Erlend Paasche left PRIO in 2016. The information on this page is kept for historical reasons.
Erlend Paasche
Doctoral Researcher
Research Interests
Doctoral research on return migration to Iraq from Norway and the UK, supervised by Dr. Jørgen Carling as part of the wider research project 'Possibilities and Realities of Return Migration' (PREMIG), coordinated from PRIO.
Key words
Return migration, Iraqi and Kurdish forced migration, voluntary return and reintegration programmes, transnationalism, war and migration, inclusion and exclusion of migrants.
Languages spoken:
English, Norwegian, Arabic, German, French, Spanish (to varying degrees).
Working experience:
2009-2011: Research assistant at a joint CMI/PRIO evaluation of a voluntary assisted return and reintegration programme for Iraqis (IRRINI), commissioned by the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration.
2011: Freelance work for the Norwegian People's Aid, producing a popular article on the socioeconomic status of Palestinian refugees in Syria, Jordan and Iraq.
2010-2011: Research assistant at the Institute of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo, analyzing processes of inclusion and exclusion among young adults with immigration background within the EUMARGINS project.
2008: Middle East analyst and writer for the Norwegian Refugee Council’s annual report on displacement worldwide.
2007: Freelance researcher for the League of Arab States HQ/Department of Population and Migration, in Cairo, Egypt.
2002-2003: Solidarity worker and English teacher for the Palestine Committee of Norway in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.
Education:
2011-(ongoing): Doctoral candidate at Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO).
2007-2009: M.A. in Middle East and North African Studies. University of Oslo. Awarded scholarship and institutional affiliation with the Peace Research Institute Oslo and the Centre of Excellence for the Study of Civil War.
2006-2007: Advanced Arabic language studies for postgraduate students. University of Oslo and International Language Institute, Cairo, Egypt.
2004-2006: B.A. in Middle East and North African Studies. University of Oslo and Goethe Institute, Damascus, Syria.
2000-2001: Foundational studies in Anthropology and Psychology. University of Tromsø.
1996-1998: International Baccalaureate. Trondheim Katedralskole.
Latest publications
All publications
The role of corruption in reintegration: experiences of Iraqi Kurds upon return from Europe
Journal Article in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
Finding Connections: The Nexus between Migration and Corruption
Journal Article in Migration Information Source
Possibilities and Realities of Return Migration
PRIO Project Summary
En komparativ analyse av to landbaserte retur- og reintegreringsprogrammer : : hva fungerer (ikke) i reintegreringsfasen?
Book Chapter in Asylsøker: I Velferdsstatens Venterom
Elites and emulators: the evolution of an Iraqi Kurdish - European migration system
Conference Paper
Iraqi Kurdistan: Partner Under Pressure
PRIO Policy Brief
Why Assisted Return Programmes Must Be Evaluated
PRIO Policy Brief
Nationalism Under Pressure: Islamic State, Iraq and Kurdistan
Popular Article in ISN Security Watch
Kan Irak fikses?
Popular Article in Dagsavisen
Vaklende løsrivelse
Popular Article in Morgenbladet
Latest news
Successful Doctoral Defense by Erlend Paasche
Erlend Paasche has successfully defended his doctoral thesis today, 7 October, at the University of Oslo. His thesis is titled Return Migration and Corruption: Experiences of Iraqi Kurds. Congratulations!
Opponents
- Professor Emeritus Ronald D. Skeldon, Department of Geography, University of Sussex
- Associate Professor Arjen Leerkes, Erasmus University Rotterdam
- Professor Mette Andersson, Department of Sociology and Human Geography at UiO
Leader of defense
- Kristian Stokke, Department of Sociology and Human Geography at UiO
Supervisors
- Jørgen Carling, PRIO
- Katrine Fangen, Department of Sociology and Human Geography at UiO
Evaluating Assisted Return
Many asylum seekers who opt for assisted return come home to countries ruined by war and conflicts. More than half of the persons who return to countries like Afghanistan and Iraq plan to remigrate. A new evaluation of assisted return programms shows that small and uncostly changes can increase the chances that people stay.
PRIO Migration Research Update
Why Assisted Return Programmes Must Be Evaluated
Rejected asylum seekers often resist the legal obligation to return. Consequently, European policy makers tasked with migration managament have turned to so-called ‘Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration programmes’ (AVRRs) to incentivize return to and support reintegration in the country of origin. Such programmes are described as less politically costly, more humane, simpler and cheaper than deportation. But with very limited monitoring and evaluation of AVRRs we know little about how well they work and whether the promised support is given. A recent policy brief outlines some of the compelling reasons to monitor and evaluate AVRRs.
Nationalism under Pressure: Islamic State, Iraq and Kurdistan
Has the Iraqi Kurds’ sense of national identity been strengthened by the emergence of the so-called Islamic State? Not necessarily. If anything, mounting socio-economic and political tensions inside northern Iraq have been tearing at Kurdish nationalism for the last decade.
Latest events
Thinking About Going 'Home'
Reintegration of Returnees and Deportees to Afghanistan
Cancelled: The 'Islamic State' and the Kurds - a seminar with Salih Muslim
FIWON seminar: Doing interviews in Norway and the UK
How voluntary is 'voluntary return"?
'A Dream, a Threat, a Duty' - A conference on return migration
