In the BICC-Webinar "After the storm of the Capitol: How endangered is democracy?" Thomas Mockaitis, Professor of History, DePaul University, explained about the drivers (such as "echo chambers" and alternative facts") and perpetrators (such as white supremacists and Christian nationalists) of the outbreak of violence on 6 January 2021 in Washington, DC. In his recent commentary, he reflects upon how deeply the democratic consensus in the United States is endangered.
Zwischen 2013 und 2019 verließen mehr als 1.000 zumeist junge Menschen Deutschland, um sich in Syrien und dem Irak dschihadistischen Gruppen anzuschließen. Die bekannteste von ihnen ist der sogenannte "Islamische Staat", auf dessen Konto in den Jahren 2015 und 2016 auch mehrere Anschläge in Europa gingen. An diesen Terrorakten beteiligten sich zurückgekehrte europäische Dschihadisten. Inzwischen gilt der "Islamische Staat" zwar als weitgehend besiegt und ein knappes Drittel der nach Syrien und Irak Ausgereisten ist wieder zurück in Deutschland. Doch nicht alle dieser Rückkehrerinnen und Rückkehrer sind desillusioniert. Einige hängen nach wie vor islamistischen Ideologien an, fast alle sind zudem traumatisiert. Ein nicht unerheblicher Teil befindet sich in Haft. Es stellt sich die Frage, wie der Sicherheitsbedrohung, die von diesen Rückkehrerinnen und Rückkehrern ausgeht, zu begegnen ist. Deutschland beschreitet dabei unter anderem den Weg der Resozialisierung: Ausstiegs- und Reintegrationsmaßnahmen sollen diesen Personen den Weg zurück in die Gesellschaft ermöglichen. Durchgeführt werden solche Maßnahmen sowohl von staatlichen Programmen, als auch von zivilgesellschaftlichen Trägern. Dieses BICC Working Paper untersucht, wie Fachkräfte solcher Träger dieser Aufgabe nachkommen und welchen Hindernissen sie dabei begegnen. Um dies zu erläutern, stellt das Paper den gesamten Komplex von der Rückreise ehemaliger Dschihadistinnen und Dschihadisten aus dem Konfliktgebiet, über ihre psychische und soziale Wiedereingliederung nach der Ankunft in Deutschland bis zum Abschluss des Ausstiegsprozesses dar und untersucht die Herausforderungen, die sich dabei für soziale Arbeit und Prävention ergeben. Hierzu gehören besondere Aspekte der Fallarbeit wie der Umgang mit Traumatisierungen, die Bedarfe minderjähriger Rückkehrerinnen und Rückkehrer, die Arbeit in Haftanstalten sowie die Aufarbeitung extremistischer Ideologien. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass Fachkräfte sich ihrer Aufgabe zwar professionell gewachsen sehen, jedoch einigen strukturellen Herausforderungen gegenüberstehen. Diese umfassen etwa zeitlich und finanziell begrenzte Projektförderungen, einen Mangel an therapeutischen Kapazitäten sowie Abstimmungsprobleme mit den Justizbehörden bei der Arbeit mit inhaftierten Rückkehrerinnen und Rückkehrern.
