KELSEY P. NORMAN

I'm a Fellow for the Middle East at Rice University's Baker Institute. On this blog you'll mostly find posts about my research on migration to, through, and from the Middle East and North Africa.

[kpnorman]

Analysis | Would ‘safe third country’ agreements stem migration to the U.S.? The E.U.-Turkey deal offers some clues.

But don’t expect to see a decrease in the number of asylum seekers.

My latest post for the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog on the US’s proposed safe third country agreements with Mexico and Guatemala, Trump’s newest asylum legislation, and what we can learn from the 2016 EU-Turkey deal.

[kpnorman]

Center For The Middle East

The Baker Institute Center for the Middle East provides policymakers, scholars and the general public with comprehensive analyses of issues, events and trends across this critical region with important implications for U.S. policy and global stability. The center encompasses research programs addressing key policy areas including Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolution, the political economy of the Gulf, the role of women in the countries of the region, U.S.-Iranian relations and the role of Islamist movements in the region. The Center for the Middle East builds on the Baker Institute’s long engagement with the Middle East and provides support for research, lectures, conferences and affiliations with other experts and organizations confronting policy ...

After an exhausting year on the academic job market, I’ve started a new position as a Fellow for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute in Houston, Texas. I’ll be continuing with my research agenda on migration and refugees in MENA, but will also be managing and curating a research program on women’s rights in the Middle East.

I don’t anticipate posting on this blog much going forward. It was important as a venue where I could share my fieldwork experiences and findings between 2012 and 2015. And it served as a great outlet for some of the rage I was feeling about global migration policies between 2015 and 2018 when I was spending a lot of time writing. But I think with this new position I’ll look for other ways to share thoughts, observations, and research.

[kpnorman]

Eastern Utah, Southern Colorado, and Northern New Mexico

June 2019

[kpnorman]

I just returned from two weeks in Egypt where I taught a short course at the American University in Cairo with students from Egypt, Nigeria, Sudan, Syria, Germany, France, and the US. It was my first time teaching policy professionals, which was incredibly nerve-wracking, but my students were engaged, inquisitive, and passionate about migration and refugee policy, which made my job easy.  I posted the syllabus ("European Border Externalization and the Transformation of Middle East and North African Host States”) online here. 

[kpnorman]

Red Rock Canyon, Nevada, December 2018

Being in academia I actually tend to think of years as beginning in September and ending in August, but for the sake of staying in tune with those celebrating and marking the end of the year tonight, I’ll take stock here. 

My biggest personal accomplishment this year was the completion of (the first full draft of) my book manuscript. This required gutting and rewriting my entire doctoral dissertation, which was a hard process to begin but which was ultimately pretty rewarding. I also added in two new chapters, workshopped the manuscript with some extremely impressive senior scholars at Princeton University, and submitted it for review at a top university press. Fingers crossed for the outcome of that sometime in 2019 🤞.

Second to completing my manuscript was receiving the Best Dissertation award from the Migration & Citizenship section of the American Political Science Association. Maybe external validation shouldn’t matter too much, but it’s so rare in academia (at least for me) that you kind of have to take it where you can get it. 

I also published two articles based off of my doctoral research:

Norman, Kelsey P. 2019. "Inclusion, Exclusion or Indifference? Redefining Migrant and Refugee Host State Engagement Options in Mediterranean ‘Transit’ Countries," Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 45(1): 42-60.

Norman, Kelsey P. 2018. "Migration and Refugee Policy-Making in Modern Egypt, Morocco and Turkey,"Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of Middle East and North African Migration Studies 5(2).

A number of other articles are under review, including one article that has been under review for two years (!!). I guess 2018 also taught me just how frustrating and futile academic publishing can be. 

Aside from peer-reviewed writing, I contributed a series of posts for Political Violence at a Glance, which is a blog dedicated to analysis of violence and its alternatives. Two of the posts focused on the return of refugees to Syria, a topic I’ve been following closely and anxiously over the last year and that I expect will be an even more pressing issue in 2019.

"Concerns Over a Coercive Return of Syrian Refugees from Lebanon" (20 February 2018)

"What's At Stake for Syrian Returnees" (20 November 2018)

I also designed and taught my first course. The title was “Migration, Immigration and Displacement in the Middle East and North Africa” and I shared the syllabus online here for anyone interested. Teaching was both exhilarating and exhausting, and I definitely fell prey to imposter syndrome, but overall it was a good first experience. 

