Lamis Abdelaaty, associate professor of political science, has been awarded a $70,000 grant from the Gerda Henkel Foundation to support research for her second book, “Refugees in Crisis.” The book will examine what constitutes a refugee crisis, how the designation of a situation as a refugee crisis shapes the behavior of state and nonstate actors, and what the consequences are for refugees themselves.

Abdelaaty is a senior research associate in the Campbell Public Affairs Institute and the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration. She researches international relations, human rights and humanitarian action, asylum and migration. Her first book, “Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees” (Oxford University Press, 2021), asks why countries open their borders to some refugees while blocking others, and why countries have given the United Nations control of asylum procedures and refugee camps on their territory. It was awarded the Best Book Prize by the Migration and Citizenship section of the American Political Science Association in 2022. 

The Gerda Henkel Foundation is based in Germany and was established in June 1976 by Lisa Maskell in memory of her mother, its namesake. It provides financial support for the historical humanities. 

In addition to the Gerda Henkel Foundation grant, Abdelaaty has received a research assistant grant from the Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (SOURCE) for her forthcoming book.

Abdelaaty received a Ph.D. from Princeton University in 2014.