Photo: UNHCR Photo Unit / Flickr

Refugees and displacement

Refugees and displacement are dominant issues of our time. The root causes of flight and displacement are often complex: These comprise of violent conflicts, weak statehood, economic crises or natural disasters and environmental change. The public perception of refugees and displacement in Germany and Europe is very much focused on the challenges and consequences for European economies and societies. However, developing countries host considerably more refugees and play a key role in implementing international refugee and migration policy processes. Indeed, more than half of the people being displaced worldwide do not even leave their countries of origin. The affected countries and regions are thus faced with enormous challenges.

Which contribution can development policy make to respond to displacement? Will environmental change further increase future refugee flows? How can refugees be best supported? How can the negative consequences of displacement be mitigated?

In this special, the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) presents its recent works and activities on refugees, displacement and its root causes.

Team

Abedtalas, Musallam
Altenburg, Tilman
Bauer, Steffen
Breuer, Anita
Christ, Simone
Ekoh, Susan
Flaig, Merlin
Furness, Mark
Hackenesch, Christine
Houdret, Annabelle
Getachew, Abis
Jaji, Rose
Keijzer, Niels
Kuhnt, Jana
Leininger, Julia
Lorch, Jasmin
Loewe, Markus
Martin-Shields, Charles
Muhumad, Abdirahman
Walle, Yabibal
Zintl, Tina

Publications

Conflicting interests and the localisation of international migration governance norms in Ghana
Jaji, Rose (2024)
Policy Brief (21/2024)

Gender and migration: trends, gaps and urgent action
Bauloz, Celine / Margaret Walton-Roberts / Rose Jaji / Taehoon Lee (2024)
in: Marie McAuliffe / Linda Adhiambo Oucho (eds.), World Migration Report 2024, Geneva: International Organisation for Migration, 165-195

Why Zimbabweans choose to migrate or stay
Jaji, Rose (2024)
Current History 123 (853), 194–196

Resume support for the agency for Palestine refugees
Loewe, Markus (2024)
The Current Column of 23 April 2024

Going beyond humanitarian aid in addressing refugee issues
Abedtalas, Musallam (2024)
The Current Column of 15 April 2024

Migration and the Racialisation of Space
Jaji, Rose (2024)
The Current Column of 18 March 2024

Strengthening social cohesion to mitigate human insecurity: Promise and peril
Leininger, Julia / Armin von Schiller / Charlotte Fiedler (2024)
in: Human Development Report 2023-24, Breaking the gridlock: reimagining cooperation in a polarized world, New York: UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), 163-166

Urban refugees and digital technology
Martin-Shields, Charles (2024)
Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press

How refugee participation can improve policy and research
Flaig, Merlin / Abis Getachew (2024)
The Current Column of 5 February 2024

Improving employment and social cohesion among refugee and host communities through TVET: evidence from an impact assessment in Ethiopia
Getachew, Abis / Lisa Höckel / Jana Kuhnt / Abdirahman A. Muhumad / Armin von Schiller (2023)
Policy Brief 26/2023

Children in refugee camps and their role in refugee-host community integration
Nyambedha, Erick / Rose Jaji / Jana Kuhnt (2023)
Policy Brief (16/2023)

Prioritizing Africa’s Needs: how to strengthen Africa-German cooperation on migration
Ekoh, Susan (2023)
published on megatrends-africa.de, Blog Joint Futures 30, 1.12.2023

Context matters: the implications of the mode of service provision for structural and relational integration of refugees in Ghana and Ethiopia
Agblorti, Samuel K. M. / Abis Getachew / Jana Kuhnt / Abdirahman A. Muhumad (2023)
in: Journal of Refugee Studies, first published 28 October 2023

Somali refugees, informality, and self-initiative at local integration in Ethiopia and Kenya
Muhumad, Abdirahman A. / Rose Jaji (2023)
in: Journal on Migration and Human Security 11 (1), 75-88

