Refugees

Lebanon
commentary
Addressing Lebanon's Ailments, Acute and Chronic
Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_, Louay Constant @LouayConstant
Sep 1, 2020
RealClearWorld
The recent explosion in Beirut has again led to calls for political and economic reforms in Lebanon. The country has an economy in crisis, corruption, few job opportunities, and an influx of 1.5 million Syrian refugees. Sustained global investment is needed if Lebanon is to recover over the long run.
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Syria
commentary
With Rollout of Caesar Sanctions on Syria, U.S. Is Just Getting Started in New Bid to End War
Howard J. Shatz @HowardJShatz
Jul 22, 2020
RealClearDefense
In June, the U.S. government announced the implementation of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act with a flurry of sanctions against 39 people and entities connected with the Assad regime. There is much more to come. Syria, and Russia and Iran, have not yet felt the Caesar Act in full force.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
blog
What Happens When States Reopen, Truth Decay, Telemedicine: RAND Weekly Recap
May 22, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on the health and economic consequences of states reopening, the dangers of Truth Decay during the coronavirus crisis, helping refugees, and more.
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Refugees
commentary
How to Help Refugees and Host Countries Combat COVID-19
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson, Gary Edson
May 18, 2020
The National Interest
Having escaped conflict and persecution, refugees now risk illness and death from COVID-19. That risk is heightened by a policy regime that focuses largely on refugees in camps, not the almost two-thirds who live in urban areas. But the crisis could provide an opportunity to reform a broken system for the benefit of refugees and host countries alike.
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Displaced Persons
essay
The Right Technology Can Help Refugees Stay Connected
Mar 11, 2020
Nearly 71 million people globally are displaced by conflict and persecution. There have been some real advances in technology to help them, but innovations have often been fragmented, without a larger vision. A more strategic approach to technology could better serve their needs.
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Artificial Intelligence
blog
Artificial Intelligence, Refugees, Global Health Security: RAND Weekly Recap
Dec 20, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on the Pentagon's artificial intelligence strategy, technology's role in the refugee crisis, threats to global health security, and more.
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Refugees
commentary
Syrian Refugees Won't Be Going Home Any Time Soon
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson
Apr 19, 2019
The National Interest
Active fighting in Syria is dwindling. But Syria remains divided in a frozen conflict and empty peace, unstable and unlikely to attract the investment in reconstruction, public institutions, job creation, and local reconciliation efforts needed to motivate Syrians in large numbers to return home.
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Refugees
commentary
Economic Burden or Opportunity? How Syrian Refugees Can Contribute to Local Economies
Fadia Afashe, Louay Constant @LouayConstant
Mar 25, 2019
The SASA Post
The influx of refugees escaping the war in Syria has placed an enormous economic burden on the countries that host them. Despite the challenges, host countries have an opportunity to capitalize on the presence of refugees to grow their own economies for the mutual benefit of all.
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Afghanistan
blog
AI Bias, Opioids, Afghanistan: RAND Weekly Recap
Mar 15, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on the danger of artificial intelligence bias, infants with opioid withdrawal symptoms, peace talks in Afghanistan, and more.
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Refugees
commentary
Jobs Can Improve the Lives of Syrian Refugees and Their Host Communities—and Support Stability in the Middle East
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson, Krishna B. Kumar @kbkumar_
Mar 11, 2019
Foreign Policy
Host governments, international development agencies, and donor countries like the United States could take several steps to improve Syrian refugee employment. This would increase self-reliance among Syrian refugees and ease pressures on host communities.
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Counterterrorism
blog
Syrian Workers, Iranian Spies, Jihadi Brides: RAND Weekly Recap
Feb 22, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on jobs for Syrian refugees, Iran's efforts to spy on the United States, the complicated cases of jihadi brides, and more.
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Refugees
commentary
As Refugees, Syrian Women Find Liberation in Working
Louay Constant @LouayConstant, Shanthi Nataraj @ShanthiNataraj, Fadia Afashe
Feb 19, 2019
United Press International
Syrian refugee women in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan want opportunities to work. But there are multiple barriers and challenges that limit them. Improving the chances of safe and dignified work opportunities for Syrian women in these countries could yield broad positive social benefits for both the refugee and host communities.
