Marisa O Ensor, PhD, LLM
I am a gender and youth specialist with a background in the human dimensions of disasters, environmental change, conflict, displacement & security. Trained in political ecology (environmental anthropology) and human rights law, I have 15+ years of scholarship and practice in conflict-affected, and environmentally-fragile countries in Africa, Europe, the MENA region and Latin America.
Much of my work examines women’s and girls’ positive roles in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, human mobility, disaster risk management, and environmental governance, including climate action, focusing on the identification of context-specific solutions.
I am currently based at Georgetown University – Justice and Peace Studies Program and Institute for the Study of International Migration, School of Foreign Service.
Prior to joining Georgetown, I taught at several other universities in the US and abroad, including the American University in Cairo’s Center for Migration and Refugee Studies.
I have published 5 books and over 40 journal articles, book chapters, and policy briefs, and has presented her work in a wide range of global venues.
Much of my work examines women’s and girls’ positive roles in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, human mobility, disaster risk management, and environmental governance, including climate action, focusing on the identification of context-specific solutions.
I am currently based at Georgetown University – Justice and Peace Studies Program and Institute for the Study of International Migration, School of Foreign Service.
Prior to joining Georgetown, I taught at several other universities in the US and abroad, including the American University in Cairo’s Center for Migration and Refugee Studies.
I have published 5 books and over 40 journal articles, book chapters, and policy briefs, and has presented her work in a wide range of global venues.
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Books by Marisa O Ensor, PhD, LLM
Acknowledging that migrant children do not speak with one single voice, this volume bears testimony to the enormous diversity and multifaceted character of child migration. Drawing on rich ethnographic data as well as quantitative surveys, the book examines the experiences of children in a wide variety of migratory circumstances including economic child migrants, transnational students, trafficked, stateless, fostered, unaccompanied and undocumented children. This collection addresses theoretical, methodological and ethical considerations of research with migrant children, and analyze aspects of health, education, work, kinship and gender issues, as well as the special circumstances presented by forced migration.
Acknowledging that migrant children do not speak with one single voice, this volume bears testimony to the enormous diversity and multifaceted character of child migration. Drawing on rich ethnographic data as well as quantitative surveys, the book examines the experiences of children in a wide variety of migratory circumstances including economic child migrants, transnational students, trafficked, stateless, fostered, unaccompanied and undocumented children. This collection addresses theoretical, methodological and ethical considerations of research with migrant children, and analyze aspects of health, education, work, kinship and gender issues, as well as the special circumstances presented by forced migration.
As it swept across the Honduran landscape, the exceptional size, power and duration of Hurricane Mitch abruptly and brutally altered the already diminished economic, social, and environmental conditions of the population. In the aftermath of the disaster a group of seven socio-environmental scientists set out to investigate the root causes of the heightened vulnerability that characterized pre-Mitch Honduras, the impact of the catastrophe on the local society, and the subsequent recovery efforts. Edited by Marisa O. Ensor, this volume presents the findings of their investigation.
The Legacy of Hurricane Mitch offers a comprehensive analysis of the immediate and long-term consequences of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras. Based on longitudinal ethnographic fieldwork and environmental assessments, this volume illustrates the importance of adopting an approach to disaster research and practice that places "natural" trigger events within their political, cultural, and socio-economic contexts. The contributors make a compelling case against post-disaster recovery efforts that limit themselves to alleviating the symptoms, rather than confronting the root causes of the vulnerability that prefigured the disaster.
Papers by Marisa O Ensor, PhD, LLM
Acknowledging that migrant children do not speak with one single voice, this volume bears testimony to the enormous diversity and multifaceted character of child migration. Drawing on rich ethnographic data as well as quantitative surveys, the book examines the experiences of children in a wide variety of migratory circumstances including economic child migrants, transnational students, trafficked, stateless, fostered, unaccompanied and undocumented children. This collection addresses theoretical, methodological and ethical considerations of research with migrant children, and analyze aspects of health, education, work, kinship and gender issues, as well as the special circumstances presented by forced migration.