Pastoral counties in northern Kenya are expected to undergo massive social-ecological change in the coming years as a result of the government's 'Vision 2030' with its large-scale investments and infrastructure projects. The Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) corridor project is an ambitious infrastructure development project that links with other continental transport corridors traversing the country. The 500m-wide corridor is to consist of a railway, a highway, a fibre-optic cable and a crude oil pipeline, linking oil fields in Turkana county in the far north-west to a 32-berth port at Lamu on the Kenyan coast. A 50-km wide "special economic zone" straddling the corridor will attract investors, and the development will be accompanied by several associated projects, including three planned resort cities, oil processing facilities and airports. Proponents of the corridor point to its potential to "open up the north" and to reverse previous marginalisation. However, a growing body of work on frontiers and economies of anticipation surrounding development projects points to the potentials for dispossession of local populations and disregard of local dynamics. Further, such projects stimulate future-oriented activities and a variety of visions of the future among the different actors, which may converge or diverge, leading to contestations. This Working Paper is part of a larger project called "Future Rural Africa: Future-making and socialecological transformation" by the Universities of Bonn and Cologne and BICC in collaboration with USIU-Africa and other Kenyan universities, which is interested in the kinds of claims being made on land and its resources and how these may change existing dynamics of organised violence. In this Working Paper, the author seeks to understand the dynamics of participation and anticipation and how these relate to conflict and contestation along the LAPSSET Corridor area (in the following referred to as 'LAPSSET'). He takes a broad and in-depth look at local dynamics sur rounding the planned LAPSSET and some associated projects in Isiolo, Samburu and Turkana counties. In doing so, he has found that a variety of actors have different visions and capacities to learn about LAPSSET and position themselves favourably, making it likely that LAPSSET will exacerbate existing political and economic inequalities. Existing inequalities historically run along ethnic lines and are likely to feed into ethnopolitical conflicts. Other findings are that the LAPSSET developments also fuel conflict as they provide new potential targets for dissatisfied citizens to get the attention of the state and new, often inequitable security governance arrangements.
Ausstiegsprogramme unterscheiden sich je nach Trägerschaft oder Phänomenbereich in den Ansätzen, mit denen sie an ihre Arbeit herangehen. Das vorliegende BICC Working Paper entwickelt einen Analyserahmen zum Vergleich der unterschiedlichen Programme, der sowohl auf einer umfangreichen Literaturauswertung als auch auf Interviews mit Praktikerinnen und Praktikern basiert. Er berücksichtigt dabei die angewandte Methodik, die jeweilige Risikoeinschätzung sowie die Dimensionen, Erfolgskriterien und Ziele der Arbeit. Die Studie wendet den Analyserahmen auf alle sieben Ausstiegsprogramme (drei staatliche und vier zivilgesellschaftliche) in Nordrhein-Westfalen (NRW) an, über die das bevölkerungsreichste Bundesland verfügt. Drei Programme beschäftigen sich mit dem Islamismus, drei mit dem Rechtsextremismus und eines mit Linksextremismus sowie auslandsbezogenem Extremismus. Das Paper untersucht die wichtigsten Unterschiede in der Herangehensweise einerseits zwischen staatlichen und zivilgesellschaftlichen Programmen sowie andererseits zwischen solchen gegen Islamismus und gegen Rechtsextremismus. Daraus entwickelt es Empfehlungen, an welchen Stellen die Programme von den Erfahrungen der anderen lernen können.
The prospect of remaining in the country is a bureaucratic categorisation that conflicts with the assessment of each person's reasons for leaving their homes. It creates inequalities among refugees and restricts integration. Federal policy and legislation must stop grouping people into those with "good" or "bad" prospects of remaining and grant all access to integration policy measures from the outset. The integration of refugees through language skills and work is of pivotal importance. Federal politics must create a legal basis that enables language and integration courses from the outset and also take into account differences arising from gender, age or educational background. After having abolished the so-called labour market test (Vorrangprüfung) or prioritisation of access to employment in 2019, the domicile requirement (Wohnsitzauflage) adopted in 2016 must also be lifted. Adequate support by social workers must be provided at the local level. Having your own apartment is an important step towards an independent life. At the local level, ccommodation in flats or self-contained units is preferable to shared accommodation. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia and other federal states must adhere to their policy of not establishing central housing for asylum applicants who have to stay there until their asylum application has been granted (so-called AnkER centres) as these isolate the inhabitants, cause conflicts and impede integration. Refugees often live apart from their family. Some family members, for example, have not left the conflict area. Restrictions on family reunification can hinder integration, as they create a variety of financial and psychological burdens for the people affected. The federal states should work at the federal level to reduce the restrictions on family reunification.
