Doctoral Dissertation Research: How Refugees Can Shape National Boundaries.

全球社会目前正经历着前所未有的被迫移徙;全世界有5950万人因冲突、侵犯人权和其他形式的迫害而非自愿地流离失所。本研究项目探讨当地，东道国人口是如何受到难民涌入的影响，特别是关于东道国公民的国家认同，对国家提供的公共产品和服务的需求，以及对移民政策的偏好。该研究探讨了难民是否可以加强附近的土著公民的民族认同和团结。它涉及对坦桑尼亚公民的调查，坦桑尼亚是一个有着接纳各种难民群体的悠久历史的国家。这项调查将比较居住在收容难民地区的公民与居住在没有难民的类似地区的公民的态度和行为。更多技术描述：难民如何影响他们的当地收容环境？这个研究项目的理论，被迫迁移的外源性冲击可能有意想不到的，但积极的影响，民族主义和国家建设在东道国。难民可能会加强附近的原住民的民族主义，因为国家认同是原住民与难民之间的明显区别。此外，国际和政府援助涌入难民营往往与附近收容社区缺乏当地公共产品形成鲜明对比。难民通过挑战国界和突出福利方面的不平等，可能会无意中促使东道国公民团结在其民族认同周围，并在提供和要求公共产品和服务方面更好地合作。该调查随机改变了难民的突出程度，并使用新的方法来衡量民族认同和移民威胁的复杂层面。

Project description for general audience:The global community is currently experiencing unprecedented levels of forced migration; 59.5 million individuals around the world have been displaced involuntarily owing to conflict, human rights violations, and other forms of persecution. This research project examines how the local, host population is affected by an influx of refugees, specifically with regards to host citizens' national identity, demand for state-provided public goods and services, and preferences over immigration policies. The research examines whether or not refugees may strengthen nearby native citizens' national identity and solidarity. It involves a survey with citizen respondents in Tanzania, a country with an extensive history of hosting various refugee groups. This survey will compare attitudes and behaviors of citizens living in refugee-hosting districts to those in similar districts without refugees.More technical description:How do refugees impact their local, host environments? This research project theorizes that the exogenous shock of forced migration may have unintended yet positive consequences for nationalism and nation-building in the host country. Refugees may strengthen nearby native citizens' nationalism as national identity is the obvious point of difference between natives and refugees. Additionally, the influx of international and government aid into refugee camps often stands in contrast to the lack of local public goods in nearby host communities. Refugees, by challenging national borders and highlighting inequalities in welfare, can inadvertently spur host citizens to rally around their national identity and better cooperate in providing and demanding for public goods and services. The survey randomly varies the level of salience of refugees and uses new methods to measure the complex dimensions of national identity and migrant threat.