The Grimshaw Review of International Affairs Vol. 2, No. 1 address and alleviate suffering – they also contest the very legitimacy of exclusionary state practices. The legal category of “refugee” is itself a historical construct that has been altered over time to reflect shifting political and moral imperatives (Baylis et al., 2023, p. 200). The conflation of ‘refugee’ and ‘migrant’ in contemporary media discourse misrepresents the distinct legal status of refugees, thereby undermining their access to asylum, restricting protections, and releasing states from their responsibility to ensure refugees’ safety (Mantoo, 2023). Today, the Rohingya crisis presents a chance to expand the moral and legal imagination of the international community, challenging the artificial boundaries that exist between the labels ‘refugee’, ‘migrant’, and ‘stateless person’. The potential for such a structural shift lies in constructivism’s principle that “identities can change” (Baylis et al., 2023, p. 198). Through sustained interaction, transnational solidarity efforts can construct a counter-narrative that frames the Rohingya not as passive victims of forced displacement but as active agents of resistance, deserving of recognition and fundamental rights. This shift thus necessitates that the international community move beyond its fixation on temporary relief measures and instead embrace a truly transformative agenda. In this context, constructivism offers a lens that not only exposes the structural impediments to transformative change but also provides a theoretical framework for reimagining and reconstructing the normative and institutional structures that perpetuate exclusion of the Rohingya – not to mention other stateless, forcibly displaced, marginalised peoples – creating room for the possibility of achieving systemic justice. 5.​ Postcolonial Theory When analysing the marginalisation of the Rohingya and the enduring legacies of colonialism, postcolonial theory provides a critical lens for understanding how historical systems of power continue to shape contemporary injustices. It is through a postcolonial lens that the voices and lived experiences of the Rohingya become central to dismantling colonial narratives; the theory’s focus is on the ways colonialism has reconfigured societies, 12