RID Spotlight
Who are “IDPs” – and why does it matter?
By David Cantor
| September 3, 2026
Internal displacement is a major societal challenge worldwide, with far-reaching consequences for the tens of millions of people displaced annually as well as for affected communities and society as a whole. As such, the low level of interest in this phenomenon among researchers and policymakers represents a puzzle. A new Handbook of Internal Displacement seeks to change this situation by raising the profile of the issue for researchers, teachers, policymakers, funders, humanitarian workers and development actors and addressing the wide range of dynamics, debates and challenges that internal displacement entails. This groundbreaking publication provides extensive regional analysis of displacement in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and offers a distinctive global vision of “internal displacement” as an emerging field of research and practice.
Read More
Researching Internal Displacement connects researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, students, artists and people from displacement-affected communities with cutting-edge research, analysis, creative materials and other resources on internal displacement.
The platform is hosted by the Refugee Law Initiative, a unique academic centre at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, promoting interdisciplinary research, teaching and exchange on law, policy and practice in refugee and displacement contexts.
LATEST RESOURCES
More Than a Roof: Promises, Practices, and the Realities of Project HARSHAM in Wayanad, India
By Rahmath Beevi Kunnummal and Mohammed Firoz C
| October 8, 2026
This second article in RID's miniseries, Towards Dignified Climate Relocation: Community Perspectives from around the Globe, is an insightful analysis of the challenges faced by community members involved in a planned relocation initiated after the Puthumala landslide of 2019 in Wayanad, Kerala, India. Written by researchers who have worked with this community, the article details the challenges the community faced both during relocation and five years after moving to their new site, including promises made, implementation problems and the difficult realities of everyday life after relocation. Through the account, the authors spotlight important lessons for governments, non-governmental actors, and communities themselves about prioritising a community's shared infrastructure during development, livelihoods and access to employment, and access to grievance and feedback mechanisms. Above all, this article shows that planned relocation processes do not end when a new house is constructed; they require long-term support and monitoring for many years to come.
The series is published in collaboration with the Coalition on Dignified Climate Relocation.
Read More
More than Just Housing: Human-rights-based Planned Relocation Lessons from El Bosque, Mexico
By Silvia Cantú Bautista, María Maldonado Antillón, Daniela Chapuz Osorio, Juan Manuel Orozco Moreno
| October 1, 2026
This first article in RID's miniseries, Towards Dignified Climate Relocation: Community Perspectives from around the Globe, is a moving account of the challenges faced by community members of El Bosque, Tabasco, Mexico, who began to plan relocation in 2022 due to severe coastal erosion. Written by members of two organisations that have advocated for the community, the article recounts the successful legal and communications campaign that persuaded the Government of Mexico to support relocation, as well as the challenges faced during a planned relocation process that did not fully prioritise a participatory, rights-based approach.
The article calls on the Mexican government to remedy the harms to the community while ensuring better future programming through policy changes. It also offers vital lessons for governments, communities and development actors around the globe on community participation, transparent and constant communication, focus on economic and non-economic loss and damage and the need for continuous access to livelihoods, education and health services.
Read More
WHAT IS INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT?
Internally displaced persons (or IDPs) can be understood as:
"persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border."
IDP TRAINING
Our free course in
‘Internal Displacement,
Conflict and Protection’
Find out more
ABOUT US
Connecting researchers,
practitioners, policy-makers,
students, artists and IDPs
Find out more
IDP TRAINING
Our free course in
‘Internal Displacement,
Conflict and Protection’
Find out more
ABOUT US
Connecting researchers,
practitioners, policy-makers,
students, artists and IDPs
Find out more
CALL FOR PAPERS
NEWS AND EVENTS
New RID Series: “Towards Dignified Climate Relocation: Community Perspectives from around the Globe”
Researching Internal Displacement offers a platform for publishing insightful and engaging short pieces of writing, artistic productions and other research outputs, policy briefings and think pieces on internal displacement from our networks and others in a conversational and informal setting.
HOW TO CONTRIBUTE
Researching Internal Displacement publishes engaging and insightful short pieces of writing, artistic and research outputs, policy briefings and think pieces on internal displacement.
We welcome contributions from academics, practitioners, researchers, officials, artists, poets, writers, musicians, dancers, postgraduate students and people affected by internal displacement.