Südliches Afrika
Jaji, Rose (2023)
in: Tabea Scharrer / Birgit Glorius / J. Olaf Kleist / Marcel Berlinghoff (Hrsg.), Flucht und Flüchtlingsforschung: Handbuch für Wissenschaft und Studium, Baden-Baden: Nomos, 707-713

Refugee-led organisations and intersectionality: feminist development policy in the lives of refugees
Motalebi, Nasim / Charles Martin-Shields (2023)
Policy Brief 5/2023

Non-migration amidst Zimbabwe's economic meltdown
Jaji, Rose (2023)
Lanham, MA: Lexington Books

Do information communication technologies (ICTs) support self-reliance among urban refugees? Evidence from Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Malaysia
Martin-Shields, Charles / Katrina Munir-Asen (2022)
in: International Migration Review, first published 25.12.2022

Transnational migration and reconfiguration of the family in Zimbabwe
Jaji, Rose (2022)
in: Revista Interdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana (REMHU), 30 (66), 227-242

Exklusives Flüchtlingsschutzregime, koloniale „Andere“ und Geschlechterdichotomien
Jaji, Rose / Ulrike Krause (2022)
in: Zeitschrift für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung, first published 29.12.2022

Host community attitudes towards internally displaced persons: evidence from Al-Bab, Syria
Abedtalas, Musallam / Adnan Rashid Mamo (2022)
in: Journal of Social and Development Sciences 13 (4), 1-10

More than the sum of its parts: donor-sponsored cash-for-work programmes and social cohesion in Jordanian communities hosting Syrian refugees
Zintl, Tina / Markus Loewe (2022)
The European Journal of Development Research, 34 (3), 1320 - 1357

Refugee policy and selective implementation of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework in Kenya
Jacobi, Milan / Rose Jaji (2022)
Policy Brief 9/2022

Family figurations in displacement: entangled mobilities of refugees towards Germany and beyond
Christ, Simone / Benjamin Etzold (2022)
in: Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 28.07.2022

Ride-sharing apps for urban refugees: easing or exacerbating a digital transport disadvantage?
Martin-Shields, Charles (2022)
in: Trialog (140/141), 58-62

‘Nothing is more permanent than the temporary’ – Understanding protracted displacement and people's own responses
Etzold, Benjamin / Elvan Isikozlu / Simone Christ et al. (2022)
in: TRAFIG Synthesis Report 06/2022

Refugees and local power dynamics: the case of Gambella Region of Ethiopia
Hagos, Samuel Zewdie (2021)
Discussion Paper 25/2021

Local governments and the sustainable integration of refugees in Ethiopia
Binkert, Eva / Merlin Flaig / Lukas Frucht et al. (2021)
Discussion Paper 21/2021

Navigating through an external agenda and internal preferences: Ghana’s national migration policy
Segadlo, Nadine (2021)
Discussion Paper 8/2021

A behavioural perspective on the drivers of migration: studying economic and social preferences using the Gallup World Poll
Klöble, Katrin (2021)
Discussion Paper 4/2021

Figurations of displacement in and beyond Germany - Empirical findings and reflections on mobility and translocal connections of refugees living in Germany
Christ, Simone / Benjamin Etzold / Gizem Güzelant / Mara Puers / David Steffens / Philipp Themann / Maarit Thiem (2021)
TRAFIG Working Papers No. 10, Bonn: BICC

Humanitarian admission programmes: how networks enable mobility in contexts of protracted displacement
Etzold, Benjamin / Simone Christ (2021)
in: Forced Migration Review (68), 63-66

Following their lead: Transnational connectivity and mobility along family figurations in displacement
Christ, Simone / Elvan Isikozlu / Benjamin Etzold (2021)
in: TRAFIG practice note no. 10, Bonn: BICC

Migration and the 2030 Agenda: making everyone count - migrants and refugees in the Sustainable Development Goals
Koch, Anne / Jana Kuhnt (2020)
Briefing Paper 11/2020

