Book excerpt: Rethinking Refugees: Beyond State of Emergency examines the ways in which refugees have been made objects of the complex discourse, practices, and strategies of humanitarianism making visible the link between our knowledge of refugees and questions about the changing status of political power, space, and identity. The author draws upon post-structural analytical tools to develop a critique of humanitarianism and to sketch a bio-political framework for understanding the relationship between the humanity of refugees and their capacity, or lack thereof, for political voice and action. Rethinking Refugees is a radically fresh approach to understanding refugees, their movements, and their place within an increasingly globalized international politics.