Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Read an extract from ‘Refuge’, the new book by Alexander Betts and Paul Collier

Today the Guardian publishes an edited extract from the new book by Alexander Betts (RSC Director) and Paul Collier (Blavatnik School of Government), Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System.

Going beyond the scenes of desperation that have become all too familiar in the past few years in Europe and beyond, Betts and Collier show how international policymakers can deliver humane, effective and sustainable outcomes that are better both for refugees and for host countries.

They argue that we need to change how we think about refugees’ needs, moving away from the “humanitarian silo” approach (focused on basic needs of food and shelter), to a new approach encompassing autonomy, access to jobs, and education.

The example of recent policy in Jordan, arising from ideas formed by Betts and Collier on a trip to Zaatari, illustrates a creative approach that can “simultaneously benefit refugees, contribute to Jordan’s own national development strategy, and incubate the post-conflict recovery in Syria.”

Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System will be published by Penguin Allen Lane on 30 March.

Read the Guardian extract here >>