The Fletcher School

A Graduate School of International Affairs

Karen Jacobsen

Karen Jacobsen

Karen Jacobsen

karen.jacobsen@tufts.edu

Phone: (617) 627-5321

Fax: (617) 627-3248

Office Hours: By appointment

Address:
Feinstein International
Famine Center
Tufts University
200 Boston Ave.
Medford, MA 02155

Associate Professor
Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

Education

BA, University of Witwatersrand
MA, Northeastern University
SM and PhD in political science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Professional Activities

Director of Forced Migration Program at Feinstein International Center; Taught at Regis College (1995-present), Consultant for UNHCR and NGOs; Executive Committee, Inter-University Committee on International Migration (1995-present).

Programs & Centers

Research Interests

Refugee and migration issues; humanitarian assistance, livelihoods in complex emergencies, field methods, Africa; developing countries.

Faculty Research Profile - "We know that remittances – when migrants send money and goods back to their home countries – are a very important livelihoods support."

Selected Publications

Books

Articles

  • "Migration within Africa: The view from South Africa," The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs (2007);
  • The Refugees in Urban Settings. Special Issue of Journal of Refugee Studies (guest editor) (2006);
  • “Introduction: Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Urban Areas: A Livelihoods Perspective,” Journal of Refugee Studies (2006);
  •  “Using Microenterprise Interventions to Support the Livelihoods of Forcibly Displaced People: the Impact of a Microcredit Program in IDP camps in Lira, Northern Uganda,” (co-author) Refugee Survey Quarterly (2006);
  • Recommendations for Urban Refugee Policy,” (co-author) Forced Migration Review (2005);
  • “Just Enough for the City: Urban Refugees Make Their Own Way,” World Refugee Survey (2004);
  • “The Dual Imperative in Refugee Research: Some Methodological and Ethical Considerations in Social Science Research on Forced Migration,” (co-author) Disasters (2003);
  • “Livelihoods in Conflict: the Pursuit of Livelihoods by Refugees and the Impact on the Human Security of Host Communities,” International Migration (2002);
  • “African States and the Politics of Refugees: Refugee Assistance as Political Resources,” Journal of Modern African Studies (2002);
  • "Physical Security and Protection in Refugee Camps," (forthcoming article);
  • "Refugees' Environmental Impact: The Effect of Patterns of Settlement," Journal of Refugee Studies (1997);
  • "Factors Influencing the Policy Responses of Host Governments to Mass Refugee Influxes," International Migration Review (1996);
  • "The Impact of Refugees on the Environment: A Review of the Evidence," Refugee Policy Group (1994);
  • "Refugee Movements as Security Threats in Sub-Saharan Africa," International Migration and Security (1993).