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Refugees
commentary
Syrian Skills: A Missed Opportunity
Shanthi Nataraj @ShanthiNataraj, Louay Constant @LouayConstant
Feb 14, 2019
RealClearWorld
Syrian refugees in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon are finding ways to get by. But many refugees are not able to fully use their skills, and that is a lost opportunity both for the Syrians and the host countries.
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Refugees
commentary
For One Syrian Refugee, the Research Strikes Close to Home
Fadia Afashe
Dec 22, 2018
USA Today
Fadia Afashe came to the United States to study public policy in 2011, with every intention of eventually going home to Syria. But when her fellowship ended a year later, the possibility of returning home had vanished. She became a refugee success story, but a path for others is needed.
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Refugees
blog
Refugees, Brexit, Cannabis: RAND Weekly Recap
Dec 14, 2018
This weekly recap focuses on how Syrian refugees can contribute to local economies, prospects for Brexit, marijuana legalization, and more.
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Displaced Persons
commentary
Europe's Five Strategies for Coping with Migration Pressure
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson, Charles P. Ries @charles_ries
Dec 3, 2018
The National Interest
Migration will likely continue to be a long-term challenge for European politics, institutions, governments, and values. Even with a drop in numbers and the development of institutional capabilities to manage migration, the European Union still has important tasks ahead of it.
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Veterans Health Care
blog
Veterans, Infrastructure, Middle East: RAND Weekly Recap
Nov 9, 2018
This weekly recap focuses on the challenges facing veterans and their loved ones, a chance for bipartisan infrastructure policy, realignment in the Middle East, and more.
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Terrorism Threat Assessment
commentary
In Refugee Vetting, How Good Is Good Enough?
Ian Mitch @IanSMitch
Nov 1, 2018
The National Interest
A security policy that depends too heavily on vetting, and expects it to be foolproof, is likely to fall short. A better security standard the administration could consider is not whether vetting failures ever occur, but rather whether they pose an acceptable risk to the United States.
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Refugees
commentary
Europe's Great Challenge: Integrating Syrian Refugees
Ernesto F. L. Amaral, Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik, Gabriela Armenta
Apr 20, 2018
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Since March, 2011, close to 1 million Syrian refugees have requested asylum in European countries, with Germany being the primary destination. Social and economic policies to deal with the refugee crisis will require collaborative planning, monitoring, and assessment efforts to be successful.
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Domestic Violence
commentary
Tackling Gender-Based Violence Among Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Mar 22, 2018
The RAND Blog
Increased poverty and major shifts in traditional gender roles for Syrian refugees have worsened interpersonal tensions, increased the risk of domestic violence, and caused challenges for aid workers.
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Refugees
commentary
We Are Almost Dead: The Politics of Migrants and Refugees in an Unequal World
Jonathan S. Blake @JonathanSBlake
Feb 23, 2018
Los Angeles Review of Books
People move, and always have moved, in search of better lives for themselves and their children. Why else would someone leave everything behind and brave the seas? What else is worth the risk? Jonathan Blake discusses books that examine people's need for refuge.
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Refugees
commentary
How the U.S. Can Help Resolve the Rohingya Crisis
Jonah Blank, Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson
Jan 5, 2018
Foreign Affairs
By accepting responsibility for reintegrating the Rohingya refugees, Myanmar has provided an opening to prevent an epic tragedy. Will the United States and the international community take advantage of it?
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Political Reform Movements
q&a
The Post–Arab Spring Experience: Q&A with Shelly Culbertson
Aug 23, 2017
It's too early to say whether the Arab Spring will turn out to be a success or not. The Arab Spring was about people deciding what they did not want and rising up against it, but they hadn't worked out what they did want. Many of them still have hope.
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Peacekeeping and Stability Operations
commentary
Moving Beyond Mosul
Linda Robinson @RobinsonL100, Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson
Jul 18, 2017
U.S. News & World Report
The Islamic State group has been defeated in Mosul. But this military routing isn't enough to ensure lasting stability, either in Mosul or in Iraq more broadly. What comes next will require careful planning, diplomacy, implementation, and coordination.
