Every day, families around the world are forced to flee their homes. Some become refugees in another country, others migrate to escape back-breaking poverty and yet more search for safety and a better life without crossing any borders. Regardless of where they end up, all of them expect to be treated with dignity and respect by their host countries. But this isn’t always the case. Refugee numbers are at a twenty-year high, with most coming from protracted civil wars in Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. And almost half of the world’s displaced people are internally displaced persons (IDPs), who lack legal status or access to many forms of aid.
Conflict and war are the most common causes of displacement, but other factors also contribute. Poverty, gang violence, natural disasters and environmental degradation can all lead to internal displacement. And climate change, with its slow onset but potentially profound impact on hunger, water availability, drought and rising sea levels, can cause displacement across international frontiers.
In addition, the way in which refugees are treated and the conditions of their exile influence the likelihood of destabilization in their country of asylum. For example, when Western states treat refugees as political pawns in negotiations with refugee-sending and -hosting states or when refugees alter demographic balances related to their home-state internal conflict, the risks of instability and violence increase. But analyzing refugee crises in their historical context can help policy-makers predict potential destabilization and target resources more effectively.