In a new report based on recent field work, Kemal Kirişci and Elizabeth Ferris looked at the response of the Turkish government to the almost 2 million Syrian refugees residing in the country. They found that Turkey has been deeply affected—economically, politically, and socially—by the Syrian displacement crisis, but has managed reasonably well.

October 1, 2015, Elizabeth Ferris and Kemal Kirişci

A Pew Research Center survey released on September 29 shows a mixed and polarized response among Americans to the Syrian refugee crisis.

September 30, 2015, William A. Galston

Many commentators have noted the vast wealth of the GCC countries. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have provided some $900 million in humanitarian aid to Syrians. The United Arab Emirates have donated $530 million in aid since 2012. If the GCC could match aid for Syrians to the economic assistance it donates to friendly governments, the impact could be huge.

September 30, 2015, Luay Al-Khatteeb

Once the American public started paying attention, U.S. resettlement of Iraqi refugees increased tenfold. How do trends in U.S. resettlement of refugees from the Iraq war and other overseas conflicts shed light on prospects and strategies for aiding displaced Syrians?

September 24, 2015, Chantal E. Berman

Europe is facing the biggest inflow of migrants in decades. Christian Bodewig shows how this can be an opportunity for Europe as many refugees come with the skills and motivation to be successful and to make a contribution to their host countries’ economies.

September 21, 2015, Christian Bodewig

When Elizabeth Ferris received the invitation to present a paper at an academic conference in Thessaloniki, she had no idea that the Syrian refugee crisis would be headline news in Greece. Ferris writes about her experience there and how the humanitarian crisis has impacted the Mediterranean nation.

September 17, 2015, Elizabeth Ferris

Massimiliano Calì and Samia Sekkarie outline the economic effects, and likely benefits, of absorbing refugees into host countries.

September 16, 2015, Massimiliano Calì and Samia Sekkarie

Half of Syria’s population has been forced to flee its homes. Europe shamefully attempted—after spending decades lecturing countries in the Middle East on refugee rights—to shirk its responsibility to help those refugees even once they arrived tired, hungry, and scared. Thanks to pressure from social media, the press, celebrities, and aid agencies, that situation has begun to change.

September 15, 2015, Sultan Barakat and Steven A. Zyck

In The New York Times, Ibrahim Fraihat discusses the Gulf’s concerns with regards to the Syrian refugees, and argues that Gulf states can benefit from including Syrian refugees in their workforce while helping to alleviate the growing crisis. 

September 10, 2015, Ibrahim Fraihat

German Chancellor Angela Merkel made the bold decision this week to allow mostly Syrian refugees stuck in Hungary to proceed to Germany and seek asylum there. In a remarkable manifestation of intra-EU solidarity, other EU member governments have come forward with their own expanded quotas to take asylum-seekers. However, these efforts only share the burden within the EU. What about the 4.2 million registered refugees who live primarily in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey?

September 10, 2015, Kemal Kirişci

It is a sad time for international humanitarian governance. The EU remains utterly paralyzed and incapable of sorting out a formula for dealing with fewer than 350,000 Syrian refugees. Nor has it demonstrated any concrete solidarity with Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, which are hosting more than four million Syrians. It is a sad irony that these countries are somehow the ones carrying the load. They are improvising and managing to cope, while the EU is failing to show any form solidarity within or beyond itself.

September 3, 2015, Kemal Kirişci