This course is an examination of the erosion of “the state” as basic guarantor of security and domestic services in some areas of the world, leading to mass flows of refugees particularly in the post-Cold War era. It analyzes various levels and reasons for unprecedented refugee flows; it identifies agencies and institutional ways in which they cope with this exodus, mostly from the southern to the northern hemisphere. We start with causes leading to failed or failing states, examine issues of sovereignty and security, and move to root causes of population displacements, what constitutes a ‘refugee’, the non-refoulement principle, relief agencies and measures, and public attitudes about refugees.