Travel was a big part of 2018 for me. Aside from a number of domestic trips and trips to Canada, I had the chance to travel to Australia, Singapore, Greece, Spain, Japan, and also spent about 21 hours in China. This was a combination of job interviews, presenting at conferences, reunions with friends, and a vacation with my husband. Despite how much I’ve been traveling, I’m still too persistently lazy to apply for TSA pre-check or Global Entry. Maybe a goal for 2019?

In August I started listening to The Daily every morning, which made a huge difference in how I consume US news. I’m consistently blown-away by the production quality and have come to love hearing Michael Barbaro’s voice during my morning commutes. It was especially helpful during the Kavanaugh hearing, the Khashoggi murder, and in the lead-up to the US midterm elections.

Aside from The Daily, my favorite podcast series in 2018 was from 30 for 30 on the topic of Bikram Chowdry. It’s a narrative podcast that tells the story of Bikram’s arrival in the US, the establishment of bikram yoga, the harassment and sexual assault of his devotees, and how the bikram community has tried to reckon with the truth of his depravity.

I also read some incredible fiction in 2018. Fiction is a huge part of my life and I read every night before I go to bed. Even if it’s just for a few minutes, it helps me disconnect from whatever else is running through my head and causing anxiety. Here are my favorites from this year:

The Power by Naomi Alderman 

The Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani 

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee 

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Marra Anthony

Storyland by Catherine McKinnon

Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Laila Lalami

And while not fiction, I have to also recommend:

Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe by Kapka Kassabova

The Return by Hisham Matar

This year I volunteered for an American political campaign for the first time since I was in university and John Kerry was running for president (I’m dating myself I realize). I was so disillusioned by US politics after Bush was reelected that I set my sights on working and living abroad, which I primarily did from 2007 until 2015. But this year, instead of reacting with disillusionment to the catastrophe of 2016, I volunteered for a local race and canvassed for Jason Crow running for the US House of Representatives in Aurora, Colorado. He won, as did many Dems running for the House across the country, and I’m excited to see what this new, more diverse, more female House will do in 2019. 

I also joined a running group this summer, the Denver chapter of International Frontrunners. I’ve found that a lot of the running groups I’ve tried in Denver are cliquey or just way too fast for my pace. But Frontrunners, which is for LGBT runners and their friends, is incredibly welcoming and open to runners of all abilities. 

In December I also found that I was going to be home in Denver for 30 consecutive days for the first time all year. I decided to take advantage of Kindness Yoga’s $30-for-30-days deal and pushed myself to take one yoga class each day for an entire month. It was difficult for the first week but then became something I looked forward to and craved. By the end of the 30 days I felt mentally and physically transformed, and my anxiety levels were at an all-time low. I’m trying to take the calm I found with me into 2019, but am also just storing this new-found knowledge of how much yoga can help when the going gets tough. 

This list of course leaves out all the work and job related rejections I received this year, and brushes over various family and emotional traumas I dealt with. But looking back on some of the things I experienced, learned and accomplished this year is certainly a nice way to close things out. 

I’m staying in this New Years Eve, both because it’s 15 degrees F and snowing outside but also because my husband and I have cobbled together a tradition of cooking good food and watching a film trilogy to end the year. We’ve decided tonight is going to be coq au vin with Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Trois Couleurs. 

Thanks for reading, and all the best for the start of 2019.

[kpnorman]

Addressing Research Concerns in MENA

Two important articles published in the wake of Matthew Hedges’ conviction of espionage in the UAE last week are worth your reading time. While Matthew was released and able to return to the UK, his conviction has led to a reckoning among academics (particularly Westerners) conducting research in the Gulf and in the MENA region more broadly. 

The first is written by Jannis Grimm, a research associate in Berlin, for Open Democracy. Grimm argues that,

“...countless researchers with little to no experience in the region...parachuted into the post-uprising contexts to interview the Tahrir revolutionaries. This had consequences – including for seasoned scholars who, for years, had treaded lightly to conduct their research despite the authoritarian closure. When the Arab Spring gave way to an autocratic restoration, both newcomers and old hands were in for a rude awakening.”

What became evident after the death of Giulio Regeni and again after the arrest of Matthew Hedges is that in the mind of Arab autocrats, “...the deployment of western scholars to the Arab World represents nothing short of a foreign intervention perpetuating neo-colonial asymmetries.”

The second article by Edward Fox for al-Fanar media looks at the shifting red lines in MENA countries that Western researchers may not know how to interpret. The author writes,

“As a political science student who had previously lived in the Emirates, Hedges may have found that research that previously would have been possible had become too sensitive to pursue safely in a changing political climate. He may have inadvertently crossed a red line, a limit of the permissible, where previously no such red line existed.”

