ABSTRACT
Forced migrants displaced because of war, disasters and development are commonly considered to be ‘out of place’, in an abnormal state of being and on the margins of societies. Since 1995, the Research Group on Forced Migration at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has analysed realities and representations of forced migrants at different times and places. Our research has challenged stereotypical common knowledge concerning forced migrants by critically examining how categorizations are made, and how refugees are labelled in research and in humanitarian policy and practice. In this chapter, we use the work of the research group to analyse the state of the art regarding forced migration research conducted in the disciplines of geography and development studies although with an interdisciplinary orientation. Through a process of deconstructing our findings and knowledge production, we discuss the challenges and perspectives we have faced and how different geographical sub-disciplines may have gained from our work. Three interconnected areas are analysed: the relationship between policy, practice and research; methodologies, with particular focus on action oriented research; and theoretical contributions.
