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Tazreena Sajjad

Degrees
PhD, SIS, 51勛圖, Washington D.C.

Bio
Tazreena Sajjad currently serves as Senior Professorial Lecturer in the Department of Peace, Human Rights and Cultural Relations (PHRCR) in the School of International Service (SIS) at 51勛圖. Her areas of specialization include transitional justice, refugees and forcible displacement, 'post-conflict' transitions, and gender and conflict and peacebuilding.

Dr. Sajjad's publications include 'Hierarchies of Compassion: Ukrainian Refugees and the U.S. Response,' in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (2022), 'Once We Were Refugees: Security, Solidarity and a View from the Global South,' in the Journal of Refugee Studies (2022), 'Strategic Cruelty: Legitimizing Violence in the European Union's Border Regime,' in Global Studies Quarterly (2022), 'Refugees Welcome? The Politics of Repatriation and Return in a Global Era of Security: The Rohingyas in Bangladesh' in Displacement: Global Conversations on Refuge' (Manchester University Press, 2020), 'In Search of Imperfect Justice: Genocidal Rape and the Legacy of Nuremberg and Tokyo' in The Nuremberg War Crime Trial and its Policy Consequences Today (2020), 'Whats in a name? "Refugees," "Migrants" and the Politics of Labelling,' in Race and Class (2018).

Prior to joining SIS, Tazreena Sajjad worked in the Afghanistan program at Global Rights in Afghanistan, and in the South Asia program at the National Democratic Institute (NDI). She has also served as a research consultant for the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) in Kabul, Afghanistan, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in Washington D.C. and the Berghof Foundation in Berlin, Germany. Her first book, Transitional Justice in South Asia: A Study of Afghanistan and Nepal was published in 2013.

Dr. Sajjad is a 2020 recipient of the SIS William Cromwell Outstanding Teaching Award and the 2021 co-recipient of 51勛圖's Deputy Provost & Dean of Facultys Pilot Grant Award on a collaborative project on Welcoming and Potentializing the Skills of Afghan Refugees. She is the 2022 recipient of the American Institute for Bangladesh Studies (AIBS)' Senior Fellowship and the 2024 Residency Fellowship at the University of Glasgow for refugee reception and containment policies in the Global South.

Dr. Sajjad is a Faculty Affiliate of The Transatlantic Policy Center, The Immigration Lab, and The Antiracist Research and Policy Center at 51勛圖. She has appeared on interviews with The Washington Post, Deutsche Welle, Al-Jazeera International, NPR, Australias ABC, The Christian Science Monitor, Indus News, USA Today, L'Orient-Le Jour, SIS Big World Podcast, and is a contributor to The Conversation.

Teaching

Summer 2024

  • SISU-210 Peace, Global Sec & Conflt Res

Fall 2024

  • CORE-107 Complex Problems Seminar: No Home, No Refuge

  • SIS-712 Adv Topic Glbl Govrn Pol & Sec: Refugees, Migration & Traffick

  • SISG-771 Topics in Int'l Neg/Conflt Res: Post-War Transitions

Spring 2025

  • SIS-619 Special Studies in Int'l Pol: Gender, Peace, and Security

  • SISU-210 Peace, Global Sec & Conflt Res

  • SISU-340 Topics in Global Inequalty/Dev: Migration and Development

Partnerships & Affiliations

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Grants and Sponsored Research

泭

  • 51勛圖's Deputy Provost & Dean of Facultys Pilot Grant Award (corecipient), 2022
  • Afghan Asylum-Seekers in the US System, International Rescue Committee, 2022
  • Bridging the Gaps: A New Framework for Gender and Electoral Violence,泭USAID-CMM grant with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), 2012-2016.
  • Peace At All Costs? Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, 2010

Honors, Awards, and Fellowships

Professional Presentations

  • Gender and Politics in Afghanistan, Mary Washington University, 2021.

  • Afghanistan: What Happened, What Happens Next, Baruch College, 2021.