These incidents have spurred numerous discussions in academic circles that are producing resources in the form of courses, handbooks and other types of trainings to help students and researchers learn how to protect themselves as well as interview subjects. Further institutional constraints and protections have also been imposed by universities, but mostly exist to protect them, rather than researchers, from liability. As Grimm writes,

“...the new restrictions on field research have unwittingly contributed to a securitization and juridification of field research. What is more, many of the new constraints on research are helpful in theory – but they put the burden of dealing adequately with risks firmly on the individual researcher.”

Frank and honest discussions are needed so that individuals do not have to confront difficult questions and circumstances alone. Last week at the annual meeting of the Middle East Studies Association in San Antonio, Texas I attended a panel put together by Rabab el Mahdi from the American University in Cairo that addressed some of these issues. Further such platforms and opportunities for debate and discussion-especially for graduate students and junior scholars-are needed. 

[kpnorman]

This week I traveled to Princeton University for a book workshop organized by POMEPS. Having senior scholars whose work I admire read by manuscript was intimidating, thrilling, and ultimately immeasurably helpful. Here’s hoping it will eventually see the light of day as a much improved book thanks to the incredible insight of those pictured above. 

[kpnorman]

The debate over ‘birthright’ citizenship distracts voters from real issues

With the midterm elections only days away, this is yet another wedge issue that Trump and his advisors are using to divide voters.

My op-ed on the debate over ‘birthright’ citizenship was published by the OC Register. The take-away in case you don't want to read the whole thing: the 14th Amendment is secure and this whole issue is meant to distract us and drum up nativist support ahead of the midterm elections. Let's not let that happen.

[kpnorman]

My article “Migration and Refugee Policy-Making in Modern Egypt, Morocco, and Turkey” was published by Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of Middle East and North African Migration Studies. It’s ungated and free to download.

[kpnorman]

Migration in the Mediterranean: A Second Crisis of Europe’s Making

By Devon Cone and Kelsey P. Norman for Denver Dialogues. EU heads of state met two weeks ago at a summit in Brussels to discuss migration, Brexit, and the Eurozone. On the migration front, leaders …

Belatedly sharing a post I co-authored with friend and colleague Devon Cone that addresses the EU Leaders' Summit from earlier this summer, the search for further ways of outsourcing responsibility for migrants and refugees to MENA countries, and what it all means in light the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration.

[kpnorman]

The US/Mexico Border

On this Memorial Day, a day of remembrance for many, it’s crucial that we also reflect on the current state of our country. I spend much of my time thinking about borders and border crossings, but very little of that is focused on my own country’s border with Mexico. There has been a series of alarming policy developments over the last year, and particularly the last month, as well as critical, eye-opening journalism capturing these developments and placing them in historical context. 

First and foremost, for me at least, is the administration’s new policy of separating children from parents at the border and holding them in separate detention facilities. Allegedly a measure to ‘deter’ unaccompanied minors, this policy seems unconstitutional at the very least, not to mention unnecessary and cruel.

Here are a series of important articles on this topic:

From immigration attorney Sharon Phillips: Immigrant women, children abused by gangs need our protection

ACLU report: Records claim border agents neglected, abused migrant kids

Trump made an immigration crackdown a priority. Jeff Sessions made it a reality.

Of course, the Trump administration is not the first to implement legally and morally dubious policies at the US/Mexico border. Radiolab put out an excellent three-part series last month that explains how the Clinton administration knowingly implemented a desert-as-deterrence policy in the 1990s that dramatically increased the number of migrant deaths in subsequent decades. Listen here. Part 2 is particularly harrowing. 

[kpnorman]

Migration, Cities, and Engaged Scholarship

By Kelsey P. Norman for Denver Dialogues. On April 3, 2018, just prior to the start of the annual meeting of the International Studies Association (ISA) in San Francisco, I co-organized (along wit…

A new post of mine for Political Violence at a Glance in which I discuss current tactics used by ICE against migrants and their advocates in San Francisco, as well as what scholars can do to incorporate the voices of groups doing work on the ground that combats discrimination, inequality, racism, or violations of due process.

[kpnorman]

Concerns Over a Coercive Return of Syrian Refugees from Lebanon

by Kelsey Norman Last summer, the issue of refugees returning to Syria began making headlines. The UNHCR reported in July 2017 that it had monitored the return of approximately 30,000 refugees from…

A short post I wrote for Political Violence at a Glance detailing my concerns about a possible (probable) return of Syrian refugees from Lebanon.

