Research Interests
Cindy Horst is Research Professor in Migration and Refugee Studies at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). Her research focuses on the migration-development nexus, including diaspora engagement with regions of origin and the transnational activities of refugees. In her research on (transnational) civic engagement, she asks questions that problematise normative ideas of 'active citizenship', exploring how people living in culturally and religiously diverse societies engage with their surroundings. She also researches how individuals can challenge the status quo and effect societal change in post-conflict settings. Cindy is especially interested in innovative research methodologies that foster a critical and ethically conscious engagement with the theme of study, through shared anthropology and multi-sited ethnography. Cindy is the author of Transnational Nomads: How Somalis cope with refugee life in the Dadaab camps of Kenya (Berghahn, 2006). Her recent publications include 'Miracles in dark times: Hannah Arendt and refugees as 'vanguard'', Journal of Refugee Studies (2019), co-authored with professor Odin Lysaker, and 'A foreign policy actor of importance? The role of the Somali diaspora in shaping Norwegian policy towards Somalia', Foreign Policy Analysis (2019), co-authored with doctoral researcher Ebba Tellander.
Background
Research Areas of Interest:
- Active citizenship
- Mobility and transnationalism affecting (national) identities
- The impact of transnationalism on (post-)conflict situations
- Interactions between refugees and the refugee regime
- Refugee Livelihoods
- Diaspora Engagements
- Ethical and Methodological challenges of fieldwork in conflict situations
Languages spoken:
Dutch (mother tongue), English (fluent), Norwegian (good), German, (intermediate), French (basic), Somali (basic),
Work Experience:
Moderator of the Refugee Livelihoods Network, UNHCR
Researcher and Lecturer on forced migration, University of Amsterdam
Education:
2003: PhD in Social Sciences on migration and transnationalism among Somalis, University of Amsterdam
1997: Foundation Course on Forced Migration, Centre for Refugee Studies, Oxford University
1996: MA in Cultural & Social Anthropology, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
Publications
Cindy Horst is the author of the monograph
Transnational Nomads, which discusses refugee livelihoods in and transnational connections from/to Dadaab
. There is a tendency to consider all refugees as 'vulnerable victims': an attitude reinforced by the stream of images depicting refugees living in abject conditions. This study of Somalis in a Kenyan refugee camp reveals the inadequacy of such assumptions by describing the rich personal and social histories that refugees bring with them to the camps. Furthermore, Cindy has published in African Studies; Afrika Spectrum; Citizenship Studies; Conflict, Security and Development; Development and Change; Ethnic and Racial Studies; Ethnicities; Foreign Policy Analysis; Global Networks; International Migration Review; Journal of Eastern African Studies, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Journal of Refugee Studies; Refuge; Refugee Survey Quarterly; and Social Analysis; and is the contributor to numerous edited volumes.
Recent Publications
All Publications
Peer-reviewed Journal Article
Book Chapter
Al-Sharmani, Mulki & Cindy Horst (2016)
Marginal actors? Diaspora Somalis Negotiate Their Citizenship, in Ahponen, Pirkkoliisa; Päivi Harinen; & Ville-Samuli Haverinen, eds,
Dislocations of Civic Cultural Borderlines: Methodological Nationalism, Transnational Reality and Cosmopolitan Dreams. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing (107–122).
Horst, Cindy; Stephen Lubkemann & Robtel Pailey (2016)
The Invisibility of a Third Humanitarian Domain, in Sezgin, Zeynep; & Dennis Dijkzeul, eds,
The New Humanitarians in International Practice: Emerging actors and contested principles. London: Routledge (213–231).
Ezzati, Rojan Tordhol & Cindy Horst (2014)
Norwegian collaboration with diasporas, in Laakso, Liisa; & Petri Hautaniemi, eds,
Diasporas, Development and Peacemaking in the Horn of Africa. London/New York: Zed Books.
