Culling the Masses: The Democratic Origins of Racist Immigration Policy in the Americas (Harvard University Press 2014); and Nation of Emigrants: How Mexico Manages its Migration (University of California Press 2009). FitzGerald’s work has received a dozen awards from the American Political Science Association, International Studies Association, and American Sociological Association, including the ASA Distinguished Scholarly Book Award.

Alex Aleinikoff is Dean of The New School for Social Research and University Professor at The New School. He has served as Director of the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility since January 2017.