Suchergebnisse

On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, the Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC) hosted a two-day international academic conference on "Facing Organised Violence: Research Agendas and Conversion Potentials" from 27 to 28 October 2014 in Bonn. The aim of the conference was to approach current dynamics of organised violence from a critical angle. Speakers and panellists focussed on concepts, means, and practices of organised violence. "Concepts" were reflected as discourses that legitimise the use of violence, such as security policies or military strategies. The panels about "means" referred to the tools and material infrastructure of organised violence, such as the arms industry and conventional weapons (in particular small arms and light weapons - SALW). Visible patterns of behaviour such as rules, norms, and types of actors were investigated in the "practices" section. Building on these three dimensions, the conference discussed "natural resources" and "migration" as two intersecting themes touching organised violence in societal contexts.

Across the world, 16 million refugees and an unknown number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) experience long-lasting conditions of economic precarity, marginalisation, rightlessness and future uncertainty. They live under conditions of protracted displacement. Policy solutions often fail to recognise displaced people's needs and limit rather than widen the range of available solutions. This report brings together the central findings of the TRAFIG project's empirical study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Tanzania, Jordan, Pakistan, Greece, Italy and Germany. We engaged with more than 3,120 people in our three-year project. Our analysis centres around five factors that shape conditions of protracted displacement: 1) governance regimes of aid and asylum, 2) social practices and livelihoods, 3) networks and movements, 4) intergroup relations between displaced people and hosts, and 5) development incentives and economic interactions. We present multiple findings on each of these themes. Moreover, this report addresses gender and classbased differences and mental health related challenges in constellations of protracted displacement as well as political dynamics that impact on people's own responses to protracted displacement. Overall, our research shows that refugees, IDPs and other migrants by and large find protection, shelter, livelihood support, a sense of belonging and opportunities to migrate elsewhere through their personal networks. These networks often stretch across several places or even extend across multiple countries. While they are not a panacea for all challenges, people's own connections are an essential resource for sustainable and long-term solutions to their precarious situation. They must not be ignored in policy responses to protracted displacement. Understanding the needs and the local, translocal and transnational ties of displaced people is the foundation for finding solutions that last.