ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the terms ‘refugee’ and ‘internally displaced persons’ as defined by the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees, the UN’s ‘Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement’ respectively. The majority of refugees are hosted by developing countries, which have themselves often been affected by conflict and therefore struggle to carry the additional economic burden associated with rapid and large refugee influxes. Pakistan and Iran host significant numbers of refugees from the long-running conflict in Afghanistan, while Sudan and Uganda are the primary hosts of refugees fleeing violence in neighbouring South Sudan. The empirical evidence about decision-making is still limited, however, and research on the effects of exposure to violence on the decision to flee is still at a preliminary stage. Strategic displacement is sometimes used in areas where the electoral loyalties of the local population threaten the territorial control of the state or armed groups.
