LIST OF PANELS

This panel proposal is based on the premise that while refugee policy is an area of avid activity, it has largely been overlooked by scholarship. Over the past decades, refugee studies as a field has not developed a systematic way of engaging with the study of refugee policy. Further, while the field of policy science has tools and frameworks to inform this line of inquiry, its engagement with refugee studies has so far been minimal.

A review of the literature reveals that the scholarly work on forced migration in the past decade can be categorized into two broad categories. The first category includes works that are non-policy focused. They generally take a bottom up perspective by examining issues such as refugee livelihoods, coping mechanisms, and others (ex. Baines and Gauvin, 2014; Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, 2011; Whyte et al, 2012; Ruiz et al, 2015; Rasmussen and Annan, 2009). On the other hand, the second category includes works that are policy centric. They take a top down approach by addressing state policy issues. Most of the work on forced migration, in fact, falls within the scope of the first category, where less attention has been given to the state policy perspective (El-Taliawi, 2018).

Therefore, this panel aims to bridge the gap between the two fields by proposing a research agenda that engages with refugee policy and for it to be examined using relevant policy theory tools and frameworks. This is especially relevant, because while the field of refugee studies has traditionally drawn upon various disciplines, it has rarely made use of policy science frameworks and tools to inform its analysis. The use of such analytical tools can help build a more nuanced understanding of refugee and asylum policymaking.

This panel is organized by the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN), Carleton University.

References:

Baines, E., & Gauvin, L. R. (2014). Motherhood and social repair after war and displacement in Northern Uganda. Journal of Refugee Studies, feu001.

El-Taliawi, Ola G. (2018). Governance of Mass Displacement in the Middle East: Lebanon and Jordan in Comparative Perspective. National University of Singapore. Doctoral Dissertation.

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. (2011). The pragmatics of performance: Putting ‘faith’ in aid in the Sahrawi refugee camps. Journal of refugee studies, 24(3), 533-547.

Whyte, S. R., Babiiha, S. M., Mukyala, R., & Meinert, L. (2012). Remaining internally displaced: Missing links to security in Northern Uganda. Journal of Refugee Studies, fes040.

Ruiz, I., Siegel, M., & Vargas-Silva, C. (2015a). Forced Up or Down? The Impact of Forced Migration on Social Status. Journal of Refugee Studies, feu035.

Rasmussen, A., & Annan, J. (2009). Predicting stress related to basic needs and safety in Darfur refugee camps: A structural and social ecological analysis. Journal of refugee studies, fep044.

This panel calls for advancing the study of refugee policy and bridging the gap between refugee studies and public policy by discussing how policy science tools and frameworks can contribute to the study of refugee policy. We are interested in contributions that specifically reflect on following key topics:

- Frameworks and tools for the study of the refugee policy process, including the policy cycle stages.  

- Case studies that contribute a diversity of regional perspectives from both the Global South and Global North.

- Refugee thematic issues, including protracted displacement, local integration and durable solutions, economic integration, policy responses to mass displacement, role of policy legacies, norms and the international refugee regime on domestic policymaking, and the influence of policy subsystem structures and capacity on policy choices and outcomes.

- The role of actors in the refugee policy process, including UNHCR, NGOs, sub-state government actors, refugee-led organizations, the private sector, faith organizations, and other members of civil society

We especially welcome contributions from scholars in the Global South. Please submit an abstract of 250 words maximum to the panel chairs outlining the topic, research question(s), hypotheses, framework, method, and results (if available).

About the organizer: LERRN is a partnership of researchers and practitioners committed to promoting protection and solutions with and for refugees. Its goal is to ensure that refugee research, policy and practice are shaped by a more inclusive, equitable and informed collective engagement of civil society. Through collaborative research, training, and knowledge-sharing, LERRN aims to improve the functioning of the global refugee regime and ensure more timely protection and rights-based solutions for refugees.