Abstract
This article places temporality—the critical emphasis on time— as a critical yet understudied dimension in International Relations (IR). In order to make clear the value of a temporal framework, this study examines the protracted displacement of the Rohingya, a refugee community originating from Myanmar whose plight has emerged as a major regional issue across Southeast Asia. Traditional analyses tend to place the Rohingya crisis in a frame of forced migration and extended statelessness, one that is preoccupied with both short-term political or humanitarian intervention. In contrast, this article considers the Rohingya experience in interconnected dimensions of past, present, and future temporalities, revealing how historical legacies, current governance norms, and anticipations of an uncertain future shape policy interventions as well as everyday life experiences. The argument demonstrates how the inclusion of the concept of time in the study of international phenomena enhances the analytical lens of IR scholars, leading to enhanced understanding of long-term conflicts, the governance of migration, and refugee protection politics.
- Temporality
- International Relations
- forced migration
- statelessness
- protracted displacement
- Rohingya
- refugees
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