One of the first comprehensive studies on the subject, “Return Migration: Journey of Hope or Despair” addresses, through contributions from five different specialists, major issues of return migration, with a focus on the problematic return of irregular migrants, rejected asylum seekers and temporary refugees.  Starting from a historical retrospective and an analytical overview of current policies as well as programmes, the book moves on to examine critical issues such as protection of human rights of returnees and linkages between return and development.