Alexander Betts is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (External Engagement, Sport, and Community), Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs, and William Golding Senior Fellow in Politics at Brasenose College, University of Oxford. His research centres on the political economy of refugees' access to socio-economic rights, and he has undertaken extensive research across East Africa. His recent books include The Wealth of Refugees: How Displaced People Can Build Economies (Oxford University Press, 2021) and Social Science: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2024).
His forthcoming books include Authoritarian Sanctuaries: How Dictators Use Refugee Policy (with Julia Schweers, Oxford University Press, 2027), which provides a political history of refugee policy in Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Sudan. He is principal investigator on the Refugee Economies Programme and is co-founder and faculty director of the Refugee-Led Research Hub (RLRH), which supports people with lived experience of displacement to become thought-leaders and changemakers across society.
He has previously been awarded the ESRC's Outstanding International Impact Award, the Distinguished Book Award from the Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Migration section of the International Studies Association, and the Vice-Chancellor's Diversity Award. He has also been recognised as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, a European Young Leader, and named by Foreign Policy magazine as among the top 100 global thinkers. His TED talks on refugees and migration have been viewed by over five million people, and he has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Guardian. He was previously Director of the Refugee Studies Centre and Associate Head (Graduate and Research Training) of the Social Sciences Division. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and the Academy of Social Sciences.
Teaching
I supervise a range of DPhil students across issues relating to the politics and political economy of refugee protection, migration, diaspora mobilisation, and humanitarianism.
Teaching
Graduate:
Introduction to Refugee Studies and Forced Migration (MSc in Forced Migration);
International Relations and Forced Migration (MSc in Forced Migration);
The Politics and Practice of Humanitarianism (MPP);
Contemporary Debates in IR Theory (MPhil in IR);
International Relations of the Developing World (MPhil in IR).
Undergraduate:
International Relations (Core Paper);
International Relations of the Cold War (Optional Paper);
International Relations of the Inter-War Period (Optional Paper).
Professional:
Refugee Studies Centre Summer School;
International Institute of Humanitarian Law Course on International Refugee Law;
Said Business School Executive Education.
Research summary
I work broadly on the politics of refugee protection, migration, and humanitarianism.
My current work mainly centres on the political economy of refugee protection, and I am especially interested in two main areas: 1) explaining variation in state responses to refugees, especially in relation to socio-economic rights; 2) understanding the economic and political lives and decision-making of refugees. Most of my fieldwork has focused on East Africa and Southern Africa.
My past research projects have covered themes such as diaspora mobilisation, the role of refugees as actors in world politics, the global governance of migration, the international politics of refugee assistance, and humanitarian innovation.
Media
Refugees; humanitarianism; migration; Africa.
Publications
Authored Books
Authoritarian Sanctuaries: How Dictators Use Refugee Policy (Oxford University Press, 2027, co-authored with Julia Schweers)
Humanizing Data: Representative Storytelling from a Refugee Camp (Oxford University Press, 2026, co-authored with Olivier Sterck, Madison Bakewell, and Raphael Bradenbrink)
The Refugee Trap: The Economics of Forced Displacement (Cambridge University Press, 2026, co-authored with Naohiko Omata, Jade Siu, and Olivier Sterck)
Social Science: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2024).
The Wealth of Refugees: How Displaced People Can Build Economies (Oxford University Press, 2021)
The Global Governed? Refugees as Providers of Protection and Assistance (Cambridge University Press, co-authored with Kate Pincock and Evan Easton-Calabria 2020)
Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System (Penguin Allen Lane and Oxford University Press, 2017, co-authored with Sir Paul Collier). [German, Chinese, and Japanese translations]
Mobilising the Diaspora: How Refugees Challenge Authoritarianism (Cambridge University Press, 2016, co-authored with Will Jones)
Refugee Economies: Forced Displacement and Development (Oxford University Press, 2016, co-authored with Louise Bloom, Josiah Kaplan, and Naohiko Omata).
Survival Migration: Failed Governance and the Crisis of Displacement (Cornell University Press, 2013)
UNHCR: The Politics and Practice of Refugee Protection (Routledge, 2012, authored with Gil Loescher and James Milner) [Two editions]
Protection by Persuasion: International Cooperation in the Refugee Regime (Cornell University Press, 2009)
Forced Migration and Global Politics (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009).
Edited Books
Implementation and World Politics: How International Norms Change Practice (Oxford University Press, 2014, edited with Phil Orchard)
Global Migration Governance (Oxford University Press, 2011, edited)
Refugees in International Relations (Oxford University Press, 2010, edited with Gil Loescher)
Journal Articles
Schweers, J. & Betts, A. (2026), 'Authoritarian legacies: how 1970s African dictators shaped contemporary refugee policies'. Third World Quarterly, 1-21.
Bachleitner, K., & Betts, A. (2025), 'The EU’s Normative Dissensus on Migration: How National Identities Shaped Responses to the European Refugee Crisis'. Journal of European Integration, 47(3), 469-484.
