Between civil war and integration—Refugees and the challenges and opportunities of societal change in North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), with its strong urbanization, cultural variety and openness, is one of the areas in Germany and Europe that attract refugees the most. Its society has been shaped by the continued inflow of (forced) migrants for decades. Refugees will be playing an important role in the societal change of NRW, an important topic of research earmarked by the Ministry of Science in NRW in its research strategy on progress in NRW.
With a focus on the state of NRW, this research project deals with four aspects of refugee flight: lines of conflict between refugees abroad and their countries of origin, chances for conflict prevention in refugee camps, examples of long-term integration of refugees in NRW and the question of how refugees can be involved in the peace processes in their home countries.
Financed by the state of NRW, it will analyse the risks posed to refugees and host communities by displacement, life in host countries and the prospects of return. Equally, this project also aims to show the potential of conflict management, local integration and international networking amongst refugees, thus intending to foster sustainable refugee policies and to expand on existing approaches to research on displacement in Germany.
Module 1: Conflict prevention in refugee shelters (pdf, in German/English)
Module 2: Continuity or dis-continuity of conflicts among refugees in NRW (pdf, in German/English)
Module 3: Successful integration? Long-term life histories of refugees in NRW (pdf, in German/English)
Module 4: Peace negotiations, refugee rights and resources in the Syrian and Afghan peace processes (pdf, in English)
Funded by
Land NRWDuration of project
2016 until 2019Publications
- Meininghaus, E., & Mielke, K. (2021, April). Meaningful political participation. Lessons learnt from UN mediation in Afghanistan and Syria (BICC Policy Brief series No. 3/2021). Bonn: BICC.
- Mielke, K., & Meininghaus, E. (2021, March). Engaging refugees and migrants as peace advocates. How Germany can contribute to peace in Syria and Afghanistan (BICC Policy Brief series No. 2/2021). Bonn: BICC.
- Meininghaus, E., & Mielke, K. (2019, December). Beyond Doha and Geneva: Peacemaking engagement of Afghans and Syrians in North Rhine-Westphalia and Germany (BICC Working Paper series No. 11/2019). Bonn: BICC.
- Röing, T. (2019, July). On handling conflicts among refugees and migrant communities. Assuring equal treatment and enabling participation on equal terms (BICC Policy Brief series No. 6/2019). Bonn: BICC.
- Röing, T. (2019, June). Continuation of political conflicts or a new beginning? Turkish refugees in North Rhine-Westphalia (BICC Working Paper series No. 6/2019). Bonn: BICC.
- Christ, S. (2019, April). "Thank God, I don't feel like a refugee anymore" - Everyday life and integration processes of refugees (BICC Working Paper series No. 5/2019). Bonn: BICC.
- Christ, S., Meininghaus, E., & Röing, T. (2019, March). “All Day Waiting” – Causes of conflict in refugee shelters in Germany (BICC Working Paper series No. 3/2019). Bonn: BICC.
- Christ, S. (2019, March). The key to successful integration of refugees in Germany. Language skills, housing, work, social participation (BICC Policy Brief series No. 5/2019). Bonn: BICC.
- Röing, T., Meininghaus, E., & Christ, S. (2018). Kein Anker für Schutzsuchende – eine Stellungnahme zu den geplanten AnkER-Zentren. FluchtforschungsBlog.
- Christ, S., & Röing, T. (2018). Konflikte in Unterkünften für Geflüchtete: Ursachen, Konstellationen, Risiken und Präventionsansätze. Forum Kriminalprävention, 4/2018.
- Christ, S., Meininghaus, E., & Röing, T. (2017, May). "All Day Waiting"—Konflikte in Unterkünften für Geflüchtete in NRW (BICC Working Paper series No. 3/2017). Bonn: BICC.
- Meininghaus, E. (2017). Is there hope? Peace negotiations as moments of exception in an era of post-politics. In S. Heinke (Ed.), Annual Report 2017 (pp. 10-17). Bonn: BICC.
- Röing, T. (2017). Commentary \ Wahlkampfthema Asyl- und Migrationspolitik: Wie sehr trägt das Vorbild Kanada?. Bonn: BICC.
- Christ, S., Meininghaus, E., & Röing, T. (2017, June). Konfliktprävention in Unterkünften – Selbstverantwortung geflüchteter Menschen stärken (BICC Policy Brief series No. 3/2017). Bonn: BICC.