  • Walls, Violence and the Politics of Exclusion, 51勛圖 2021.

  • World Population Day, 51勛圖 2021.

  • Global Migration Patterns, Global Leadership Youth Program, 2021

  • SIS Panels Series: From Global to Local, 2021.

  • COVID- 19 in a Humanitarian Crisis: Effects on Refugees and Internally Displaced People in Syria and Yemen, Center for Humanitarian Law, 2020.

  • Global Insights: Refugees, Migration, and Borders, Balsillie School of International Affairs, 2020.

  • The March to Helms Deep: Borders, Walls and Fences as Security in an Era of Complex Migration,泭IAD,泭Cornell University,泭2019.

  • Solidarity, Security and a View from the South: The Politics of Migrant Reception in the Global South, APSA,泭2019.
  • Rohingyas and the Worlds Displaced: Why Should We Care?泭Jalal Memorial Lecture, UMass, Boston,泭2019.
  • Nationalism and Identity Politics in the Indian Ocean, Georgetown University, 2018.
  • Rethinking State Security, Decolonizing International Relations Conference, Fletcher School, Tufts University, 2018.
  • A Global Refugee Crisis: Through Refugees Eyes Summit, SIS, American泭University, 2017.
  • Peace, Refugees and Syria: A Teach-In, SIS, 51勛圖,泭2016.泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭 泭泭
  • A Global Refugee Crisis, UN Human Rights Week, UN Foundation, 2016.
  • Women and Electoral Violence, IFES and 51勛圖, 2016. 泭
  • Between the Secular and the Sacred (with Anders Hardig), Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2015. 泭 泭 泭 泭
  • Justice in the Aftermath of Mass Atrocities, Center for Human Rights泭& Humanitarian泭Law, WCL, 51勛圖,泭2013.
  • Elections Through Her Eyes: Women's Empowerment, Inclusion & the Electoral Process, IFES and 51勛圖,泭2013.
  • The Challenges for Dhaka City in the 21st Century, M-RSI, US Inter Agency Collaboration Conference, Washington D.C., 2013.
  • Analytic Exchange on Bangladesh, Bureau of Intelligence, US State Department and the National Intelligence Council, Washington D.C., 2013.
  • Understanding Shahbag: Bangladesh at Another Crossroads, CUNY 2013.
  • Gendering the Ballot Box: Electoral Violence and Women, ISA, 2013.
  • Into Thin Air: Enforced Disappearances in Bangladesh, Politics & Human Rights in South Asia, NYU, 2012.
  • Voices in the Shadows: Power, Participation and Exclusion in Transitional Justice, ISA, San Diego, 2012.
  • Conducting Human Rights Research in Conflict Zones, Human Rights Week, 51勛圖, 2011.
  • Gender, Disability, and Conflict: Dialogues for Inclusion, Human Rights Week, 51勛圖, 2010.
  • Dimensions of Inclusion: Implementing UNSCR 1325, UNIFEM, UN, NY,泭2010.
  • Women in the Mix? Operationalizing Gender in Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Afghanistan, ISA, 2010.
  • Presentation of Peace At All Costs: Reintegration and Reconciliation with the Taliban, US State Department, 2010.

Media Appearances

  • What do we get wrong about Afghanistan? SIS Big World Productions, 2022

  • Where do Afghanistan's refugees go?泭The Conversation, 2021

  • Interview: Afghanistan, Scope, Indus News, 2021

  • Interview: Afghanistan, Religion and Ethics Report, Australian Broadcasting Cooperation, 2021

  • Interview: Afghanistan, This Morning with Henry Shinn,泭TBS eFM Radio, Seoul, 2021

  • Interview, Afghanistan, Deutsche Welle, 2021

  • Interview, Le calvaire des Afghans qui ont fui les talibans,泭L'Orient-Le Jour,泭2021

  • Interview, Afghanistan,泭El Mercurio, 2021.