Betts, A, Omata, N, Sterck, O, and Stierna, M (2024), ‘The Economic Lives of Refugees’, World Development, vol. 182
Betts, A, Omata, N, Sterck, O. & Siu, J (2023), ‘Refugee Mobilities in East Africa: Understanding Secondary Movements’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 49(1): 1-28
Betts, A, Omata, N, Sterck, O, and Stierna, M (2023), ‘Refugees Welcome? The Role of Refugee-Host Interaction in Host Community Attitude Formation’, World Development, vol. 161
Betts, A and Sterck, O (2022), ‘Why Do States Given Refugees the Right to Work?’, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, vol. 38 (3): 514-530,
Betts, A (2021) ‘Refugees and Patronage: A Political History of Uganda’s “Progressive” Refugee Policy’, African Affairs, vol. 120: 243-76
Betts, A, Omata, N, and Sterck, O (2021), ‘Transnational Blindness: International Institutions and Refugees’ Cross-Border Strategies’, Review of International Studies, 47 (5): 714-42
Pincock, K, Betts, A, and Easton-Calabria, E, (2021), ‘The Rhetoric and Reality of Localisation: Refugee-Led Organisations in Humanitarian Governance’, Journal of Development Studies, 57(5): 919-35
Betts, A, Easton-Calabria, E, and Pincock, K (2020), ‘Localising Public Health: Refugee-Led Organisations as First and last Responders in COVID-19’, World Development, vol. 13
Kainz, L and Betts, A (2020), ‘Power and Proliferation: Explaining the Fragmentation of Global Migration Governance’, Migration Studies, vol. 9(1): 65-89
Betts, A, Ali, A, Memisoglu, F (2020), ‘Do Mayors Matter? The Role of Municipal Authorities in Lebanon and Turkey’s Response to Syrian Refugees’ Journal of Refugee Studies, vol. 34(1): 491-519.
Betts, A, Omata, N, and Sterck, O (2020), ‘The Kalobeyei Settlement: A Self-Reliance Model for Refugees?’, Journal of Refugee Studies, 32:1
Betts, A, Omata, N, and Sterck, O (2020), ‘Self-Reliance and Social Networks: Explaining Refugees’ Reluctnce to Relocate from Kakuma to Kalobeyei’, Journal of Refugee Studies. 32:1
Betts, A (2019), ‘Nowhere to Go: How Governments in the Americas Are Bungling the Migration Crisis’, Foreign Affairs, November/December Issue.
Betts, A (2018), ‘The Global Compact on Refugees: Towards a Theory of Change?’ International Journal of Refugee Law, 30:4, December, pp. 623–626
Betts, A, Omata, N, and Bloom, L (2017), ‘Thrive or Survive: Explaining Variation in Economic Outcome for Refugees’, Journal of Migration and Human Security, Vol. 5:4, pp. 716-743.
Betts, A and Pilath, A (2017), ‘The Politics of Causality: The Case of Environmental Migration’, Journal of International Relations and Development, Vol. 20:4, pp. 782-804.
Betts, A (2015), ‘The Normative Terrain of the Global Refugee Regime’, Ethics and International Affairs, Vol. 29(4): 363-375.
Betts, A and Collier, P (2015), ‘Help Refugees to Help Themselves: Let Displaced Syrians Join the Labor Market’, Foreign Affairs, November/December Issue
Betts, A (2013), ‘Regime Complexity and International Organizations: UNHCR as Challenged Institution’, in Global Governance, Vol. 19:1, pp. 69-81.
Betts, A (2011), ‘Soft Law and Vulnerable Irregular Migrants’, Georgetown Journal of Immigration Law, Vol. 24:4
Betts, A (2010), ‘Survival Migration: A New Protection Framework’, Global Governance, Vol. 16:3, pp. 361-382
Betts, A (2010), ‘The Refugee Regime Complex’, Refugee Survey Quarterly, Vol. 29:2, pp. 12-37.
Betts, A (2010), ‘Towards a Soft Law Framework for the Protection of Vulnerabe Irregular Migrants’, International Journal of Refugee Law, Volume 22.2. pp. 209-236
Betts, A (2009), 'Institutional Proliferation and the Refugee Regime', Perspectives on Politics, March, Vol. 7.1, pp. 53-58.
Betts, A (2008), ‘North-South Cooperation in the Refugee Regime: The Role of Linkages’, Global Governance, April-June, Vol.14:2, pp. 157–178.
Betts, A and Durieux J-F (2007), ‘Convention Plus as a Norm-Setting Exercise’, Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol. 20:3.
Betts, A (2006), ‘Towards a Mediterranean Solution: Implications for the Region of Origin’, International Journal of Refugee Law, Vol.18:3, pp. 652-676.
