Nazia Arifa (on Leave)

Grounded in Political Science and Public Administration, my scholarly agenda examines the political economy of forced displacement, state sovereignty, and border governance. Drawing on foundational frameworks in comparative politics and international relations, I investigate how geopolitical dynamics, securitization regimes, and transboundary hydropolitics intersect to condition refugee governance and public policy execution across South/Southeast Asia and North America. My research critically analyzes the political and structural mechanisms through which state power, environmental stressors, and national security apparatuses shape local institutional responses, humanitarian action, and the policy landscape surrounding displaced populations.

Empirically, my work focuses on the protracted Rohingya refugee crisis and the political dynamics of climate-induced migration, transboundary water management, and settlement infrastructure. Utilizing qualitative interpretive methodologies, specifically feminist ethnography and community-engaged participatory action research (PAR), I interrogate the tensions between state-centric security models and human security paradigms. By examining how frontline bureaucracies, local governance institutions, and displaced communities negotiate power and policy on the ground, my research contributes to critical political science debates on state authority, multi-level governance, and marginalized populations' agency in the Global South and beyond.

My primary research interest examines the governance of forced displacement, transboundary hydropolitics, and border security, situated at the intersection of Political Science and Public Administration. My core research goal is to advance policy-relevant frameworks explaining how state sovereignty, environmental stressors, and national security models shape refugee integration and settlement infrastructure—with a central empirical focus on the protracted Rohingya refugee crisis and climate-induced migration across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and North America. Grounded in qualitative interpretive methodologies, including feminist ethnography and Participatory Action Research (PAR), this agenda aims to bridge theoretical debates on state power and human security while fostering reciprocal research partnerships between North American and South Asian institutions.

To achieve this goal, my target indicators measure high-impact scholarly productivity, external funding success, and broad knowledge mobilization. On the publishing front, my indicator is to produce two to three peer-reviewed articles every two years in leading political science, policy, and migration journals, along with a book monograph proposal. Methodologically and financially, my target involves conducting extensive, community-engaged field research funded through competitive national awards, such as the IPSFC fellowship. Finally, my dissemination and impact metrics target two international conference presentations annually (such as at CPSA or ISA), the publication of policy briefs for non-academic humanitarian stakeholders, and the co-organization of joint research workshops connecting the University of Victoria with host partner institutions in South Asia.