Pictures and Videos of the Evening Lecture by Prof. Dr. Dawn Chatty

"A Post-Imperial Lens on Mass Forced Migration in the Middle East"



The evening lecture by Prof. Dr. Dawn Chatty (Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford) addressed how today’s system of managing mass displacement in Middle East might have roots and precedents, but also ruptures with its Ottoman past. Imperial encounters with multiculturalism and ethnic diversity characterized the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires as well as the colonies that were ruled by European empires. Of all these colonial and imperial encounters, perhaps the Ottoman Empire was uniquely challenged to address, organize, and manage the mass influx of peoples from its border regions into the heartland of its southern provinces. The ‘refugee and immigrant’ code and commission which it implemented in the latter part of the 19th century established systems of resettlement and reterritorialization for displaced peoples. This post-imperial lens on contemporary displacement in Middle East might be useful to disentangle contemporary state attitudes and linkages to displacement dynamics and the potential for return, resettlement, and rebuilding.

Excerpts from the Evening Lecture

(Watch the entire evening lecture here.)

Please note: When playing the videos, data is transferred to Youtube. In addition to the data protection declaration of the university, the data protection regulations of YouTube. apply without restriction at this point.


Who is a forced migrant?




Worldwide Displacement and the Middle East's Heavy Burden




How did the Ottoman Empire respond to the mass influx in the 19th century?




Precedents and ruptures of today's system of managing mass displacement with its Ottoman past