Over the past month the United States has experienced the greatest civil unrest since 1968. Demonstrations have occurred in more in 1700 towns and cities in all 50 states. Outrage over the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, caught on video, drew people into the streets to protest racial injustice. To understand why this single incident provoked such a response Thomas Mockaitis, Professor of History, DePaul University, examines the confluence of three factors: systemic racism, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the nature of American policing.
This case study provides an overview on protracted displacement in the Horn of Africa and aims to uncover evidence on transnational and translocal connectivity and mobility of displaced populations in the region. The case study contributes to the elaboration of the working paper "Protracted Displacement in the postWWII period" in the framework of the three-year project "Translocal Figurations of Displacement" (TRAFIG), which is financed by the European Union within the Horizon 2020 work programme (Societal Challenge 5 'Europe in a changing world'; call MIGRATION-08-2018 'Addressing the Challenge of Forced Displacement'). The objective of this case study is to review academic and literature issued by relevant actors in the field of protracted displacement such as international organisations, NGOs or governments to answer the questions whether and how transnational and translocal connectivity and mobility contributes to selfreliance and resilience of displaced populations, both internally and across borders, in the region. In addition, the study looks at policy responses to protracted displacement in the Horn of Africa. For the purpose of this study, the Horn of Africa includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. These countries are all members of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional economic community formed to promote regional cooperation and integration to add value to its Member States' efforts in achieving peace, security and prosperity. When drawing on figures of protracted displacement, the study follows UNHCR's definition of a protracted refugee situation "as one in which 25,000 or more refugees from the same nationality have been in exile for five consecutive years or more in a given asylum country" (UNHCR, 2018c, p. 22). When drawing on specific examples from the literature, a wider definition of protracted displacement is applied, following TRAFIG's definition of protracted displacement situations "as situations in which the capability of displaced persons to rebuild their lives after displacement and the opportunities available to do so are severely limited for prolonged periods of time, in other words, in situations where (more durable) solutions are not available or progress towards achieving these is stalled" (Etzold, et al., 2019, p. 22). This case study is structured as follows: section two provides an overview on protracted displacement in the region. It describes the four main protracted displacement situations in the region1 : The Eritrean refugee crisis, the displacement of Somalis internally and across borders and the South Sudanese and Sudanese protracted and emergency refugee and IDP situation. The third section identifies main patterns and selected examples in six dimensions of transnationalism and translocality, namely the emergence and existence of transnational/translocal communities and diasporic links, mobility patterns such as secondary movements, return or resettlement, family dynamics of displaced populations, emerging transnational economic spaces, social remittances, i.e. the circulation of ideas, behaviours, identities and social capital, and transnational political spheres. The fourth section summarises policy responses to protracted displacement in the Horn of Africa and major policy shifts while studying two cases, namely the emergence of encampment in Kenya and the envisaged phasing out of camps and facilitating refugee's access to work in Ethiopia.
Within the European Union (EU), Italy is one of the main countries of transit and destination for migrants coming from Africa and Asia, including a significant component of forced migrants and protection seekers. In particular, Italy is the first European country of arrival for many migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa (mainly but not exclusively from Libya and Tunisia). Along with maritime migration flows, Italy has been receiving growing numbers of (forced) migrants entering the country through its Eastern land borders, mainly coming from Pakistan and Afghanistan, and transiting through Greece and the Balkans. These persons often find themselves in situations of protracted precariousness, vulnerability and marginalisation, both in terms of their legal status, attached rights and socio-economic conditions. Such situations of protracted displacement are largely (although not exclusively) determined by the legal and policy structures governing migration, asylum and mobility. This internal report analyses the regulatory framework which applies in Italy, and which impacts on the daily lives and future aspirations of protractedly displaced people. This report contributed to the formulation of TRAFIG Working Paper no. 3 "Governing Protracted Displacement: An analysis across global, regional and domestic contexts".
