Ep.007 - Reshaping Locals’ Attitudes toward Migrants during Wartime in Afghanistan

Today’s episode is part of our Seminar Series, in which we facilitate discussions on work conducted by teams of academic researchers and practitioners that relates to one of four thematic topics: 1) Crime Reduction & Police Accountability, 2) Climate Change Governance, 3) Displacement, Migration, & Integration, and 4) Democracy, Conflict, & Polarization.

This episode focuses on Displacement, Migration, and Integration,  presenting a discussion with researchers Yang-Yang Zhou (University of British Columbia) and Jason Lyall (Dartmouth College) about the results from a randomized controlled trial conducted during a period of conflict in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The study analyzed whether prolonged contact improved relationships between local residents and IDPs, through a vocational skills training program that emphasized hands-on collaborative learning. Bret Barrowman (International Republican Institute) serves as a discussant and Alexandra Scacco, EGAP member and Senior Research Fellow in the Institutions and Political Inequality unit at WZB, moderates the conversation.