Non-refereed Journal Article
PRIO Report
Horst, Cindy; Marta Bivand Erdal; Kjersti Fjørtoft; Jonas Jakobsen; Noor Jdid; Per Mouritsen; & Tore Vincents Olsen (2019)
Active Citizenship Today,
PRIO Project Summary. Oslo: PRIO.
Conference Paper
Horst, Cindy (2007)
The Role of Diasporas in Civil War, presented at working paper presented at the CSCW workshop on the transnational facets of civil war, Oslo, 16 March.
PRIO Policy Brief
Horst, Cindy & Marta Bivand Erdal (2018)
What is Diversity?,
PRIO Policy Brief, 12. Oslo: PRIO.
Report - External Series
Horst, Cindy (2013)
Somalis in Oslo,
Somalis in European Cities. New York: Open Society Foundations.
Blog Posts
The question of what constitutes the “good citizen” has received renewed interest in Western Europe in connection with increasing pressure on the welfare state, concerns over migration-related diversity, and growing anxiety about a crisis of democracy. In a recently published article, ‘The “good citizen”: asserting and contesting norms of participation ... Read more »
Who are we accountable to when doing research on migration and mobility? Many scholars, ourselves included, do research with – rather than about – refugees and other migrants, or indeed communities and individuals in origin or destination country. But to whom are we accountable? And what can and should accountability ... Read more »
Posted by Cindy Horst on Wednesday, 18 September 2019
Mete Hatay, interviewed by Cindy Horst Seeing victim become perpetrator, perpetrator become victim – seeing them change places depending on the situation – triggered a lot of questions in my mind… Whatever you imagine for the future, you always construct it from the past. And you cannot say, ‘let’s put ... Read more »
Posted by Cindy Horst on Wednesday, 28 August 2019
Inger Skjelsbæk, interviewed by Cindy Horst We focus a lot more on conflict than we do on what peace actually is. What is it that creates well-being? What is it that makes you feel at ease in your own skin, in your own life, in your own sociopolitical context? What ... Read more »
Posted by Ida Roland Birkvad & Cindy Horst on Friday, 8 June 2018
Today the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) is holding a seminar titled Decolonizing the Academy. Our aim is for this seminar to start a national discussion about the legacy of the colonial era in Norwegian academia – both in relation to its formal structures and the ways in which we ... Read more »
Posted by Cindy Horst on Monday, 30 November 2015
The Somali conflict has affected Somali citizens inside and outside the Somali region for over 25 years. While Somaliland and Puntland have enjoyed relative stability for more than two decades, conditions are much more fragile in south-central Somalia, and residents in many parts of the Somali region face considerable levels ... Read more »
Posted by Cindy Horst on Thursday, 18 June 2015
In most post-conflict contexts, returning diaspora members contribute to reconstruction efforts; including through investments in businesses. While many invest in traditional ventures, others introduce new ideas for entrepreneurship. In Somalia, diaspora businesses are visible and valued; especially for their development and peacebuilding potential. The conflict has affected Somali citizens inside ... Read more »
Posted by Cindy Horst & Tove Heggli Sagmo on Monday, 4 May 2015
Humanitarianism and Return: Compromising Protection In many contexts around the world, states use funding for humanitarian programming as an active part of their attempts to manage populations displaced by conflict. Humanitarian aid to refugees and internally displaced is commonly understood as a temporary activity that ends when people will return ... Read more »
Posted by Cindy Horst & Maimuna Mohamud on Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Should the EU cooperate with regional states to manage and control migration from the Horn of Africa? Proponents of greater migration control within the EU increasingly favor the use of political and economic incentives as an approach to prevent migration from the Horn of Africa and elsewhere, effectively through increasingly ... Read more »
Posted by Cindy Horst & Maimuna Mohamud on Tuesday, 21 April 2015
The humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean, with staggering high numbers of deaths of asylum seekers and migrants attempting to cross by sea, shows the urgency of an alternative approach to Europe’s current border policies. Across the EU, mounting internal political pressures have intensified debates about migration and asylum, encouraging policies ... Read more »