Description
This paper introduces the conceptual and methodological framework of the Diplomacy of Forced Migration Dataset (DiFMiD) project -- a study which includes more than 300 already-identified cases of diplomatically driven, managed or threatened incidents of organized forced migration. In the paper we address the challenges and implications of conceptualizing, categorizing and operationalizing this phenomenon. The types of cases include international population transfers, exchanges, expulsions, repatriations, and denationalisations. There is no single objective framework that can be applied to these categories, with existing studies and datasets heavily influenced by their disciplinary orientations. Repatriation, for example, could be categorised according to its definition in international law, or according to the use of the term by actors involved in the event. Similarly, what constitutes an international boundary is often subject to contestation and debate. The operationalization of each category thus has implications for the scope conditions, theories that can be tested, and findings of the DiFMiD project.
