BCARS Reports
BCARS commissions academic and policy reports to share with our networks in an effort to influence policymaking and expand knowledge on the Arab Region around the world. Researched and published in collaboration with our partner institutions and Scholar Network these reports explore a variety of issues, from migration to human and civil rights.
Undocumented in Lebanon: Gendered Challenges and Coping Strategies of Stateless Persons and Refugees in Tripoli
August 2020: In Lebanon, the experiences of statelessness manifest in a variety of ways and present different challenges for the country’s diverse populations. This report focuses specifically on Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city. Emerging from 40 years of conflict, Tripoli is characterized by extreme poverty, marginalization by the state, political sectarianism, and the presence of a growing number of refugees.​
Security for Whom? Europe in an Era of Forced Migration
February 2019: The political effects of refugee flows from the Middle East present the EU with a wide range of challenges, including those related to border security, information sharing, and intelligence. At the same time, refugees coming to the EU face immediate human security challenges as well as numerous obstacles to social cohesion and economic integration. Opportunities for EU policymakers to analyze what has worked in the Middle East and apply those strategies to relevant locations in Europe exist. Identifying these precise challenges and new approaches to addressing them in the European context serves as the driving force behind our thinking and recommendations.
Methods Handbook
May 2017: This document summarizes the proceedings of a 3 May 2017 workshop held at Northeastern University in Boston that featured discussions led by a core group of research academics and practitioners from the Forced Migration Researchers Consortium. It is designed as a reference guide for researchers planning field projects. The guide aims to identify potential challenges, consider important ethical, methodological, and practical questions, while offering some best practices based on the collective experiences of the workshop’s participants.
Trapped in Transit: The Evolving Syrian Refugee Policy Crisis in Greece
May 2017: To better understand the complex and evolving refugee challenge in Greece, BCARS researchers conducted extensive interviews with experts in Greece including aid workers, police, government workers, lawyers, and policy advisors. BCARS researchers also conducted interviews and surveys with refugees in three Greek locations: Athens, Thessaloniki, and Lesbos, in thirteen refugee sites in Greece along a spectrum of conditions from rented, five-star hotel spaces on Mitolini to informal camp settlements in the industrial brownfields of Athens to child safe spaces outside Thessaloniki.
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Syrian "Guests" in Jordan: Family Ties, Strained Relations and Recommendations for Mutual Development
March 2017: BCARS has hosted numerous workshops on the Syrian refugee crisis, including two in Boston (October 2014 and April 2015) and several in Amman (May 2015, March 2016, May 2016, and January 2017). These workshops have included policy experts, Jordanian government workers, security professionals, international and local aid workers, and the hosts and refugees themselves. This policy paper draws upon five years of experience examining Jordan’s Syrian refugee challenge and presents recommendations for policymakers and practitioners.​
The Work Permit Initiative for Syrian Refugees in Jordan: Implications for Policy and Practice
February 2017: ​This report provides a critical overview and analysis of the implementation of the work permit initiative for Syrian refugees in Jordan. It is targeted to practitioners who are implementing livelihood and related programming for Syrian refugees in Jordan following the February 2016 Supporting Syria and the Region donor conference in London. It is also intended for the general public, particularly in academic and policymaking fields, who are interested in livelihood programming and work permit initiatives for refugees.
Opportunities Along the Balkan Route: Policy Proposals for Modernizing the Response to Forced Migration
November 2016: In July, the Boston Consortium for Arab Region Studies (BCARS) and the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) convened a workshop on the Syrian refugee crisis in the Balkans. Meeting in Belgrade, participants highlighted and analyzed the main characteristics of refugee flows and identified policy recommendations at local, national, and regional levels.​
Sustainable Solutions for EU Asylum and Integration Policies: A Coherent, Forward-Looking, Human Rights Centered EU Approach for Displaced Syrians (and beyond)
May 2016: In May, a group of scholars from the Boston Consortium for Arab Region Studies (BCARS), the University of Maastricht, and the University of Kent’s Brussels School of International Studies met with policy experts, EU officials, and practitioners from international NGOs to discuss the EU dimension and impact of the Syrian refugee crisis.​
Moving Toward Dignity: Human-Centered Approaches for Displaced Syrians in Turkey, Jordan, and Beyond
April 2016: In March, scholars from the Boston Consortium for Arab Region Studies (BCARS) and Koç University’s Migration Research Center (MiReKoç) met with policy experts, Turkish government officials, international NGO representatives, and program implementers to discuss the impacts of migrant flows on human development.​
Trapped in Transit: The Evolving Syrian Refugee Policy Crisis in Greece
May 2017 - To better understand the complex and evolving refugee challenge in Greece, BCARS researchers conducted extensive interviews with experts in Greece including aid workers, police, government workers, lawyers, and policy advisors. BCARS researchers also conducted interviews and surveys with refugees in three Greek locations: Athens, Thessaloniki, and Lesbos, in thirteen refugee sites in Greece along a spectrum of conditions from rented, five-star hotel spaces on Mitolini to informal camp settlements in the industrial brownfields of Athens to child safe spaces outside Thessaloniki.
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