The community-based conservation model is an increasing phenomenon in Kenya, especially in northern pastoralist counties. This Working Paper, the result of empirical research over several years, considers dimensions of inclusion and exclusion and subsequent conflicts around communitybased conservancies in Isiolo County. It finds that conservancies are sometimes established to protect a community's interests in and access to community land, including formal claim-making over ancestral community land which may spatially exclude other groups. These dimensions are reinforced by the presence of rangers, of whom many are armed National Police Reservists. Spatial and political dimensions of exclusion also exist to some extent within conservancies due to the need to balance wildlife and grazing needs. Armed security forces in conservancies have important implications for state sovereignty and control over the use of force. Importantly, a powerful donor-funded umbrella organisation (the Northern Rangelands Trust) is significantly involved in training, equipping and deploying rangers. The presence of well-equipped armed ranger teams may then inadvertently play into resource-based conflict and alter power balances between ethnic groups as is most clearly highlighted on the Samburu–Isiolo border. Sustainability is another concern where donor funding is an important source. Another concern for the future is Isiolo's position at the centre of the country's infrastructural and economic development plans which threaten to dispossess pastoralists of community land. Land claims and conflicts are set to increase, and arms in civilian hands could plausibly be used in various types of conflict, from ethno-political to community-investor and community-state conflicts.
Putting the humanitarian-development nexus into practice, aid organisations and donors pay most attention to camp populations in protracted refugee situations (PRS). This Paper argues that synergies arise when development aid redefines and expands the area of humanitarian needs regarding developmental objectives and instruments rather than bolstering the mainstream activities of humanitarian actors. Drawing on the case of Colombia, the argument of this Paper is threefold: First, it shows how the conditions to qualify refugees and IDPs as aid recipients must be extended to include forcibly immobilised persons. The Paper understands 'forcibly immobilised persons' as individuals who are forced to stay in the same place for lack of alternatives or constraints on their movement (e.g. through armed groups). Strikingly, forcibly immobilised persons have so far usually been overlooked as persons in need, although they face similar hardships as refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). This is why this Paper proposes to replace the classical concept of spatial displacement with a model of displacement that includes both in situ immobilised persons (on the spot) and ex situ immobilised persons (immobilised after initial spatial movement). Second, the Paper argues that individual needs, such as the need for protection, rather than circumstances, should be decisive for aid eligibility. Whether a situation is categorised as "war", for instance, is a highly politicised question and hence not a reliable indicator - whereas a needs-based approach is. Third, the Paper draws on an in-depth analysis of confined communities in Colombia to show that forcibly immobilised persons - like IDPs and refugees - often require humanitarian and development aid, thus showing clear examples for how the nexus could work - as it already does in part. Overall, this Paper thus proposes a reconceptualisation of the humanitarian-development nexus to ensure a more targeted reach for persons in need.
Flucht und Vertreibung sind in Lateinamerika vielfach die Folge krimineller Aktivitäten. Organisierte Kriminalität ist nicht nur Ursache von Flucht, sondern strukturiert die Ausprägung von Fluchtbewegungen maßgeblich. Flüchtlingspolitik muss daher kriminelle Aktivitäten als Fluchtursache ernst nehmen und dementsprechend ihre Maßnahmen neu ausrichten. Zudem ist die internationale Gemeinschaft aufgefordert, kohärente und präventive Maßnahmen zu entwickeln, um die Bevölkerung vor organisierter Kriminalität zu schützen. Lateinamerikanische Entwicklungen sind in vielerlei Hinsicht prototypisch für den Globalen Süden. Die "Erklärung von Brasilien", die 2014 lateinamerikanische Staaten verfassten, rückt organisierte Kriminalität, Binnenvertriebene und Flüchtlinge in einen gemeinsamen Kontext. Dies bietet der internationalen Gemeinschaft einen Ansatz, um die Ausbreitung von Gewaltrisiken, die globale Vernetzung transnationaler krimineller Gruppen und die Etablierung von Gewaltmärkten einzudämmen. Praxisorientierte Strategien, die Bürgerkriege, organisierte Kriminalität, Binnenvertreibung, Migration und Flucht ganzheitlich mit einer Kombination von Entwicklungszusammenarbeit, humanitärer Hilfe und Friedensförderung angehen, versprechen ein Mehr an Nachhaltigkeit. Um entsprechend der New Yorker Erklärung der Vereinten Nationen von 2016 globale Lösungsansätze für Flucht- und Migrationsbewegungen zu finden, ist es nötig, die aktuellen, auf internationaler Ebene verhandelten Konzepte wie den Migrations- bzw. Fluchtpakt miteinander stärker zu verbinden. Dabei gilt es, auch neue Formen der Vertreibung als Fluchtursachen anzuerkennen. Zu nennen sind explizit organisierte Kriminalität und kriegsähnliche Situationen. Die Bundesregierung muss dazu beitragen, dass die Genfer Flüchtlingskonvention inhaltlich – gemäß ihren ursprünglichen Zielen – wieder zur zentralen Referenz für globale Lösungsansätze im Umgang mit Flüchtlingen wird.