Migration und die Agenda 2030: Es zählt nur, wer gezählt wird - Migrant*innen und Geflüchtete in den Zielen nachhaltiger Entwicklung
Koch, Anna / Jana Kuhnt (2020)
Analysen und Stellungnahmen 8/2020

Information and communication technology in the lives of forcibly displaced persons in Kenya
Eppler, Mirko / Stella Gaetani / Francy Köllner / Jana Kuhnt / Charles Martin-Shields / Nyat Mebrahtu / Antonia Peters / Carlotta Preiß (2020)
Discussion Paper 15/2020

Europe can and must prevent a humanitarian disaster
Houdret, Annabelle / Mark Furness (2020)
The Current Column of 9 March 2020

The implications of the UN’s ruling on 'climate refugees'
Aleksandrova, Mariya / Benjamin Schraven / Diogo Serraglio (2020)
The Current Column of 24 February 2020

Trends in African migration to Europe: Drivers beyond economic motivations
José-Manuel Giménez-Gómez / Yabibal M. Walle / Yitagesu Zewdu Zergawu (2019)
in: Journal of Conflict Resolution 63 (8), 1797-1831

Not in my backyard? Welfare gains and social challenges: the impact of refugees on the host population in Uganda
Kuhnt, Jana / Jana Lenze / Ramona Rischke (2019)
Discussion Paper 17/2019

From global refugee norms to local realities: implementing the global compact on refugees in Kenya
Dick, Eva / Markus Rudolf (2019)
Briefing Paper 19/2019

Supporting or thwarting? The influence of EU migration policies on African free movement regimes in West and North-eastern Africa
Castillejo, Clare / Eva Dick / Benjamin Schraven
Briefing Paper 18/2019

Why we need to talk more about “climate migration” in Latin America
Serraglio, Diogo / Benjamin Schraven (2019)
The Current Column 9 September 2019

Digitalisation in the lives of urban migrants: evidence from Bogota
Martin-Shields, Charles P. / Sonia Camacho / Rodrigo Taborda / Constantin Ruhe (2019)
German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

Human mobility in the context of climate change in Sub-Saharan Africa: trends and basic recommendations for development cooperation
Schraven, Benjamin / Stephen Adaawen / Christina Rademacher-Schulz / Nadine Segadl (2019)
Briefing Paper 12/2019

The challenges of “drought migration”
Adaawen, Stephen / Benjamin Schraven (2019)
The Current Column of 17 June 2019

Migration: solid nations and liquid transnationalism? The EU's struggle to find a shared course on African migration 1999-2019
Schöfberger, Irene (2019)
Discussion Paper 1/2019

Where are the African voices?
Adaawen, Stephen / Benjamin Schraven (2019)
The current Column of 4 February 2019

The neglected role of cities in the Global Compact on Refugeespact on Refugees
Dick, Eva / Jana Kuhnt (2019)
The current Column of 23 January 2019

Towards a borderless Africa? Regional organisations and free movement of persons in West and North-East Africa
Dick, Eva / Benjamin Schraven (2019)
Briefing Paper 1/2019

Wie die EU-Migrationspolitik transnationale Entwicklung fördern kann
Schöfberger, Irene (2019)
Analysen und Stellungnahmen 1/2019

"Thank God, I don't feel like a refugee anymore" : everyday life and integration processes of refugees
Christ, Simone (2019)
BICC Working Paper Series 5/2019

"All day waiting": causes of conflict in refugee shelters in Germany
Christ, Simone / Esther Meininghaus / Tim Röing (2019)
in: BICC Working Paper Series 3/2019

The key to successful integration of refugees in Germany. Language skills, housing, work, social participation
Christ, Simone (2019)
in: BICC Policy Brief 5/2019

Afrika ohne Grenzen? Regionalorganisationen und Personenfreizügigkeit in West- und Nordostafrika
Dick, Eva / Benjamin Schraven (2018)
Analysen und Stellungnahmen 13/2018

