Migration & conflict

The social, political and economic impact of todays mixed-migration flows - consisting of refugees, long-term economic migrants, and short-term circular labour migration - affects all migration routes across Americas, Sub-Saharan and North Africa, the Middle East and Europe. The increasing flows have prompted a series of policy responses, mainly by countries of destination, aimed at minimising the – real or perceived - negative impact of migration. Most of these responses seem to be designed to ensure rapid containment, addressing mainly the immediate impact of migration in the countries of destination rather than appreciating the effect that mixed migration has on countries of transit and origin, leaving unaddressed key drivers of migration or even exacerbating short- and long-term conflict potential along the migratory routes. This research programme focuses on understanding the drivers of migration, and the effect that contemporary migration policies (with a specific focus on EU policies) have on the stability of countries where the migration originates and through which it transits (with a specific focus on the Sahel, Horn of Africa and Levant).

Our research and training work regarding the living conditions of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is funded by the Nationale Postcode Loterij as part of the Surviving2Thriving project. Within this project the Clingendael Institute looked at the protection in the region agenda in Lebanon in order to identify approaches that could be implemented by the key stakeholders: donors, aid agencies and national actors – in order to improve the quality of asylum in the country.