Expected start date:

2015•09•09

Expected end date:

2018•12•31

Institute:

UNU-GCM

Project Status:

Ongoing

Project Type:

Research and Capacity Development

Project Manager :

Anna Franzil

At a time of unprecedented mass displacements across the world, migrants and refugees have come to occupy a central place on the international agenda, as well as in the media and public sphere. This research project focuses on the relationship between migration and crises, both in terms of conflict and disaster-induced displacements that are occurring in the short and long-term; as well as the crises that have been newly introduced by particular migration, border and integration policies that have fallen short in terms of protecting the human rights and dignity of those on the move. The project focuses on different geographical regions, examining refugee crises in the Mediterranean, Middle East, Central Asia and in Northern African countries, as well as forced displacement in Southeast Asia, with an understanding that these contemporary crises have not emerged out of a vacuum, but are located within particular historical, geopolitical, environmental and cultural contexts.

The project examines the human costs of these crises that have forced people to move, and the new instabilities and vulnerabilities that are introduced, such as increasing prejudice and discrimination towards migrants and refugees. It also considers the management of these migratory crises and the role of states, as well as non-state actors, in the increasing securitisation of migration. At the same time, it takes into account the role of civil society movements, local governance, and grassroots and urban-based initiatives, in addressing the challenges faced by migrants and refugees, with a number of these actors playing a crucial role in providing humanitarian support and assistance, as well as solidarity, to those who have been displaced. The research findings of this project will help to understand how policy-making can better prevent, deal with and manage migratory and refugee crises in the future.