Tendayi Bloom is a Lecturer in Politics and International Studies at the Open University, UK.

Phillip Cole is Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of West of England, UK.

Katherine Tonkiss is a Lecturer in Sociology and Policy at Aston University, UK.

Part I: Defining StatelessnessIntroduction Part II: Living StatelessnessChapter One Introduction: Providing a Framework for Understanding StatelessnessTendayi Bloom, Katherine Tonkiss, Phillip ColeChapter Two The State and the Stateless: the Legacy of Hannah Arendt ReconsideredBrad BlitzChapter Three Worthy of Rights: Statelessness as a Cause and Symptom of MarginalizationLindsey KingstonChapter Four Contexts of Statelessness: The Concepts 'Statelessness In Situ' and'Statelessness in the Migratory Context'Caia VlieksChapter Five Unpacking StatelessnessLaura van Waas, Amal de ChickeraChapter Six Race-based Statelessness in the Dominican RepublicJillian BlakeChapter Seven Statelessness, Ungoverned Spaces and Security in KenyaOscar Gakuo MwangiChapter Eight Citizenship, Gender and Statelessness in NepalSubin Mulmi, Sara ShneidermanChapter Nine Members of Colonised Groups, Statelessness, and the Right to Have RightsTendayi BloomChapter Ten Why End Statelessness?Katja SwiderPart III: Theorising StatelessnessChapter Eleven Realizing the Rights of Stateless Persons: The Doctrine of Fiduciary Duty and the Role of Municipal GovernmentDavid PassarelliChapter Twelve The Right to Family: Protecting Stateless ChildrenPatti Tamara LenardChapter Thirteen Statelessness and the Performance of Citizenship-As-NationalityKatherine TonkissChapter Fourteen Insider Theory and the Construction of StatelessnessPhillip Cole

Understanding Statelessness offers a comprehensive, in-depth examination of statelessness. The volume presents the theoretical, legal and political concept of statelessness through the work of leading critical thinkers in this area.¿They offer a critique of the existing framework through detailed and theoretically-based scrutiny of challenging contexts of statelessness in the real world and suggest ways forward.
The volume is divided into three parts. The first, 'Defining Statelessness', features chapters exploring conceptual issues in the definition of statelessness. The second, 'Living Statelessness', uses case studies of statelessness contexts from States across global regions to explore the diversity of contemporary lived realities of statelessness and to interrogate standard theoretical presentations. 'Theorising Statelessness', the final part, approaches the theorisation of statelessness from a variety of theoretical perspectives, building upon the earlier sections. All the chapters come together to suggest a rethinking of how we approach statelessness. They raise questions and seek answers with a view to contributing to the development of a theoretical approach which can support more just policy development.
Throughout the volume, readers are encouraged to connect theoretical concepts, real-world accounts and challenging analyses. The result is a rich and cohesive volume which acts as both a state-of-the-art statement on statelessness research and a call to action for future work in the field. It will be of great interest to graduates and scholars of political theory, human rights, law and international development, as well as those looking for new approaches to thinking about statelessness.