Currently viewing the tag: "migration"

This interview is part of a series, speaking with researchers whose previous work has been on international issues and who are now focusing on issues within the United States. Karen Jacobsen is the Henry J. Leir Professor in Global Migration at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the Friedman School of Nutrition, […]

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Cliffnotes on Fleeing Mass Starvation: What we (don’t) know about the famine-migration nexus

Famine is a demon of history; international migration is the new calamity. That’s the quick and dirty way to sum up the general unstated understanding of the two phenomena. Of course, for those of us who claim even a serious preliminary […]

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The synopsis taught in Irish schools of the demographic impact of the Great Hunger that devastated Ireland from 1845-52 is as follows: 1 million dead, 2 million emigrants. Is it a general rule that famines generate mass migration or was Ireland the exception? Remarkably, despite long-standing demographic research into famine and intensive current interest in migration, there is no definitive answer. But there is urgent policy interest in the link between mass starvation and migration. This article examines the causes and migration patterns of episodes of mass starvation from the 19th century onward and demonstrates the critical need for deeper research on the linkages between famine and migration. Among the unanswered questions: Does migration mitigate starvation or worsen it? Does it precede or follow famine? And how?

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In an article published on September 20, 2018 by The Economist, “Why Europe should focus on its growing interdependence with Africa,” WPF’s Alex de Waal discusses the shared space of the Mediterranean, between Europe and Africa. The full article is available on their website; below is an excerpt.

The scramble for Europe

There […]

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Based on research conducted while studying at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Batul Sadliwala critiques prevailing narratives surrounding migration to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), especially their reliance on analyses of exclusive citizenship policies and the kafala system. Her findings based on a case study of employee interactions at a Kuwaiti construction firm suggest that GCC residents relate to one another through “nonexploitative […]

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Indisputably, these developments constitute a crucial aspect of Riyadh’s broader national reform agenda, as led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Within the wider regional context of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), they mark the long overdue acceleration of a trend towards improving citizen women’s participation in the economy and public life. Yet, improvement in the lives of half of the region’s citizens cannot be understood if we ignore the demographic reality that roughly 49 percent of GCC residents are foreign nationals, at least a third of whom are noncitizen women.[1] An important question is whether state policies aimed ostensibly at women’s empowerment represent an exercise in national inclusion or nationalist retreat? The answer is, “Both.”

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