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Refugees
commentary
How Innovation Can Assist the Refugee 'Pathway'
Jennie Corbett, Corinna Frey, Sonja Marjanovic @SonjaCambs
Jun 27, 2017
The RAND Blog
New ways to collaborate and coordinate humanitarian actions are needed so that refugees, host communities, and other stakeholders are empowered to create and spread innovative solutions. These efforts should consider the entire refugee pathway, not only emergency and arrival assistance.
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Migrants
essay
Migrant Crisis in the Mediterranean: What You Need to Know
May 2, 2017
The countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea are facing unprecedented stress. A former lieutenant with the Italian Navy is now a RAND researcher, working to help others appreciate the scope of the crisis.
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Domestic Terrorism
commentary
Why a Travel Restriction Won't Stop Terrorism at Home
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Feb 10, 2017
The Hill
It's not unreasonable to seek a review of immigration, and refugee-vetting procedures make sense. But America's jihadist terrorists are not imported from abroad. They are mostly homegrown.
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Iraq
commentary
Stabilizing Mosul After the Battle Against ISIS
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson, Linda Robinson @RobinsonL100
Feb 9, 2017
Newsweek
U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have retaken the east bank of Mosul and are planning to take the west soon. The military operations that oust ISIS are crucial to the city's liberation but failing to get the civilian response right risks a widening civil war.
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United States
essay
Election 2016: The International Issues
Oct 7, 2016
America's next president will face challenges that test the fundamentals of world order. RAND experts have outlined key decisions, the dangers involved, and the least-bad options that now often pass for good ones.
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Refugees
commentary
The Precarious State of Syrian Refugee Women, Children in Lebanon
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Sep 13, 2016
The RAND Blog
The gendered impact of political conflict on women and children has been well documented in other conflicts. But much less is known about the effect of the Syrian civil war on displaced women and children.
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Refugees
commentary
A Different Kind of Refugee Crisis
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson
May 16, 2016
U.S. News & World Report
In Jordan and Lebanon, middle-income countries with robust public sectors where a significant Syrian population may be present for years to come, solutions should be more about supporting the expansion of existing national public services, rather than creating new, internationally run parallel services.
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Refugees
commentary
Solutions for Educating Young Syrian Refugees
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson
Apr 21, 2016
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees are school-age children. They face a slew of struggles, not the least of which is the lack of education that they need to move forward in life. What can be done to improve the access to and quality of refugee education?
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Data Science
commentary
Tracking Refugees with Biometrics: More Questions Than Answers
Sarah Soliman @BiometricsNerd
Mar 9, 2016
War on the Rocks
Using biometrics in refugee crises is compelling because it gives individuals who have nothing proof of identity even without a government-issued credential like an ID card or passport. But who has rights to the U.N. biometrics database and what is its future?
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Refugees
commentary
Battered by War, Syrian Refugee Kids Need to Be Taught
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson, Louay Constant @LouayConstant
Jan 15, 2016
Newsweek
More than 700,000 Syrian refugee children are not receiving formal education. Host countries are struggling to create enough spaces to accommodate them in schools, and there are no formal programs to teach children who have missed years of instruction.
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United States
blog
State of the Union 2016: Insights on Obama's Last Address
Jan 13, 2016
RAND research, analysis, and expertise provide context for many of the issues discussed in President Barack Obama's final State of the Union address, including the threat of ISIS, global climate change, and bringing peace to Syria.
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Refugees
commentary
To Undermine ISIS, We Should Welcome Syrian Refugees
Kim Cragin, Ben Connable
Dec 3, 2015
Newsweek
Demonstrating American goodwill to Syrian refugees is the best way to help defeat ISIS and rehabilitate America's image in the chaotic Middle East.
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Refugees
commentary
France Is Right to Stay the Course
Stephanie Pezard @StephaniePezard
Nov 25, 2015
U.S. News & World Report
President Hollande announced that 30,000 Syrian refugees would be welcomed in France, honoring the commitment France made to its European partners before the Paris attacks. Altering its policy would only give the terrorists what they want.
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France
commentary
Insights on the Paris Terror Attacks from RAND Experts
Nov 17, 2015
RAND experts weigh in on what the wave of coordinated terror attacks across Paris means for France, the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, the global refugee crisis, and more.
