Research

Rethinking emergency and crisis

When we examine refugees today, we might ask, 'Which crisis?' One can point towards the Venezuelan exodus, Rohyingya refugees, and of course Syrian refugees. Yet labelling a situation an emergency or crisis both reveals and obscures information.

Rethinking humanitarianism

Many perceive humanitarianism as straightforward: ‘helping’. Others argue that it risks doing more harm than good. Still others face legal battles over ‘humanitarian smuggling’ as volunteers become criminals in some eyes and saviours in others.

Rethinking mobility

There are 70.8 million forcibly displaced people worldwide – many of whom fall beyond the category of refugee. What is the state of mobility today, and how do responses to it help or hinder protection?

Rethinking refugee protection

Refugee protection is at the core of the international refugee regime and the legal mandate of the UN Refugee Agency. Yet protective refugee policies commonly fall short, states often avoid protecting refugees, and the notion itself is not easily defined.

Rethinking refugees as actors

Refugees are commonly portrayed in the media as helpless victims, and rarely given a direct voice in humanitarian practice and academic scholarship. Yet refugees make decisions and enact agency every day in a wide array of situations.

Rethinking the economic lives of refugees

Refugees in many host countries face restrictions on the right to work. However, this does not mean that refugees do not have economic lives. On the contrary, refugees engage in informal work, become entrepreneurs, and at times face exploitation.