ABSTRACT
This study set out to accomplish four main tasks relevant in the conflict-refugee
nexus in the Horn of Africa. These were (1) to explain the intractability of the various
conflicts, which made each country in the region a refugee origin and host country
at the same time; (2) to examine the nature of the decision-making of the various
actors during refugee flight, exile, and repatriation; (3) to explore the possible links
between the dynamics of refugee flight, the structure of settlements in exile, and
the dynamics of refugee repatriation; and (4) to advance a general proposition that
would potentially help in the formulation of policies for effective and successful
repatriations. These issues can only be explored fully if conflicts and the refugee
experience-flight to asylum, settlement in exile, and repatriation back home-are
studied longitudinally.
