Social Assistance and Forced Displacement: A New Solution to an Old Problem?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.41093

Keywords:

refugees, humanitarianism, displacement, social protection

Abstract

Social protection is a well-accepted means to tackle poverty. This article focuses on social assistance, one aspect of social protection primarily involving non-contributory transfers, in cash or in-kind. Forcibly displaced people, particularly those displaced across international borders, have typically been excluded from state-provided social assistance. This has begun to change. In addition, informal sources of social assistance—community organizations, neighbours, faith groups, and family networks—are particularly significant for displaced people. A more transformative understanding of social protection should encompass this wider array of sources. Interpreted in this way, social assistance offers a new way of bridging humanitarian and development responses to displacement.

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Author Biographies

Michael Collyer, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, UK

Michael Collyer is a Professor of Geography at the University of Sussex. He can be reached at m.collyer@sussex.ac.uk.

Dolf Te Lintelo, Institute of Development Studies, Falmer, Brighton, UK

Dolf te Lintelo is a senior research fellow and lead of the Cities research cluster at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Brighton, UK. He can be reached at d.telintelo@ids.ac.uk.

Thabani Mutambasere, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland

Thabani Mutambasere is a Lecturer in African Studies and International Development at the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh. He can be reached at t.mutambasere@ed.ac.uk.

Tahir Zaman, Department of Geography, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, UK

Tahir Zaman is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Geography, University of Sussex. He can be reached at tahir.zaman@sussex.ac.uk.

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Published

2024-10-01

How to Cite

Collyer, M., Te Lintelo, D., Mutambasere, T., & Zaman, T. (2024). Social Assistance and Forced Displacement: A New Solution to an Old Problem?. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 40(2), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.41093

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