Researching Refugees and Forced Migration in the Eastern/Horn of Africa

Refugees, forced migration and human displacement is growing across the globe and increasingly a growing body of scholarly literature has tried to capture the most important implications of this disturbing trend. Similarly, studies in Eastern and Horn of Africa have dramatically increased as a result of the complex and dynamic nature of displacement. While this is the case, researching refugees and forced migration remains challenging as evidenced in historical, political, policy, sociological and anthropological studies. A systematic categorization of this academic literature focusing on the region is however lacking. This paper traces the evolution of refugees and forced migration, identifies the issues and trends, the dominant conceptualizations, policy responses and uncovers the gaps which form suggestions for future studies.