[kpnorman]

Full Frame: Let's Chat!

What is the first image that comes to mind when you hear the word “refugee”? Well, if you’re like many people, your answer probably includes mentions of deta...

Another Natakallam promo that I was more than happy to participate in, this time for CGTNnews network. It was filmed a bit less than two years ago and (amazingly!) my Syrian language tutor, Asalah, was resettled with her husband to Italy shortly after the filming. A Valentine’s Day love/hope story if I ever heard one.

[kpnorman]

I dragged Ganzeer along to an academic conference at the University of Balamand in Lebanon and it exceeded both our expectations. He wrote this short, thoughtful post on what made it such an exceptional meeting of minds (and hearts):

Overlooking Borders and Making Connections

There were those who spoke of geographical borders, and those who spoke of social borders. Linguistic borders were discussed, as were artistic and disciplinary borders. Three days of borderless talks about borders that were kicked off by a fascinating introduction to the very etymology of the Arabic word for borders (حدود), which shares its root with words like “severe” (حاد), “challenge” (تحدي), “determine” (حدد), “metal” (حديد), and “edge” (حد), which itself is also the word for “limit”.

This was at a conference at the University of Balamand in Lebanon, where I was in attendance with my lovely wife Kelsey P Norman who presented an excellent paper on migration and refugee policy in the Middle East and North Africa. The conference was organized by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and involved faculty members from across a great variety of departments from within Balamand and beyond. Despite the absence of a number of European speakers who dropped out due to “safety concerns”, the conference was still rich and eclectic in subject matter and proceeded with smooth efficiency that not even frequent power cuts could hinder.

The cross-pollination of knowledge brings about a rush of gleeful neuroactivity, one that is largely absent from too many conferences held in the Western world, but more particularly American conferences, where a great deal of emphasis is often placed on the conference’s “brand”, making the actual presentations and talks feel like almost advertising for the conference’s name, which is pushed to the forefront of the event at the expense of everything discussed within. More often than not, the people who present at these conferences do so because they’re either: (A) Getting paid to, or (B) They want to push their “product”, its availability and method of purchase often making up the closing remarks of any talk.

Not at the University of Balamand’s conference on borders, where a genuine desire to share knowledge and learn new things was its core driving force. Something other conference organizers can learn a thing or two from.

Another thing that cannot go unmentioned is the family-like bonds that are formed at conferences like Balamand’s. I’ve been to my fair share of conferences across Europe and the United States, all very professional, but very rarely resulting in the kind of personal connections forged at places like Balamand. This is likely a Lebanese thing, quite possibly a Mediterranean thing, whereby yes, matters of the mind are important, but of equal importance are matters of the heart. Of making friends.

Ganzeer Chekka, Lebanon November 26, 2017

[kpnorman]

Geneva Talks Will Not Salvage U.S. Syria Policy

The United States is back in on Syria’s peace talks. After a hands-off, barely engaged interlude early in the Trump administration, Washington has recommit

With another round of failed Geneva talks and Putin declaring victory in Syria, the main question on my mind is that of returns. Speaking to Lebanese officials & UN agencies last week, several things are clear: In Lebanon's view: 

(1) the war in Syria is considered over; 

(2) all political parties agree that refugees will have to return, it's just a matter of when & whether negotiations will happen through Assad or through the UN. 

But a few things to consider: 

(1) If Assad remains in power, what happens to those who fled to avoid conscription or to avoid jail/torture for political activities? What assurances will they have upon return? Even if assurances are made, who will be monitoring on the ground? 

(2) We know from other refugee crises that not everyone returns. Some have set up lives or businesses, some have learned the language of their host communities, some will be too fearful. What kind of legal status will these individuals be entitled to in host countries going forward? What will the international community do protect them if donor funds for Syrian refugees completely dry up?

[kpnorman]

About Alaa: Prison isolates and so does your silence

On remembering and not forgetting, ahead of Alaa Abd El Fattah's trial tomorrow

By chance I picked up Ahdaf Soueif's “Cairo: My City, Our Revolution” from my husband’s bookshelf the other night and have been consumed since then by the tragedy that continues to befall this compassionate, brave, tireless family. This happens to coincide with Alaa Abd El-Fattah's (the nephew of Soueif) appeal tomorrow, which could either uphold his five-year verdict, reduce his sentence, or acquit him. Ahmed Naji, who also unjustly spent time in jail, wrote this piece for Mada Masr reflecting on his time with Alaa and warning us about forgetting. #FreeAlaa