Betts, A (2006), ‘What Does “Efficiency” Mean in the Context of the Global Refugee Regime?’, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Vol. 8:2, pp. 148-173
Betts, A (2005), ‘Should Approaches To Post-Conflict Justice and Reconciliation Be Determined Globally, Nationally or Locally?’, European Journal of Development Research, Vol. 7:4, pp. 735-752
Betts, A (2004), ‘The International Relations of the “New” Extra-Territorial Approaches to Refugee Protection’, Refuge, Vol. 22:1, pp. 58-70,
Betts A (2003), ‘Public Goods Theory and the Provision of Refugee Protection: The Role of the Joint-Product Model in Burden-Sharing Theory’, Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol. 16:3, pp. 274-296.
Book Chapters
Betts, A (2021), ‘Migration 2050: Utopia, Dystopia, or Heterotopia’, in Weiss, T and Wilkinson, R (eds), Global Governance Futures (Routledge)
Betts, A (2017), ‘Gender, Violence and Deportation: Angola’s Forced Return of Congolese Migrant Workers’, in Buckley-Zistel, S and Krause, U (eds), Gender, Violence, and Refugees (Berghahn)
Betts, A (2016), ‘The Demand for Refugee Governance’, in Acharya, A (ed), Why Govern? Rethinking Demand and Progress in Global Governance, (Cambridge University Press)
Betts, (2015), ‘The Global Governance of Forced Migration’, in Triandafylidou, A (ed), Routledge Handbook of Immigration and Refugee Studies (Routledge)
Betts, A, Cuellar, M-F, and Surendra, A (2015), ‘Humanitarian Innovation. Integration, and the Architecture of Refugee Protection’, in Hsu, R (ed) Integration: New Models of Mobility and Coexistence (Vienna University Press)
Betts, A (2014), ‘From Persecution to Deprivation: How Refugee Norms Adapt at Implementation’, in Betts, A and Orchard, P. (eds), Implementation in World Politics: How International Norms Change Practice (Oxford University Press)
Betts, A and Orchard, P (2014), ‘The Normative Institutionalization-Implementation Gap’, in Betts, A and Orchard, P (eds), Implementation in World Politics: How International Norms Change Practice (Oxford University Press)
Betts, A (2014), ‘International Relations and Forced Migration’, in Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E, Loescher, G, Long, K, and Sigona, N (eds), The Handbook of Refugee Studies and Forced Migration (Oxford University Press)
Betts, A (2014), ‘Global Governance and Crisis Migration’, in Martin, S (ed), Crisis Migration (Routledge).
Betts, A and Freeman, G (2014), ‘UK Immigration Policy Under New Labour: a Response to Randall Hansen’ in Controlling Immigration (Stanford University Press)
Betts, A, Bloom, L, and Omata, N (2014), ‘Humanitarian Innovation and Refugee Assistance’, in Brennan, K (ed) Making Global Institutions Work: Power, Accountability, and Change (Routledge)
Betts, A (2012), ‘UNHCR, Autonomy and Mandate Change’, in Oestreich, J (ed), International Organizations as Self-Directed Actors (Routledge).
Betts, A (2011), ‘The Refugee Regime and Issue-Linkage’, in Koslowski, R (ed) Global Mobility Regimes (Palgrave MacMillan)
Betts, A (2011), ‘The Implications of Global Migration Governance for UNHCR’, in Koser, K and Martin, S (eds), The Migration-Displacement Nexus (Berghahn Books), forthcoming, Chapter 14
Betts, A (2011), ‘Global Migration Governance’ in Betts, A (ed), Global Migration Governance (Oxford University Press), Chapter 1
Betts, A and Cerna, L (2011), ‘The Global Governance of High-Skilled Labour Migration’ in Betts, A (ed), Global Migration Governance (Oxford University Press), Chapter 3.
Betts, A (2011), ‘Global Governance of Migration and the Role of Trans-regionalism’ in Kunz, R, Lavenex, S and Panizzon, M (eds), Multilayered Migration Governance: Unveiling The Promise (Routledge), Chapter 1
Betts, A (2010), ‘International Cooperation in the Refugee Regime’, in Betts, A and Loescher, G (eds), Refugees in International Relations (Oxford University Press), Chapter 3
Betts, A and Loescher, G (2010), ‘Refugees in International Relations’ in Betts, A and Loescher, G (eds), Refugees in International Relations (Oxford University Press), Chapter 1
Betts, A (2010), ‘Substantive Issue-linkage and the International Politics of Migration’ in Bjola, C and Kornprobst, M (eds), Arguing About Global Governance (Routledge), pp. 85-100
Betts, A (2008), ‘Historical Lessons for Overcoming Protracted Refugee Situations’ in Loescher, G et al (eds), The Politics, Human Rights, and Security Implications of Protracted Refugee Solutions, Chapter 9, (United Nations University Press), pp. 162-186
Betts, A (2006), ‘Rethinking Durable Solutions’, in Merheb, N (ed), The State of the World’s Refugees, (Oxford University Press), Chapter 6, pp.128-144.