What still needs to be said about the migration pact
Schraven, Benjamin / Eva Dick (2018)
The current Column of 10 December 2018

(Re)negotiating refugee protection in Malaysia: implications for future policy in refugee management
Munir-Asen, Katrina (2018)
Discussion Paper 29/2018

How addressing divisions on African migration inside the EU can strengthen transnational development
Schöfberger, Irene (2018)
Briefing Paper 22/2018

Can EU move beyond ‘squabbling over boats’?
Schöfberger, Irene / Niels Keijzer (2018)
The Current Column of 24 September 2018

What the Global Compact for Migration really means
Schraven, Benjamin / Eva Dick (2018)
The Current Column of 23 July 2018

Supporting a place to call home?
Martin-Shields, Charles (2018)
The Current Column of 11 July 2018

Is migration the better form of development aid?
Schraven, Benjamin (2018)
The Current Column of 11 June 2018

Regional migration governance in Africa and beyond: a framework of analysis
Dick, Eva / Benjamin Schraven (2018)
Discussion Paper 9/2018

Dare to be more complex!
Schraven, Benjamin / Charles Martin-Shields (2018)
The Current Column of 19 February 2018

Regional migration governance: contributions to a sustainable international migration architecture
Dick, Eva / Anne Koch / Benjamin Schraven / Benjamin Etzold (2018)
Briefing Paper 1/2018

State fragility as a cause of forced displacement: identifying theoretical channels for empirical research
Martin-Shields, Charles (2017)
Discussion Paper 30/2017

The EU Migration Partnership Framework: time for a rethink?
Castillejo, Clare (2017)
Discussion Paper 28/2017

More development - more migration? The "migration hump" and its significance for development policy co-operation with sub-Saharan Africa
Schraven, Benjamin / Steffen Angenendt / Charles Martin-Shields (2017)
Briefing Paper 20/2017

Digitalisation and flight: how can donors leverage digital technologies to support refugees?
Martin-Shields, Charles (2017)
Briefing Paper 18/2017

Good Governance, Good Jobs, and a Good Global Compact on Migration
Martin-Shields, Charles (2017)
The Current Column of 3 July 2017

Climate change is not everything – The causes of flight and migration are manifold
Schraven, Benjamin (2017)
The Current Column of 6 June 2017

The European Union Trust Fund for Africa: what implications for future EU development policy?
Castillejo, Clare (2017)
Briefing Paper 5/2017

Build towns instead of camps: Uganda as an example of integrative refugee policy
Kreibaum, Merle
Briefing Paper 19/2016

The EU's response to the "refugees crisis": one year after the Valletta Summit
Castillejo, Clare (2016)
The Current Column, 14 November 2016

Baut Städte statt Lager: Uganda als Beispiel einer integrativen Flüchtlingspolitik
Kreibaum, Merle
Analysen und Stellungnahmen 8/2016

Migration, risk management and climate change: evidence and policy responses (Global Migration Issues)
Milan, Andrea / Benjamin Schraven / Koko Warner / Noemi Cascone (eds.) (2016)
Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer

Migration dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa – myths, facts and challenges
Schraven, Benjamin (2016)
in: Rural 21 50 (2), 27-29

Die Schutzlücke schließen: Klimaflüchtlinge als Herausforderung für das Recht
Bauer, Steffen / Benjamin Schraven (2016)
published on Umwelt - Mitwelt - Zukunft 73/2016, 6

A long-term, painstaking undertaking with no guarantee of success – and yet necessary: the development policy "tackling" of causes of flight
Schraven, Benjamin / Jörn Grävingholt (2016)
The Current Column, 20 June 2016

Krisenregion Naher Osten: Fluchtursachen und die Rolle der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit
Trautner, Bernhard (2016)
in: Resultate 2/2016, 1,3-4

Beeinflussen Freihandelsabkommen Migration?
Brandi, Clara (2016)
in: Welt-Sichten 5/2016, 6-7

