Episode 15 of Borderlines showcases leading international law and international relations educators discussing their new book, IOM Unbound?: Obligations and Accountability of the International Organization for Migration in an Era of Expansion . Host Katerina Linos interviews the volume’s editors, Megan Bradley (McGill), Cathryn Costello (Hertie School and Oxford), and Angela Sherwood (Queen Mary) about the IOM’s activities and influence, unearthing key insights from this ground-breaking title in the field.

The IOM’s role in migration crises from Haiti to Libya is discussed, and current efforts to address global humanitarian emergencies, internal displacement, data collection, accountability, and controversial detention practices are analyzed. Listeners will come away with vital new information about this powerful yet under-researched organization, including the IOM’s relationship to the United Nations, its history and involvement in moving white Europeans to apartheid South Africa , and highlights from expert author contributions on climate change and displacement, ethical labor recruitment, and the fundamental human rights of migrants and refugees.

Support for the book also comes from the RefMig project, under the direction of Professor Costello, which is a collaborative project based at the Centre for Fundamental Rights at the Hertie School in Berlin and the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC), Oxford Department for International Development, University of Oxford. The project is a Horizon 2020 award funded by the European Research Council and runs between January 2018 to December 2023 (grant number 716968).

In addition to the Cambridge University Press print edition published June 2023, IOM Unbound? is also made generously available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.