IDRP Launch: ‘Why Do We Need New Research on Internal Displacement?’ RSQ Special Issue

This event launches the Special Issue on ‘Improving Attention to Internal Displacement Globally’ – published by the Refugee Survey Quarterly (RSQ) journal

Published on January 21, 2021

IDRP | idrp

Bringing together over 20 original peer-reviewed articles by researchers, practitioners and policy-makers, the new Special Issue contributes to renewed debate on policy challenges and solutions for the protracted crisis of internal displacement that affects tens of millions of people worldwide. Two Secretariat members of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement (HLP), Greta Zeender (Head of Research and Outcomes) and Mark Yarnell (Research and Outcomes Officer), served as its guest editors.

Hosted by the Internal Displacement Research Programme the event draws on the Special Issue to debate the state of research on internal displacement: why is there so little research on the topic? Why does that matter for academic debate and practical action on IDPs? The event speaks directly to IDP and related fields, including refugees, development and peacebuilding.

Details of event

Book Launch Event (Hybrid): Responding to internal displacement in a shifting humanitarian landscape

Apr 22, 2026 Thursday 7 May I 18:00 – 19:00 BST I Followed by a drinks reception. Hybrid: ODI Global, 4 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA and online. This launch event brings together four of the Handbook's authors to reflect on the importance of a renewed focus on internal displacement for engaging with key challenges for humanitarian work in a rapidly shifting global context. Event details and registration information below.

Just Published: The Oxford Handbook of Internal Displacement

Apr 22, 2026 The Oxford Handbook of Internal Displacement is now available digitally and in print. To order, contact your preferred print or eBook supplier, institutional library or the publisher. See what people are saying about this groundbreaking publication.

Groundbreaking New Publication: The Oxford Handbook of Internal Displacement

By RID | Apr 14, 2026 The displacement of people within their own countries due to crises such as conflicts, disasters, and the effects of climate change is a major contemporary challenge, eliciting global concern about how to protect the displaced. The vast scale of this 'internal displacement' poses far-reaching questions for key debates around humanitarian aid, development, migration, sovereignty, rights, citizenship, identity, and social change. Yet knowledge of the issue is fragmented and highly dispersed across a range of academic and policy domains. This groundbreaking new publication brings together 45 contributions by leading researchers and practitioners, providing an essential point of reference for advancing these debates and raising the profile of internal displacement as a vital concern for research and policy agendas.