Consequences of Ethnic Conflict

Ethnic conflict is the most common type of internal armed conflict inthe world. It is also the major source of most of the world\\\'s externaland internal refugees. In 2003, Asia-Pacific was the region secondmost affected by conflict-induced displacement and in 2004 it had thesecond largest global number of internal refugees following Africa.Given this trend, it is surprising that a relative lack of researchhas been conducted about ethnic conflict and refugees within thisregion compared to other areas. This book develops a theoretical modelwhich analyses variations in external and internal refugee numbers. Itapplies the model to specific ethnic conflicts in Fiji, Indonesia, thePhilippines, and the Solomon Islands during the period 1995 ? 2005 andidentifies a common set of factors conducive to creating internal andexternal refugees. The findings emphasise that no single-factorexplanation exists that can explain how refugees are created. Theanalysis will be particularly useful for government policy makers andnon-governmental workers in highlighting ways they can assist inreducing refugee flows in order to create greater regional stability.