The chapter is a contribution to an edited collection being prepared by the 12 IDRC Research Chairs on Forced Displacement to articulate the differentiated contribution of knowledge originating from contexts most affected by displacement, especially in the Global South.

In their chapter, the authors explore how the role of regional organizations and regional processes, while historically marginalized in the literature on the politics of the global refugee regime, have been important sites of articulating progressive principles in recent years.

Their analysis focuses specifically on the 2024 Chile Declaration resulting from the Cartagena +40 process and the IGAD Ministerial Communique of December 2025. Contrary to the notion that major refugee-hosting states would subscribe to the priorities of major donor states as a means of securing external support, the chapter outlines how regional processes have produce positions more progressive than current paradigms would anticipate. Therefore, the authors argue that the marginalization of regional processes in the literature reflects Chimni’s 1998 argument about the geopolitics of refugee studies and the political economy of knowledge production.

The presentation was followed by a lively discussion on the conceptual and empirical implications of the argument presented in the chapter.

Stay tuned for further updates on the publication of the edited collection!

]]> /lerrn/2023/a-model-of-blended-familystepfamily-formation-in-ethiopia-a-constructivist-grounded-theory/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-model-of-blended-familystepfamily-formation-in-ethiopia-a-constructivist-grounded-theory Wed, 20 Dec 2023 13:41:59 +0000 /lerrn/?p=8010 A new article by Kumneger Fikre and Abebaw Minaye was published in the African Journal of Social Work Vol. 13 No. 6 2023.

ABSTRACT
This study aimed at developing a model that describes and explains blended family formation in Ethiopia. It is part of an ongoing dissertation entitled “Family functioning experiences of blended families in Ethiopia.” We employed constructivist grounded theory both as a method and result of inquiry. This theory states that knowledge is constructed out of the dynamic interaction between the researcher, participants, and the context. Accordingly, we were informed by the guiding principles, data organization and analytical tools the theory provides. We interviewed fourteen participants drawn from seven families. We developed a model that depicted the major contributing factors to blend, and the procedures partners use to form their families in the context of Ethiopia. The study identified the state partners were in, categorized as problem state and aspiration state, before blending as contributing factors. Problem state refers to the challenging situation partners were in due to several factors. Aspiration state refers to the situation of partners who were seeking for a marriage partner for the betterment of their life. The result also showed partners’ decision and action of blending were influenced by community and family members involvement. We discussed the results in light of the Ubuntu philosophy, the Ukama and the Ujamaa African theories. Finally, we provided recommendations that  would give insight to enhance the quality of blended family formation in Ethiopia.

Abstract:

Abstracts:

FR: La pratique professionnelle des travailleurs sociaux auprès des populations migrantes expose ces professionnels à des dilemmes majeurs relevant de différents registres. Au Liban, la question des liens interculturels pacifiques entre la population hôte et les déplacés syriens se situe au cœur des préoccupations. Pris dans cette dynamique, les travailleurs sociaux libanais se retrouvent parfois confrontés à leurs propres biais et incertitudes. Ces dilemmes nous ont incité à inviter certains d’entre eux qui travaillent dans ce contexte à faire un retour réflexif sur leurs rapports à cette altérité. Des enjeux profonds issus de cette réflexion interpellent foncièrement la formation.

EN: Lebanese social workers put to the test of history and otherness

Together, we acknowledge the deeply interconnected and interdependent nature of the nexus between climate change and forced displacement. Building on existing Global South agreements, tools, fora and knowledge; Adopting and endorsing the conclusions of the Global South Summit on Climate Displacement, held by the research chair at Mohammad VI Polytechnic University in Rabat from 1-3 November 2023; Seeking to draw on best practices from the Global South, we urge governments, international organizations and the international community to commit to:

1. Ensure that responses to climate and environmental displacement are localized, situational and country specific;
2. Encourage the comprehensive management of environmental displacement policies including the governance of natural resources, disaster response, migration and forced displacement;
3. Integrate local perspectives (refugees, host communities, migrants, displaced and stateless persons) at every level and stage of national adaptation and mitigation policymaking;
4. Centre decolonial and indigenous knowledge and practices in climate displacement and environmental policy (including natural resource and land use), and place indigenous expertise at the forefront of climate solutions.
5. Integrate considerations of race, gender, and diverse identity intersections with climate change and displacement;
6. Foster a positive narrative around climate displaced persons and host communities;
7. Promote collaboration and mechanisms for partnership among State actors, civil society, private sector and impacted individuals;
8. Capitalize on regional integration mechanisms to encourage regional solutions;
9. Promote South-South platforms on climate displacement at national, regional, and global levels for learning, coordination, and best practices;
10. Ensure that research, data and statistics on the nexus between climate and displacement are publicly available, and incorporate climate change impact analyses in all research and publications.

IDRC Chairs:

1. Fouad M. Fouad, Faculty of Health and Sciences, The American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanon
2. Houwayda Matta Bou Ramia, Lebanese School of Social Work, Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth (USJ), Lebanon
3. Abebaw Minaye, College of Education and Behavioural Studies, The Addis Ababa University (AAU), Ethiopia
4. Opportuna Kweka, Department of Geography, The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Tanzania
5. Hiram Angel, Departamento de PolĂ­ticas PĂşblicas, Universidad de Guadalajara (UdeG), Mexico
6. Luisa Feline Freier, Associate Professor of Political Science, Universidad del PacĂ­fico, Peru
7. Nyi Nyi Kyaw, Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Thailand
8. Paula Banerjee, Gender and Development Studies, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand
9. Mary B. Setrana, Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
10. Amal El Ouassif, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Rabat, Morocco (interim chair)
11. Alain Tiga Ouedraogo, Chaire de Recherche sur les Déplacements Forcés en Afrique de l’Ouest, Université Joseph KI-ZERBO, Burkina Faso
12. Desiree del Rosario, Centro de Estudios de Género del Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (CEG-INTEC), Cátedra Sergio Vieira de Mello in República Dominicana (UNHCR de Mello Chair); Climate Change Chair

The research chairs network is supported by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of IDRC or its Board of Governors.

IDRC recently launched a network of research chairs based in 12 universities across three continents. will strengthen the institutional base of knowledge production locally by developing context-relevant knowledge that enables more effective, sustainable and rights-based solutions to forced displacement challenges. The establishment of these research chairs illustrates the IDRC approach to localize knowledge production.

Knowledge localization is an essential element to address the scale and complexity of forced displacement. The that the number of forcibly displaced people — including refugees, internally displaced, stateless, economic and climate-change migrants — has doubled in a decade. Yet while the vast majority of the forcibly displaced reside in the Global South, the bulk of research, knowledge and capacity to identify evidence-based solutions is produced in the Global North.

The article was written by Roula El-Rifai, Senior program specialist, IDRC.

, Inclusion and Human Rights (MIFID Chair) arises from a financial grant awarded by the International Development Research Center (IDRC) of the government of Canada starting in March 2022. The The support received by the University of Guadalajara from the IDRC is part of that organization’s global project entitled: “Strengthening knowledge, use of evidence and leadership in the Global South on forced displacement: Mexico and Central America.”

The IDRC Forced Displacement Research Chairs network project is supported by the Local Refugee Research Network (LERRN) and is made up of 12 research chairs located in universities in Africa, South America and Central America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The headquarters of the network is ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University in Canada and it is a project with a minimum duration of 5 years.

The objective of forming an international network is to ensure that participating universities share the results of research carried out at the national, regional and/or local level, encourage collaboration in research and amplify the results of the findings achieved, thereby hopes that the construction of Research Networks in the Global South will allow us to have new perspectives and points of reference to reflect on human mobilities, forced migration, inclusion and the rights of migrants in the world and can influence the development of public policies more appropriate to local realities.

Abstract