Advancing Human Security
The Henry J. Leir Institute maintains a rich, multi-disciplinary and policy-oriented research agenda, drawing on the key disciplines of law, the social sciences and history, as well as conflict resolution and gender studies.
Our current research platform includes the following projects:
Corruption, Justice and Legitimacy Program
The Corruption, Justice and Legitimacy Program (CJL) is a research-to-practice initiative committed to improving the effectiveness of anti-corruption programming in contexts of endemic corruption.
The Journeys Project features the long-distance journeys of dispossessed people — refugees, migrants and asylum seekers who have traveled far to escape persecution and grinding poverty. We examine their stories though a financial lens to better understand the costs and strategies involved in their journeys as well as the economic approaches they use when putting down roots in new surroundings.
Waylaid in Tijuana explores how immigration policies adopted in Washington, DC reverberate just south of the border in Tijuana, Mexico. It features migration experts, government officials, and migrant advocates from the Tijuana/San Diego region who grapple with the consequences of these policies on a daily basis. But its main characters are the migrants themselves, whose stories are often heartbreaking while also being a testament to the human spirit.