Time of conflicts / time of migration: Reflections on the categories and genealogy of migration in the Middle East – LAJEH

The innovation of this project’s methodology lies in the diachronic analysis based on a cross-disciplinary approach (comprising geographers, anthropologists, historians, sociologists, architects). It also lies in the combination of data collection (state of the art) and the production of original ethnographic material through fieldwork. The team will develop standard and innovative analytical methods combining policy analysis, ethnographic material and archive collection, photographic and map production.

Many fieldworks have been funded to generate new knowledge and strengthen links between partners. One of the originalities of this program was to set up collective and shared fieldworks in order to allow the best possible exchange of empirical knowledge and scientific questions while promoting multidisciplinary approaches (historians, anthropologists, geographers, sociologists, architects, political scientists). These fieldworks were held in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Europe. This program resulted in two international symposia in Amman (Jordan) and Beirut (Lebanon), during which four public roundtables were held and an exhibition on the architecture of refugee camps was presented to a wide audience. . The research blog has also been regularly updated to present field results coupled with HAL and MediHAL submission.

The last months of our program will be devoted to the following actions:
1. Publication of results (articles, journal issues, collective book). The June 2018 Beirut conference helped define the publication strategy.
2. International conference in Aix-Marseille in March 2019
3. Valorization of our results by organizing seminars in France, Spain (WOCMES Panel in Seville in July 2018) and the Middle East.

- Research blog
- Articles in scientific journals
- Book chapters
- Scientific presentation
- Photographic database

The aim of LAJEH (refugee in Arabic) is to deepen knowledge on forced migration in the Middle East, analysing current refugee flows in their historical and regional contexts. Through a cross-disciplinary and empirically-driven approach, it analyses the implications of forced migrations on the host countries and the latter’s response. This research project will focus not only on registered refugees but also on the wide range of displaced and migrant groups affected by conflicts and their consequences. Three interrelated fields of research are investigated: forced migrants’ terms of integration in the host country economy; the establishment of migrants’ solidarity networks at local, national and regional levels; and the impacts of forced migrants on the host country’s political fabric. Continued political crises and conflicts are still generating large flows of migrants. The Middle East is now hosting one of the largest refugee populations in the world (Palestinians, Syrians and Iraqis), while most of the host countries (except Turkey) are not signatories of the Geneva Convention of 1951. The Middle East is characterized by a strong and ancient human mobility as a result of regional economic disparities and conflicts. Migration appears as a key element in understanding the changes in the socio-political organization of this region. With more than 20 million migrant workers—a quarter of the total migrants in developing countries—the Middle East is one of the main regions of emigration and immigration in the world. In addition, Jordan and Lebanon today, for instance, host a Syrian refugee population that accounts for 10% and 25% of their total population respectively. Traditionally known as emigration countries, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey have thus also become settlement and transit spaces for economic and forced migrants. Migrations are triggered by regional and state opportunities and constraints; but they are also fashioned by the migrants’ own coping strategies, aspirations and possible assets in the form of available migratory networks set up on local and familial bases. Contemporary economic migrations and refugee movements can thus only be understood in the light of two correlated contexts: the dynamics of high mobility processes involving cross-border migration, and the existence of well-established transnational networks crystallized around more or less structured Diasporas.
The impact of mass migration on Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey will be analysed at different scales. Most available studies have tackled the macro effects of mass migration on host societies (labour market, infrastructures, public services, etc.). While taking into account these large scale effects, this research programme will rather focus on local effects of migration in cities, villages and border areas, and more specifically on spaces with a mixed population. This approach will first allow us to analyse how national policies are locally implemented; second, to examine possible differences in the coping strategies adopted by indigenous and previous migrants communities to new forced migration flows. Three interconnected fields of research will be tackled: 1. local economies and settlement, 2. solidarity networks and 3. local and national political systems.