In the Maze of Displacement: Conflict, Migration and Change addresses diverse situations of displacement in Asian, African and Latin American countries and how the affected people perceive and cope with them. The aim of the book is to enhance the reader's understanding of the complex dynamics of migration and change driven by violent conflicts and environmental disasters. The studies are relevant to policy makers engaged in designing interventions forcused on improving the livelihoods and well being of the displaced, as well as the host communities in different contexts in the south.

This book contains a richly varied collection of studies of how various communities respond to calamities of a particular kind, i.e. forced displacement. Drawing on the disciplines of geography, anthropology, political economy and environmental/development studies, the cases provide fresh insight into the variable dynamic of displacement. In some cases the communities are marginalized, brutalized and virtually destroyed; in others, the displaced succeed in rebuilding their communities. In each and every case, this volume gives voice to the displaced by focusing on "agency" rather than "structure." Astri Suhrkes, Chr. Michelsen Institute.