Conclusion: What academia can contribute to refugee policy
| DOI | 10.1177/0022343318812975 |
| Date | 01 January 2019 |
| Published date | 01 January 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Conclusion |
Conclusion
Conclusion: What academia can contribute
to refugee policy
Idean Salehyan
Department of Political Science, University of North Texas
Abstract
This conclusion to the special issue highlights the role of scholars in advancing the public discussion about forced
migration. As countries around the world are adopting increasing restrictions on the entry of refugees, academic
research can help to dispel some of the myths and apprehensions regarding the risks that forced migration entails.
While refugees may be linked to conflict and violence in limited circumstances, the research generally demonstrates
that robust international cooperation to manage refugee settlements, provide adequate humanitarian assistance, and
integrate refugees into host communities, among other policies, can help to mitigate potential risks. Directions for
future research and analysis are also discussed. Forced migration scholars should endeavor to collect more individual-
level data; seek to understand factors that exacerbate or reduce security risks associated with cross-border militancy;
conduct research on the long-term integration of refugees; and seek to understand the causes and consequences of
resettlement and repatriation policies.
Keywords
asylum, policy, refugees
Forced migration is one of the most pressing global issues
of our time. With over 68 million people displaced from
their homes
1
(including both international refugees and
the internally displaced) and struggling to rebuild their
lives after traumatic experiences, the humanitarian impli-
cations are clear. In addition, refugee flows have conse-
quences for the global economy, international security,
and domestic politics in both sending and receiving
countries. As such, scholars have made a good deal of
progress in recent years in studying such dynamics. This
special issue contributes to this growing wave of scholar-
ship and highlights multiple aspects of refugee fli ght.
The articles herein foster a greater understanding of the
causes of forced migration as well as subsequent settle-
ment patterns (Schon, 2019; Steele, 2019); add addi-
tional nuance to the debate regarding refugee-related
violence (Bo
¨hmelt, Bove & Gleditsch, 2019; Fisk,
2019; Ru
¨egger, 2019; Savun & Gineste, 2019); and
examine micro-level data on the attitudes of refugees as
well as the perceptions of host communities (Fabbe,
Hazlett & Sınmazdemir, 2019; Ghosn, Braithwaite &
Chu, 2019). This special issue demonstrates how far the
literature has come in the last decade. From 1997 to
2007, 399 articles in SAGE journals (including the Jour-
nal of Peace Research) mentioned ‘refugee(s)’ or ‘forced
migration’ in the title; while from 2008 to 2018, the
comparable figure was nearly double, at 783. Thus,
while refugee studies was once a quite specialized topic,
there is a growing community of scholars studying the
issue, along with significant advances in data, methods,
and theory.
Understanding the causes and consequences of forced
migration, from a scholarly perspective, enriches the field
of international relations. Yet, the policy implications of
this area of research cannot be ignored. While recogniz-
ing the paramount importance of protecting vulnerable
people from harm, researchers have also acknowledged
that refugees can at times negatively impact host
Corresponding author:
idean@unt.edu
1
Based on most recent UNHCR estimates. See UNHCR: Figures at
a Glance (http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html).
Journal of Peace Research
2019, Vol. 56(1) 146–151
ªThe Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/0022343318812975
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