Sierra Leone is known for the successful reintegration of a high number of returning refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), many of whom had stayed in protracted displacement situations during the eleven years of a most cruel internal war. The war was intertwined with the civil war in Liberia and ended with a peace agreement in 2002. The extremely high number of returnees in relation to the total population caused particular hardship for the 'leastdeveloped' country. Yet, Sierra Leone managed the task of reintegration of returnees from war, returning refugees from the West African region and IDPs without major disruptions and renewed outbreaks of violence. Neither a severe armed conflict nor new waves of forced displacement have re-occurred during the past 17 years. However, the acts of violence in the context of the 2018 national election - and during the three previous post-war elections - justify the question whether the recurrent violence is related to shortcomings in the overall process of reintegration. This Working Paper, therefore, takes a retrospective look into the reintegration process at large. From the perspective of the communities that received returnees, not only returning refugees and IDPs but also former fighters who came back and reintegrated into civilian life. Furthermore, the perspective of people that did not reintegrate in Sierra Leone should not be overlooked in an assessment of the success of reintegration. Therefore, this Working Paper also incorporates the perspective of Sierra Leoneans that have stayed in Liberia and never returned. It hence addresses the following guiding questions: How did the reintegration of displaced people, refugees and former fighters in Sierra Leone take place, and how did the various groups returning after war manage to live together in the long run? What prevented people from reintegrating? The author and her team's research in 2018 benefitted from the fact that returnees, communities and the 'non-returnees' in Liberia were able to reflect on reintegration in hindsight. Reparation and reconciliation turned out to be crucial to make reintegration feasible. Therefore, the Working Paper argues that reconciliation among returning people and the communities where they settle is a crucial dimension that has to be closely linked to the concept of reintegration. The study shows that the reintegration process replicated the deep regional divide and the marginalisation of the youth that had caused the armed conflict and shaped the course of the war. The paper concludes that refugees, IDPs and ex-combatants reintegrated into a disintegrated society - an environment producing grievances that fuel election-related violence. The insights from Sierra Leone should inform interventions of the international community in war-torn countries elsewhere and lead to a comprehensive reintegration process that incorporates refugees, IDPs as well as former fighters and is linked to reconciliation, reparations and development programmes.
This Working Paper assesses how humanitarian and development aid agencies address individuals whose human rights and human dignity have been affected by displacement. It proposes a fresh look at how to measure needs that arise in such situations. To this end, the Paper evaluates characteristic needs regarding livelihoods, rights and basic services for displaced persons in an empirical study of so-called protracted refugee situations (PRS). The needs are then contrasted with the international legal category of 'refugee' and the descriptive definition of internally displaced persons (IDPs) used by aid agencies to address situations of displacement. Following empirical observations and drawing from existing models, the study establishes an inter-subjectively comprehensible catalogue of needs, i.e. land, employment (livelihoods), housing, social inclusion, nutrition, health, community assets, social networks, education, legal aid, political rights, legal documents, human rights. It is argued that these indicators need to be evaluated in regard to the degree of access displaced persons have (from no access to full access). The weighted indicators establish different points of reference to measure the detrimental impact of displacement on human dignity. Assessment of aid for displaced persons thereby reaches beyond the pre-displacement situation as a central point of reference: This would enable humanitarian and development actors to evaluate their contribution to facilitating a dignified life of individuals more accurately, as a return to the status quo ante does not automatically mean that aid was successful—e.g. a return to misery. Drawing on field research findings in northern Iraq, moreover, the Paper argues that any indicator-based-approach must be combined with an analysis of the socio-political and historical context of forced migration and also pay attention to impacts on the host society. In line with empirical examples, the Working Paper argues that humanitarian and development aid agencies need to start from a long-term, multi-sectoral, whole-of-society, and systematically indicatorbased approach—even though it is inevitable to prioritise some issues (and disregard others) in situations of crisis.
