No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Refugees, Humanitarian Aid, and Terrorism

Seung-Whan Choi and Idean Salehyan
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Seung-Whan Choi: Department of Political Science, University of Illinois at Chicago
Idean Salehyan: Department of Political Science, University of North Texas

Conflict Management and Peace Science, 2013, vol. 30, issue 1, 53-75

Abstract: We examine the consequences of hosting refugees for domestic and international terrorism. In line with the old saying, “no good deed goes unpunished†, we argue that the infusion of aid resources provides militant groups with opportunities for looting and for attacking foreign targets. A cross-national, time-series data analysis of 154 countries for the years 1970–2007 shows evidence that countries with many refugees are more likely to experience both domestic and international terrorism. This finding implies that while the international community should strive to reduce the number of refugees by preventing the eruption of major conflict events, individual countries should find a way of maintaining the balance between humanitarianism toward refugees and providing safe, secure environments for refugees and those that assist them.

Keywords: humanitarian aid; refugees; terrorism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (46)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:compsc:v:30:y:2013:i:1:p:53-75

DOI: 10.1177/0738894212456951

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