Wars, refugees and a 'systemic crisis': international emergency assistance requires reform
Grävingholt, Jörn / Benjamin Schraven (2016)
The Current Column of 23 May 2016

Refugees and international trade: are we ready to talk about the day after?
Ragoussis, Alexandros (2016)
The Current Column of 11 May 2016

The global refugee crisis: The key role of cities
Dick, Eva / Benjamin Schraven(2016)
The Current Column of 2 May 2016

Ein Marshallplan für Syrien
Bernhard Trautner (2016)
Zeit.de, 03.02.2016

Their suffering, our burden? How Congolese refugees affect the Ugandan population
Kreibaum, Merle (2016)
in: World Development 78 (February) 262–287

How can development policy help to tackle the causes of flight?
Schraven, Benjamin / Bernhard Trautner / Julia Leininger / Markus Loewe / Jörn Grävingholt
Briefing Paper 2/2016

Europe must send global cooperation signals – Four proposals
Messner, Dirk (2016)
The Current Column of 11 January 2016

Was kann Entwicklungspolitik zur Bekämpfung von Fluchtursachen beitragen?
Schraven, Benjamin / Bernhard Trautner / Julia Leininger / Markus Loewe / Jörn Grävingholt
Analysen und Stellungnahmen 14/2015

Beyond adaptation? The changing nature of seasonal migration in Northern Ghana in the context of climate change, agricultural decline and food insecurity
Schraven, Benjamin / Christina Rademacher-Schulz (2015)
in: Felicitas Hillmann / Marie Pahl / Birte Rafflenbeul / Harald Sterly (eds.), Environmental change, adaptation and migration: bringing in the region, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 267-282

Human mobility in response to rainfall variability: opportunities for migration as a successful adaptation strategy in eight case studies
Schraven, Benjamin / T. Afifi / A. Milan / B. Etzold / C. Rademacher-Schulz / P. Sakdapolrak / A. Reif / K.van der Geest / K.Warner (2015)
published on Migration and Development DOI:10.1080/21632324.2015.1022974

Europa sollte sich nicht beschweren
Keijzer, Niels/ Benjamin Schraven (2015)
Zeit online, 3 November 2015

Mit oder ohne Assad, das ist nicht die Frage
Bernhard Trautner (2015)
Zeit online, 3 October 2015

Tackling the real reasons causing people to flee Syria
Trautner, Bernhard (2015)
The Current Column of 8 October 2015

A five-point plan for dealing with the refugee crisis: there are no small solutions to big problems
Messner, Dirk
The Current Column of 11 September 2015

What should (and what should not) be done to ease the Syrian refugee crisis?
Furness, Mark / Annabelle Houdret (2015)
The Current Column of 8 September 2015

Talk instead of tanks: coming to terms with the past in Iraq as a stabilising factor
Crncic, Zeljko (2015)
The Current Column of 31 August 2015

Migration to Europe – is North Africa Europe's boarder guard?
Schäfer, Isabel (2015)
The Current Column of 8 June 2015

Finanzmarktregulierung könnte auch Flüchtlingshilfe sein – mehr Verantwortung bitte!
Schmitz, Birgit / Benjamin Schraven (2015)
in: Diplomatisches Magazin 4/2015, 38-39

The role of development policy in European refugee policy
Hackenesch, Christine / Julia Leininger (2015)
The Current Column of 5 May 2015

Theory and practice? A comparative analysis of migration and development policies in eleven European countries and the European Commission
Keijzer, Niels / Julia Héraud / Malin Frankenhaeuser (2015)
in: International Migration DOI: 10.1111/imig.12191

Europe, a continent of immigration
Schäfer, Isabel (2015)
in: Culture Report (EUNIC Yearbook 2014/2015), 153-159

Konflikte, Krisen, Klimawandel: Deutschlands globale Verantwortung für eine zukunftsfähige Migrationspolitik
Bauer, Steffen / Benjamin Schraven (2014)
in: Diplomatisches Magazin 10/2014, 40-43