This project's approach of analysing protracted displacement through the perspectives and experiences of the displaced persons themselves has proven key to understanding the actual dynamics, complexities and possible solutions to it. It uncovered and documented a wealth of different coping strategies across diverse contexts, thus providing new insights into what living in protracted displacement means for people affected by it and into which kind of support they require. The project points out new research avenues on protracted displacement, such as the impact of social relations and interactions on displaced peoples' livelihood options—both locally and trans-locally—or the various types and patterns of mobility representing livelihood strategies of the displaced. People in protracted displacement face multiple exclusions from access to livelihood-sustaining resources and services. Such exclusions are not only layered on top of each other in terms of generalised marginalisation but can also condition each other, in that a lack of access to certain realms of societal life may block access to others. Moreover, this research has found that the living conditions of people in protracted displacement often do not improve after the initial emergency phase is over; lack of access to vital resources and services may be a constant feature of protracted displacement or even become worse over time. Peoples' de facto (re)integration strategies, i.e. livelihood-making in contexts of displacement or return, take place in highly fragmented and disintegrated societies and are confronted with deliberately disintegrating forces, such as legal exclusion, discrimination and violence. National and international legal regulations and government action provide a crucial framework condition for the chances of displaced persons to (re)integrate and can be supportive or disruptive. However, their actual effects on the displaced persons and local level are mediated by alternative social norms in the respective context and can be stronger or weaker depending on a person's positionality in society. Due to the multiple exclusions and insecurities of protracted displacement, the diversification and re-combinations of livelihood sources through spatial mobility is one of few chances for the displaced to sustain themselves and their families and is thus essential to their livelihoods. Mobility is, however, not automatically a resource in itself; it can simply be the permanent search for safety and livelihood opportunities. Social relations and interactions at the place of residence are perhaps the most important resource for displaced persons' livelihoods. Pre-existing ties between communities often help to facilitate local integration of displaced persons. However, a marginal status of local residents, poverty and scarcity of resources in receiving areas and external influences can have a negative impact on community relations, lead to tensions and reduce livelihood options for the displaced.
Since the failed coup attempt by parts of the Turkish military against President Erdogan in the summer of 2016, the Turkish government has suspended more than 100,000 civil servants on the pretext that they had planned a coup. Out of fear of persecution and arbitrary arrests, around 21,000 Turkish citizens have since applied for asylum in Germany. Many of them found refuge in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). At the same time, communities of people with a migration background related to Turkey have been living in this federal state, particularly in the large cities, since the 1960s. This Working Paper examines how members of both groups in NRW perceive each other and how they interact with each other in everyday life, which conflicts arise, and how the political developments in Turkey affect these processes. The study shows that Turkish refugees experience solidarity and sympathy from people with a Turkey-related migration background and their organisations, but also encounter some hostility from them in everyday life. This reflects the strong polarisation within the communities of people with a Turkey-related migration background in NRW since 2016, which the Working Paper also addresses. The author advocates a differentiated, empirically-based approach to the subject area and strongly warns against generalisations. Approaches to conflict resolution must incorporate the complexity of actors and interactions, as well as the diversity of opinions and positions within communities with a connection to Turkey.
