Do refugee camps impact hosts' security perceptions? Evidence from Africa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24225231 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kerstin Fisk (0000-0002-6270-4746, Loyola Marymount University), Siri Aas Rustad (0000-0001-9653-5488, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Oslo, Norway Peace and Conflict Dynamics) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-09-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Peace Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/jopres/xjag070 |
| OpenAlex | W7206217902 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 62 |
Previous research argues that negative externalities associated with hosting refugee camps can lead to insecurity. But do hosts living in districts with refugee camps generally feel less secure than those living in districts with no camps? To investigate whether the presence or size of encamped refugee populations affect hosts' perceived safety, we utilize geographically referenced survey data from Afrobarometer alongside information on the sizes and locations of refugee camps at the district level. To account for theoretically plausible mediating effects, we also examine the influence of several dimensions of state capacity on security perceptions. We find no general effect of hosting a refugee camp on local-level security perceptions, regardless of camp population size. Rather, our results show that refugee camp hosts feel safer from violence and crime when the state's security and administrative capacity are strong, but not otherwise. Our findings help illuminate the factors that contribute to individuals' opinion formation regarding their security, demonstrating that state-building can act as a significant mediator of security perceptions in countries that host forced migrants.
administrative capacity · Africa · crime and violence · Forced migration · host communities · perceived safety · perceived security · Refugee camps · refugee hosting · state capacity · State-building · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Peacebuilding and International Security · Political Conflict and Governance
Victims as Security Threats
Aid Under Fire
Anti-Refugee Violence and African Politics
Contact versus Exposure
How do refugees affect social life in host communities? The case of Congolese refugees in Rwanda
Is there a link between immigration and incarceration rate
Are Refugees' Labour Market Outcomes Different from Those of Other Migrants? Evidence from the United Kingdom in the 2005–2007 Period
The labour market consequences of hosting refugees
Refugee Geography and the Diffusion of Armed Conflict in Africa
How do host–migrant proximities shape attitudes toward internal climate migrants
Unwelcome Guests
Refugees in Western Tanzania
Refugees' Environmental Impact
Aid, minds and hearts
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Their Suffering, Our Burden? How Congolese Refugees Affect the Ugandan Population
Economic Life in Refugee Camps
Inclusive refugee-hosting can improve local development and prevent public backlash
Do refugees cause crime
The effects of refugees’ camps on hosting areas
Radicalism of the Hopeless
Refugees, Economic Capacity, and Host State Repression
Plausible deniability? An investigation of government and government-outsourced violence in refugee hosting areas
Introducing the African Relational Pro-Government Militia Dataset (RPGMD)
Ethnic diversity and conflict in sub-Saharan Africa
Do refugee camps help or hurt hosts? The case of Kakuma, Kenya
Refugee Admissions and Public Safety
Humanitarian aid and host state capacity
Violence and the perception of risk associated with hosting refugees
Can Hearts and Minds Be Bought? The Economics of Counterinsurgency in Iraq
From solidarity to resistance
The geography of anti-immigrant attitudes across Europe, 2002–2014
Humanitarianism, Violence, and the Camp in Northern Uganda
Does Immigration Induce Terrorism
Trojan Horse, Copycat, or Scapegoat? Unpacking the Refugees-Terrorism Nexus
Government Targeting of Refugees in the Midst of Epidemics
One-sided Violence in Refugee-hosting Areas
Regulating Militias
Refugees and the Spread of Civil War
State Capacity and Terrorism
Conditional effects of development aid on political perceptions
Occupied Enclave
Reexamining the Effect of Refugees on Civil Conflict
Can refugees benefit the state? Refugee resources and African statebuilding
Resisting infection
Winners and Losers among a Refugee-Hosting Population
From protection to persecution
Blame the victims? Refugees, state capacity, and non-state actor violence
Measuring state capacity
Violence, displacement, contact, and attitudes toward hosting refugees
Camp settlement and communal conflict in sub-Saharan Africa
Refugees, ethnic power relations, and civil conflict in the country of asylum
Liberal Displacement Policies Attract Forced Migrants in the Global South
Does Exposure to the Refugee Crisis Make Natives More Hostile
Does Halting Refugee Resettlement Reduce Crime? Evidence from the US Refugee Ban
The Causes and Consequences of Refugee Flows
Immigration, Collective Efficacy, Social Ties, and Violence
Refugees and the Spread of Conflict
Conflict and insecurity
| Highly cited | No |
|---|