Water and electricity – weapons in the Syrian conflict
Scheumann, Waltina (2014)
The Current Column of 30 June 2014

Die globale Flüchtlingskrise erfordert mehr als nur humanitäre Hilfe
Schraven, Benjamin / Niels Keijzer (2014)
The Current Column of 23 June 2014

Umweltbedingte Migration: Anpassung an den Klimawandel
Bauer, Steffen (2014)
Goethe Institut online

Post 2015: Migration im Sinne einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung gestalten
Schraven, Benjamin / Niels Keijzer / Anna Knoll (2014)
Briefing Paper 1/2014

Will a post-2015 development framework acknowledge migration?
Knoll, Anna / Niels Keijzer (2013)
in: Frank Laczko / Lars Johan Lönnback (eds.), Migration and the United Nations Post-2015 Development Agenda, Geneva: International Organisation for Migration, 53-66

New initiative to protect “environmental refugees”: good but not yet sufficient
Schraven, Benjamin / Steffen Bauer (2013)
The Current Column of 2 April 2013

„Klimamigration“ in Subsahara-Afrika: Trends und grundlegende Empfehlungen für die Entwicklungszusammenarbeit
Schraven, Benjamin / Stephen Adaawen / Christina Rademacher-Schulz / Nadine Segadlo (2019)
Analysen und Stellungnahmen 10/2019

Events

Kick off workshop
Social Cohesion in Displacement Contexts
Berlin, 24.01.2024

Linked Event
Promoting evidence-based implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees through teaching, research and solidarity
Geneva & Online, 12.12.2023

Workshop
Evidence-based implementation of the GCR: What role for academia?
Geneva & Online, 11.12.2023

Workshop
Equitable International Research Cooperation
Bonn, 23.10.2023 bis 24.10.2023

IDOS International Workshop on Displacement and Migration
“Contested Mobility: Between Local Needs, National Interests, and Global Trends”
Bonn, 24. - 25 May 2023

Expert Roundtable (hybrid)
Meaningful Involvement of Regional and District Governments
Bonn & Online, 27.02.2023

Workshop
Promoting New Ways of Knowledge Production and Policy Transfer
Online, 15 September 2022

Parlamentarischer Abend
Deutschlands Umgang mit weltweiter Flucht und Vertreibung
Berlin, 12 May 2022

Panel discussion
The situation of forced migration and durable solutions in Ethiopia
Online, 7 March 2022

Workshop
Contested Categories: Issues at the Intersection of Development and Forced Migration Studies
Online, 4-5 October 2021

Workshop
5th Annual DIE International Workshop of the ‘Contested Mobility’ Research Team
Online, 27-28 September 2021

Workshop
(Im)mobility in international research cooperation: knowledge and partnerships between the South and North, East and West
Online, 22 June 2021

Workshop
Local integration of refugees in light of the 2030 Agenda: CRRF and beyond
Online, 5-6 November 2020

Podiumsdiskussion (hybrid)
Die lokale Integration Geflüchteter - Erfahrungen aus NRW
Düsseldorf and Online, 29 October 2020

Workshop
Contested mobility
Online, 23 September 2020

Online Panel
The COVID-19 crisis: Nail in the coffin or shot in the arm for a sustainable global migration regime?
Online, 23 September 2020

Conference
Linking Policies and People: New Insights on Migration and Development
Bonn, 30 - 31 October 2019

Lecture
The Effects of Remedial Education in Refugee Settings
Bonn, 09 May 2019

Public Discussion
Flucht, Migration, Integration – Herausforderungen und Chancen aus Sicht der Forschung
Düsseldorf, 17 June 2016

Public Discussion
Kann Entwicklungspolitik zur Bewältigung von Flüchtlingskrisen beitragen?
Bonn, 3 December 2015

Panel Discussion
Studierfähige Flüchtlinge und Asylsuchende - Herausforderungen und Lösungswege
Moderator: Benjamin Schraven
Bonn, 1 December 2015