Peace, Preference, and Property: Return Migration after Violent Conflict

War and violent conflict are causing growing numbers of people to be displaced, with millions of refugees and displaced people returning to their place of origin or being resettled in countries in the Global North. However, displacements are now lasting longer, the number of people returning home is lower, and opportunities for resettlement are shrinking. International policies encourage return to place of origin, but this text examines individual and household choices after conflict and suggests alternative policies that would provide greater choice for displaced people in terms of property restitution and solutions to displacement.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 30 November 2022
Publisher: The University of Michigan Press

War and violent conflict have led to an increasing number of people being displaced, with many forced to flee their homes and countries. In Ukraine, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Syria, and other countries, conflict has resulted in civilian populations being uprooted, leading to them becoming refugees. In the past, millions of refugees and displaced people have returned to their places of origin or been resettled in countries in the Global North after conflict. However, today, displacements are lasting longer, fewer people are returning home, and opportunities for resettlement are shrinking. Many refugees and displaced people spend decades in refugee camps or are internally displaced, away from their home communities and cultures. International policies often encourage return to the place of origin, but Sandra F. Joireman's book "Peace, Preference, and Property" challenges this approach by examining individual and household choices after conflict. The book highlights the divergence between these policies and the preferences of conflict-displaced people, focusing on the ground-up perspective of individual and household choices. Some refugees want to return home, while others do not. Some want to return to their countries of origin but live in a different place, and others are repatriated against their will when they have no other options. "Peace, Preference, and Property" suggests alternative policies that would provide greater choice for displaced people in terms of property restitution and solutions to displacement.

Weight: 363g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780472133260