Throughout history, migrants have fueled the engine of human progress. Their movement has sparked innovation, spread ideas, relieved poverty, and laid the foundations for a global economy. In a world more interconnected than ever before, the number of people with the means and motivation to migrate will only increase." Exceptional People" provides a long-term and global perspective on the implications and policy options for societies the world over. Challenging the received wisdom that a dramatic growth in migration is undesirable, the book proposes new approaches for governance that will embrace this international mobility.

The authors explore the critical role of human migration since humans first departed Africa some fifty thousand years ago--how the circulation of ideas and technologies has benefited communities and how the movement of people across oceans and continents has fueled economies. They show that migrants in today's world connect markets, fill labor gaps, and enrich social diversity. Migration also allows individuals to escape destitution, human rights abuses, and repressive regimes. However, the authors indicate that most current migration policies are based on misconceptions and fears about migration's long-term contributions and social dynamics. Future policies, for good or ill, will dramatically determine whether societies can effectively reap migration's opportunities while managing the risks of the twenty-first century.

A guide to vigorous debate and action, "Exceptional People" charts the past and present of international migration and makes practical recommendations that will allow everyone to benefit from its unstoppable future growth.

Technology, tourism, politics, and law have connected human beings around the world more closely than ever before, but this closeness has, paradoxically, given rise to fear, distrust, and misunderstanding between nation-states and religions. In light of the tensions and conflicts that arise from these complex relationships, many search for ways to find peace and understanding through a ""global public sphere."" There citizens can deliberate on issues of worldwide concern. Their voices can be heard by institutions able to translate public opinion into public policy that embraces more than simply the interests and ideas of the wealthy and the empowered. Contributors to this volume address various aspects of this challenge within the context of Baha'i thought and practice, whose goal is to lay the foundations for a new world civilization that harmonizes the spiritual and material aspects of human existence. Baha'i teachings view religion as a source of enduring insight that can enable humanity to repair and transcend patterns of disunity, to foster justice within the structures of society, and to advance the cause of peace. Accordingly, religion can and ought to play a role in the broader project of creating a pattern of public discourse capable of supporting humanity's transition to the next stage in its collective development. The essays in this book make novel contributions to the growing literature on post-secularism and on religion and the public sphere. The authors additionally present new areas of inquiry for future research on the Baha'i faith.

The United States and Canada have historically accepted approximately three-quarters of resettled refugees, leading the world in this key aspect of global refugee protection. Between 1945 and 1980, both countries transformed their previous policies of refugee deterrence into expansive resettlement programs. Explanations for this shift have typically focused on Cold War foreign policy, but there was a domestic force that propelled the rise of resettlement: religious groups. In Send Them Here Geoffrey Cameron explains the genesis and development of refugee resettlement policy in North America through the lens of the essential role played by faith-based organizations. Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish groups led advocacy efforts for refugees after the Second World War, and they cooperated with each other and their respective governments to implement the first formal resettlement programs. Those policy frameworks laid the foundation for diverging policy trajectories in each country, leading ultimately to private sponsorship in Canada and the voluntary agency program in the United States. Religious groups remain embedded in the world’s most successful refugee resettlement programs. Send Them Here draws on a rich archival record and extensive comparative research to contribute new insights to the history of refugee policy, human rights, and the role of religion in modern policymaking and global humanitarian efforts.

The United States and Canada have historically accepted approximately three-quarters of resettled refugees, leading the world in this key aspect of global refugee protection. Between 1945 and 1980, both countries transformed their previous policies of refugee deterrence into expansive resettlement programs. Explanations for this shift have typically focused on Cold War foreign policy, but there was a domestic force that propelled the rise of resettlement: religious groups. In Send Them Here Geoffrey Cameron explains the genesis and development of refugee resettlement policy in North America through the lens of the essential role played by faith-based organizations. Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish groups led advocacy efforts for refugees after the Second World War, and they cooperated with each other and their respective governments to implement the first formal resettlement programs. Those policy frameworks laid the foundation for diverging policy trajectories in each country, leading ultimately to private sponsorship in Canada and the voluntary agency program in the United States. Religious groups remain embedded in the world's most successful refugee resettlement programs. Send Them Here draws on a rich archival record and extensive comparative research to contribute new insights to the history of refugee policy, human rights, and the role of religion in modern policymaking and global humanitarian efforts.