Suchergebnisse

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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".

Jordan, with a population of about ten million, hosts 1.3 million Syrians of whom 670,000 are UNHCR-registered refugees, as well as nearly 85,000 registered refugees from other countries and is thus one of the countries with the highest proportion of refugees in the world. Most of them (83 per cent) are staying outside camps and many have rented flats mainly in the Jordanian capital Amman and its surroundings. The particular conditions for refugees from Syria staying in a receiving area among people with a history of protracted displacement are in the focus of this Working Paper. How do refugees from Syria secure their livelihood in the neighbourhoods of Palestinians who share the experience of a volatile legal status and limited economic rights? Does the EU-Jordan Compact improve Syrians' livelihoods? These questions are addressed by an analytical livelihood approach that includes social relationships as a significant conducive or constraining factor for refugees' agency (ability to act) in making use of local livelihood options. The findings generated in field research between November 2016 and July 2017 reveal dynamics within the Palestinian receiving community that have shifted from empathy and solidarity to more ambiguous interaction up to the exploitation and seclusion of refugees. The Paper shows how self-organised assistance groups of Jordanians with Palestinian origin take care of refugees from Syria in dire need for help, no matter what legal status they have. They support some refugees in regaining their agency and thus contribute to securing their livelihood. The central argument of this Paper is that the agenda of international aid and development agencies of enhancing resilience and promoting self-reliance of refugees does not strengthen refugees' agency. Instead of considering the refugees' own priorities and intentions about their livelihood, it pre-designs basic needs to different refugee groups and attempts to integrate them into a presumed market economy that in fact is distorted for political purposes (mainly shielding Jordanians from foreign competitors). This is most pronounced in the EU-Jordan Compact, established to provide Syrians with preferential access to (low-skilled) employment in return for alleviated access of Jordanian companies to the European market. The study discloses how the Compact contradicts the idea of resilience of the refugees. In the conclusion, the Paper questions the collusion of the international community with the Jordanian government in using the presence of the refugees for external interests - promoting liberal market expansion through the EU - Jordan Compact in return for continuous aid.

Diese Studie befasst sich mit Integrationsprozessen geflüchteter Menschen in Deutschland und bezieht hierfür besonders die Situation in Nordrhein- Westfalen mit ein. Sie untersucht, wie sich das Ankommen in Deutschland gestaltet, wie Geflüchtete ihr Leben hier wahrnehmen und welchen Herausforderungen sie in ihrem Alltagsleben begegnen. Im Vordergrund steht, wie geflüchtete Menschen ihre Integrationsprozesse subjektiv erfahren. Das Working Paper vergleicht hierzu die Erfahrungen von Menschen, die schon vor längerer Zeit (ca. 20 bis 40 Jahre) nach Deutschland flüchteten, mit denen von Menschen, die nach 2014 ankamen. Diese Langzeitperspektive erlaubt es, Kontinuitäten und Veränderungen im Zeitverlauf zu identifizieren. Sie macht gleichzeitig deutlich, wie sich asylrechtliche Beschränkungen auf das Leben der Menschen auswirken. Die Autorin versteht Integration nicht als eine einseitig zu erbringende Anpassungsleistung, sondern als einen interaktionistischen und ergebnisoffenen Prozess mit dem Ziel einer chancengerechten Teilhabe an der Gesellschaft. Methodisch hat sie in dieser qualitativen Studie teilnehmende Beobachtung in einer Unterkunft für geflüchtete Menschen mit biographischen Interviews und Experteninterviews verknüpft.

