Converging International Organisations in the Climate-Migration Debate

Abstract

This final chapter brings together all three levels for analysis from this study—historical involvement, disaster response in the context of Typhoon Haiyan and individual perspectives on agency involvement and cooperation—and discusses broader knowledge claims that may be deduced from this book. Ultimately, this study finds that the issue area of environmental and disaster displacement has led to a converging of agency roles at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM), which has blurred the lines for agency involvement both independently and in partnership. Where differences exist, they are often historically inherited and entrenched in agency policies and structures, which largely dictate the way agencies respond to the issue area and how they are perceived by external forces. However, despite (or, because of) this, the IOM and UNHCR share many of the same concerns and appear to work well together in certain contexts. Implications for those studying international organisations (IOs) more broadly (especially in emerging issue areas) are discussed, as is the significance of this book for both policy and practice.