Acknowledging that migrant children do not speak with one single voice, this volume bears testimony to the enormous diversity and multifaceted character of child migration. Drawing on rich ethnographic data as well as quantitative surveys, the book examines the experiences of children in a wide variety of migratory circumstances including economic child migrants, transnational students, trafficked, stateless, fostered, unaccompanied and undocumented children. This collection addresses theoretical, methodological and ethical considerations of research with migrant children, and analyze aspects of health, education, work, kinship and gender issues, as well as the special circumstances presented by forced migration.
As it swept across the Honduran landscape, the exceptional size, power and duration of Hurricane Mitch abruptly and brutally altered the already diminished economic, social, and environmental conditions of the population. In the aftermath of the disaster a group of seven socio-environmental scientists set out to investigate the root causes of the heightened vulnerability that characterized pre-Mitch Honduras, the impact of the catastrophe on the local society, and the subsequent recovery efforts. Edited by Marisa O. Ensor, this volume presents the findings of their investigation.
The Legacy of Hurricane Mitch offers a comprehensive analysis of the immediate and long-term consequences of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras. Based on longitudinal ethnographic fieldwork and environmental assessments, this volume illustrates the importance of adopting an approach to disaster research and practice that places "natural" trigger events within their political, cultural, and socio-economic contexts. The contributors make a compelling case against post-disaster recovery efforts that limit themselves to alleviating the symptoms, rather than confronting the root causes of the vulnerability that prefigured the disaster.
The rise of the concepts of “violent extremism” (VE) and CVE has caused much discussion within peacebuilding communities around the world. Some see opportunities where the agenda of CVE and peacebuilding overlap. Others believe it is an agenda that distracts from the real root causes of conflict, and could actually undermine peacebuilding efforts.
To explore these issues further Peace Direct held a collaborative research project for experts and practitioners interested in this area. A range of experts in the topics of violent extremism and peacebuilding, from diverse contexts and expertise, came together to discuss these issues in an online forum run by the Convetit platform (www.convetit. com).
Here's the official UN report:
https://gender-nr-peace.org/assets/2020_GCS_Report/GCS_PolicyReport_200611.pdf
And this is the website with an interactive map of current projects:
https://www.gender-nr-peace.org/gender-climate-security/
Seasonal changes in precipitation and temperature affect soil moisture, evaporation rates, river flows, lake levels, and snow cover. The resulting changes in vegetation affect the type and amount of food available for humans and other organisms. Women and girls represent a high percentage of poor communities that are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihood. In rural areas, they are primarily responsible for household water supply and energy for cooking and heating, as well as for food security.
https://gender-nr-peace.org/news/spotlights/show/NewsItem-5982
https://gender-nr-peace.org/news/spotlights/show/NewsItem-6011
Destabilized by COVID-19 and the worst devastation from locusts in half a century, water security in the EAC countries was further compromised in 2020 by floods that contaminated water sources across much of the region. The floods were triggered by torrential rains that started in March and intensified again in August and September, leading to massive flooding and landslides. This caused almost 500 deaths, mainly in Kenya and Rwanda, and vast population displacement. In South Sudan, months of cycling between flooding and violence forced an estimated 600,000 people to flee their homes. Most of those displaced were women and children.
https://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/migration/laenderprofile/317971/south-sudanese-women
Indigenous women and girls are making significant contributions to the parallel Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) global agendas. With their traditional knowledge of natural resource management, they can offer valuable insights on how to cope with the negative impacts of climate change. Yet, they are often the targets of violence.
Read the rest of it here: https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2020/02/unsung-sheroes-climate-action-global-peace-security-agendas/
Read the rest here:
https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2019/09/environmental-peacebuilding-answer-south-sudans-conflict/
Read the rest here: https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2019/07/climate-change-meets-positive-peace/
Despite the long-standing anthropological interest in conflict, intergroup hostility and social cohesion (Fried 1957; Murphy 1957; Otterbein 1968), and a more recent focus on youth violence (Abbink and van Kessel 2005; Ensor 2013; Hart 2008), our discipline’s engagement with the CVE field has to-date been rather limited. I argue here that the anthropology of children and youth is well positioned to contribute to this field by elucidating the socio-cultural basis of radicalization and violent extremism. is understanding is crucial to the development of pro- grams to mitigate extremist activity and foster societal resilience.
