Unpacking the Displacement-Migration Nexus: Evidence from Northern Iraq

Recent conflicts have increasingly produced a twofold, forced movement of people: internal displacement and forced migration. While the co-occurrence of these phenomena is an acknowledged fact, there is not yet an understanding of their relation in terms of either the scale or the process contributing to it. This article seeks to fill this gap by questioning the relation between conflict-induced displacement and migration in and from Iraq. The analysis is based on survey data (500 questionnaires) and 29 semi-structured interviews with Iraqi IDPs residing in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and national and international key informants. Based on the findings, the study concludes that the aspiration to leave Iraq is primarily attributable to the structural enduring condition of Iraq, rather than an individual condition – a finding that uneasily translates into the new framework for intervention in conflict-affected and fragile contexts premised on deterring migration.