Publications

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This Working Paper addresses the situation of Afghans before, during and after  their displacements in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. Its aim is: (1) to under- stand how internally displaced lower-class Afghans, refugees who have   returned and Afghan refugees staying in Pakistan and Iran perceive their  current living conditions and what activities they pursue towards securing  their families’ livelihood; (2) to establish the influence of socio- economic  class dispositions on the displaced persons’ abilities and agency and on the  strategic forging of networks in translocal space as a way of securing their  livelihood, and (3) to contribute towards elaborating an analytical livelihood   approach that can explain agency in protracted displacement situations  caused by violent conflict—thereby going beyond established assumptions of  migration and conventional refugee studies.  
The authors Elke Grawert and Katja Mielke elaborate on the significance of translocal networks for Afghans as a livelihood pillar and consider ‘established–outsider relations’ as enabling condition. The empirical data highlight the difference in livelihood options between lower-and middle-class Afghans.