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Syria
commentary
Five Options for the U.S. in Syria
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Oct 21, 2015
The Hill
How should the United States respond to Russia's intervention in Syria's civil war? Here are five options intended to encourage rational thinking based upon realistic presumptions, not media or campaign-driven hype.
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Refugees
commentary
Will Today's Refugees Become the 'New Palestinians'?
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Oct 9, 2015
The Hill
The conflicts in Syria and Iraq have generated the greatest volume of refugees since World War II. If the international community is to avoid seeing the emergence of a population of new Palestinians lasting decades into the future, it will have to craft a more coherent approach.
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The Islamic State (Terrorist Organization)
commentary
Any Review of Syria and Iraq Strategy Needs Realistic Reappraisal
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Sep 28, 2015
The Hill
Since the American-led coalition bombing campaign began a year ago, ISIS has suffered some military setbacks and lost territory, but it also has been able to capture several more key cities in Iraq and Syria, and, despite the bombing, continues to attract a large number of foreign fighters.
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Refugees
q&a
Syrian Refugees: All You Need to Know
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson
Sep 17, 2015
Newsweek
The world can only absorb so many millions of refugees. The civil war in Syria demands a political solution facilitated by international leadership that will bring stability and enable refugees to return to home.
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Refugees
commentary
Putting a Human Face on the Refugee Crisis
Obaid Younossi
Sep 15, 2015
Fox News Channel
By welcoming and accepting refugees, the West can send their oppressors a message about what it means to be a free democratic society.
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Refugees
commentary
Help Syria Avoid a 'Lost Generation'
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson, Tom Ling, Marie-Louise Henham, Jennie Corbett
Jul 17, 2015
U.S. News & World Report
Young Syrian refugees are brimming with potential, but lack the educational and livelihood pathways through which to channel their energy and aspirations. As the international community looks for ways to end the violence in the region, it must not overlook the plight or the potential of these children.
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Maternal Health
commentary
Family Planning Must Be Part of the Humanitarian Response in Africa's Conflict Zones
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Jul 1, 2015
The RAND Blog
Worldwide, nearly 800 women die every day due to mostly preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. More than half of these deaths occur in fragile states torn by armed conflict and generalized violence.
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Migrants
q&a
How to Solve the Mediterranean's Migrant Crisis
Giacomo Persi Paoli
May 28, 2015
The RAND Blog
Destroying smugglers' vessels could contribute to reducing illegal migration and impact the business model that makes smuggling so profitable. But it won't stop smuggling altogether.
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Migrants
commentary
What Does It Take to Rescue Migrants at Sea?
Giacomo Persi Paoli
Apr 23, 2015
The RAND Blog
European Union leaders gathered today for an emergency summit to discuss a concerted response to the humanitarian disaster unfolding in the Mediterranean Sea. As a former officer serving aboard an Italian Navy warship deployed in Operation Mare Nostrum in November 2013, Giacomo Persi Paoli is well aware of the challenges.
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Refugees
commentary
Syrian Refugees: A Blessing in Disguise?
Dalia Dassa Kaye
Feb 2, 2015
The National Interest
To avoid further resentment and restrictions on Syrians desperate to escape their war-torn country, as well as the instability such attitudes generate, the international community must work with host governments to increase and highlight the benefits refugee populations can bring to neighboring states.
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Refugees
commentary
Syria's Simmering Crisis
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson
Jan 21, 2015
CNN
At least half of Syrian refugee children aren't in school. Those who are face risks to the quality of education they receive, a risk they share with host-country children. But by making long-term investments, the international community can help ensure education isn't another casualty of the war.
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Developing Countries
commentary
The Health Needs of Syrian Women in and Around the Za'atari Refugee Camp
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Oct 13, 2014
The RAND Blog
The Syrian conflict, now in its fourth year, has been the main contributor to the largest refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide—and the problem can be expected to get worse as the fighting continues.
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Middle East
commentary
Iraqi Refugee Challenge
Kristen Cordell
Jun 28, 2007
United Press International
Iraqi Refugee Challenge, in United Press International.
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