Seit dem gescheiterten Putschversuch von Teilen des türkischen Militärs gegen Präsident Erdogan im Sommer 2016 suspendierte die türkische Regierung mehr als 100.000 Staatsbedienstete unter dem Vorwand, sie hätten einen Umsturz geplant. Aus Angst vor Verfolgung und willkürlichen Inhaftierungen stellten seitdem etwa 21.000 türkische Staatsbürger einen Asylantrag in Deutschland. Viele von ihnen fanden Zuflucht in Nordrhein-Westfalen (NRW). Gleichzeitig leben insbesondere in den Großstädten des Bundeslandes schon seit den 1960er Jahren Gemeinschaften von Menschen mit türkeibezogenem Migrationshintergrund. Diese Studie untersucht, wie sich Angehörige beider Gruppen in NRW gegenseitig wahrnehmen und wie sie im Alltag miteinander umgehen, welche Konflikte dabei entstehen und wie die politischen Entwicklungen in der Türkei auf diese Prozesse einwirken. Die Studie zeigt, dass türkische Geflüchtete einerseits Solidarität und Anteilnahme durch Menschen mit türkeibezogenem Migrationshintergrund und ihre Organisationen erleben, andererseits aber auch von ihnen im Alltag angefeindet werden. Dies spiegelt die starke Polarisierung innerhalb der Gemeinschaften von Menschen mit türkeibezogenem Migrationshintergrund in NRW seit 2016 wider, auf welche das Working Paper ebenfalls eingeht. Der Autor plädiert für einen differenzierten, durch Empirie gestützten Zugang zum Themenfeld und warnt eindringlich vor Verallgemeinerungen. Ansätze zur Konfliktbearbeitung müssen die Komplexität von Akteuren und Interkationen sowie die Vielfalt an Meinungen und Positionen innerhalb der Gemeinschaften mit Türkeibezug einbeziehen.

Pastoral counties of northern Kenya are expected to undergo massive change in the
coming years due to the government's ambitious infrastructural development agenda.
However, the area frequently experiences violence as a result of conflict between pastoralist communities, and also due to ethno-political contestations. Isiolo County is one
such place where planned development projects and conflict risks coincide, making it
an important case study for understanding how the future may unfold.
This Working Paper is written in the framework of a larger project called "Future Rural
Africa: Future-making and social-ecological transformation" by the Universities of
Bonn and Cologne and BICC (Bonn International Center for Conversion). BICC is interested in the kinds of claims that are being made on land and its resources and how
these may change the existing dynamics of organised violence. The Paper explores the
complexity of existing conflict in Isiolo and the emerging effects of new plans and land
claims. At its most basic level, conflict between pastoral groups, or between pastoralists
and farmers is motivated both by survival (pastoral mobility and access to water and
pasture in a climatically challenging area) and the accumulation of livestock wealth.
Politics, which is generally extended along ethnic lines, adds another layer to the inter-communal conflict through the need for political survival and the accumulation of
personal wealth. The devolution of many powers and budgets to county level since 2013
has then raised the stakes for political power. Since plans for infrastructure have been
made known, tensions have emerged, and fears of exclusion and dispossession of customary land users through speculative land-grabbing and uncompensated state acquisition. With Isiolo being a hub of the illicit small arms trade, guns have become a conflict
multiplier at every level.
The county is highly securitised with several specialised police units. However, they lack
capacity and their actions have tended to be either inadequate or overly reactive and
their relationship with communities is poor. As a result, day to day security of pastoralist
communities and their livestock relies on the rather informal and unprofessional
National Police Reserve, who are armed by the state, and community members, who
purchase their own arms through illicit markets. Politicians on occasion have also supplied arms and ammunition to communities. The Paper concludes that the various layers
of conflict should be considered and addressed simultaneously, and that development is
a new and potent factor in conflict at both political and community levels. A careful,
inclusive conflict-sensitive approach to development is essential, but this is unlikely to
happen if leaders look for personal power and gain.

The support provided to people in protracted displacement by development actors needs to be based on a thorough understanding of their existing livelihood strategies since these are an expression of their agency and encompass capabilities, (socio-cultural) preferences and networks as well as the needs and obstacles they face. These, together with the skills and expertise of members of the target group, need to be carefully documented and analysed through participatory methods before the start of any project or programme. People in protracted displacement pursue their livelihood strategies in and through complex social interactions, which are a crucial formative condition of their livelihood options. The delicate balance of social relations, especially in displacement contexts, can easily be off-set by external factors including development projects, for example if these are perceived to benefit some people more than others. Development interventions should, therefore, consider the social but also the generally relevant context to achieve a lasting effect and to prevent unintended harmful effects. Participation and ownership by well-trusted local partners as well as participation by the target groups are both vital to ensure a sustainable impact of the project. Not only state actors (both on national and sub-national levels), but also civilian non-state actors should be considered as implementing partners. Training, capacity-building and inclusion, i.e. consulting or employing people and institutions that will take over the work started by the project should be prioritised from the very beginning.