* Also available to qualified upper-level undergraduate students with permission form both their advisor and the instructor.
This seminar examines the key concepts and theories underpinning both social studies of childhood and youth, and international development scholarship and practice. Beginning with the recognition that engaging young people in a constructive manner constitutes a development imperative, we will analyze the role of youth as significant actors in international and local community development as well as key players in civil society and peacebuilding. Topics to be discussed include young people’s education and health, their involvement in labor and contribution to livelihood strategies, environmental issues, the situation of youngsters living in especially difficult circumstances, and youth’s engagement in peacebuilding, social and economic justice and community organizing. We will also consider how youth’s potential for participation in development processes may be undermined by poverty, inadequate access to education and health facilities, exploitation, violence, insecurity, and displacement. Attention will be paid to the ways in which youth’s involvement in process of international development in shaped by globalization and growing international inequality, as well as more local conditions and cultural practices. The approach will be interdisciplinary, combining theoretical and practical dimensions, and acknowledging the contributions of social scientists, human rights advocates, and young people themselves to youth-inclusive development research, policy and practice. Discussions, lectures and assigned readings provide the bulk of the course materials, supplemented with occasional videos and guest speakers.
This seminar examines some of the most relevant issues facing displaced children worldwide from socio-cultural and human rights perspectives. Topics to be discussed include the theory,
methods and ethics of research with displaced children, the international legal framework, the role of culture, refugee movements and internal displacement, children as labor migrants, child soldiers, unaccompanied minors, children in disasters, and human trafficking. Attention will be paid to the ways in which migration and refugee movements are linked to both local and global issues of poverty, (under)development, environmental degradation, conflict, and displacement as they affect children. The contributions of anthropologists and human rights advocates to protection work on behalf of displaced children will also be examined. Discussions, lectures and assigned readings provide the bulk of the course material, supplemented with occasional videos and guest speakers.
The recent proliferation of international activity on youth, peace and security (YPS) has been motivated by demographic imperatives – today’s generation of youth is larger than it has been at any other time in human history – as well as geopolitical realities – more than 600 million of those youngsters live in conflict-affected regions. As the concept of national security has been expanded to the broader construct of “human security”, security agendas have been globalized, linking security concerns in the Global North to political unrest and fragility in more peripheral regions of the global economy where most of this “youth bulge” – or “youth dividend”, depending on one’s standpoint – lives. The global YPS agenda has further been driven by moral panics over the purportedly growing threat of radicalization of globally-connected but marginalized youth by media-savvy extremist groups.
Adopted in December 2015, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 (UNSCR 2250) on Youth, Peace and Security formalized the global YPS agenda by establishing an international framework to address the critical role of youth in building and sustaining peace and preventing violent conflict. A Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security, as requested by UNSCR 2250, was recently made available . Titled "The Missing Peace: Independent Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security", this study provides a blueprint for implementing UNSCR 2250 and the follow-on resolution 2419(2018).
Supporters of UNSCR 2250 posit that this resolution is an important landmark for the recognition of the constructive role young people can play as agents for positive change, recognizing their contributions as catalysts for peace and actors in preventing violence. More critical views have also emerged, observing that “such arguments do not hold up to scrutiny, as recent documents on global youth and security are saturated with concerns with youth as threat and liability”. Dominant gender discourses in the global YPS agenda remain problematic and constitute a further point of contention.
The chapters included in this edited volume seek to advance this debate by sharing empirical findings on youth’s engagement in the wide range of experiences related to the peace and security field. Lessons learned may inform the global Youth, Peace and Security agenda so that it better responds to on-the-ground realities, hence promoting more sustainable and inclusive approaches to long-lasting peace.