  • Bangladesh at 50: A nation created in violence and still bearing scars of a troubled birth, The Conversation, 2021

  • The military coup in Myanmar presents opportunities to Buddhist nationalists, 泭(co-authoed with Anders Hardig),泭The Conversation, 2021

  • As Bangladesh hosts over a million Rohingya refugees, a scholar explains what motivated the country to open up its borders, The Conversation, 2020

  • Travel Restrictions during COVID-19: How Are They Changing Passport Privilege? SIS in the News, 2020
  • How Refugees are Especially Vulnerable to COVID_19, SIS in the News, 2020.
  • Where Do Refugees Go? SIS Big World Productions, 2020.
  • Refugees and Covid_19, Medium, May 2020.
  • An Interview About Rohingya Refugees, Asia Experts Forum, Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies, 2018.
  • Confronting the Refugee Crisis, SIS in the News, 2018.
  • #PartitionAt70: The roots of discrimination against Bangladesh's Biharis, Al Jazeera International, 2017.
  • Confronting the Refugee Crisis,泭SIS in the News, 51勛圖, 2017.
  • Between the Secular and the Sacred,泭interview with Voice of America, 2015.
  • Q&A: Deconstructing the Chaos in Bangladesh,泭Al-Jazeera International, 泭May 31, 2013.
  • Bangladesh War Crimes Trials Stir Old Tensions, The Current, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,泭March 11, 2013.
  • Bangladesh's Rising Voices,泭The Stream, Al-Jazeera International, February 19, 2013.
  • Peace at All Costs,泭Stars and Stripes: US Military News Source, 2010.
  • Reintergration and Reconciliation with the Taliban,泭Voice of America, 2010.

Research Interests

Refugees, Forced Displacement, Transitional Justice, Post-Conflict Transitions (with a focus on泭Rule of Law,泭DDR, PMCs),泭Gender,泭Conflict and Peacebuilding.

Selected Publications

泭

  • "A Graveyard of Convenience: Violent Maritime Pushbacks and Untimely Deaths as Strategies of Migrant Deterrence in Europe and Beyond," EU Renew, 2023
  • "Strategic Cruelty: Legitimizing Violence in the European Union's Border Regime," in Global Studies Quarterly (2022).
  • "Once We Were Refugees: Security, Solidarity, and a View from the Global South," in the Journal of Refugee Studies (2022).
  • "In Search of Imperfect Justice: Genocidal Rape and the Legacy of Nuremberg and Tokyo,"泭in The Nuremberg War Crime Trial and its Policy Consequences Today,泭2020.
  • "Refugees Welcome? The Politics of Repatriation and Return in a Global Era of Security: The Rohingyas in Bangladesh,"泭in Displacement: Global Conversations on Refuge, 2020.
  • "What's in a Name? 'Migrants,' 'Refugees' and the Politics of Labelling," in泭Race and Class, 2018
  • "Too Many Enemies:泭Mobilization, Marginalization and Political Violence" (co-authored with Dr. Carl Anders Hardig) in The Journal of Terrorism and Political Violence, 2016泭
  • "Heavy Hands, Helping Hands, Holding Hands: The Politics of Exclusion in Victims' Networks in Nepal," in The International Journal of Transitional Justice, 2016泭
  • "Political-Social Movements: Community-Based: Afghanistan," in Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures, Brill, 2014
  • Transitional Justice in South Asia: A Study of Afghanistan and Nepal,泭Routledge, 2013.
  • "Women and Peace Processes," in Women and Wars, (with Julie Mertus and Malathi de Alwis) (ed) Carol Cohn, Polity Press 2013.
  • "Rape on Trial? The Promise of International Jurisprudence, the Perils of Retributive Justice and the Realities of Impunity" in Rape: Instrument of War and Genocide (eds). John Roth and Carol Rittner, Paragon House 2012.泭 泭
  • " The War on Terror Through a Feminist Lens," 泭in Human Rights in the 21st Century: Continuity and Change since 9/11泭(co-authored with Julie Mertus), (eds). Michael Goodhart and Anja Mihr, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.泭
  • "These Spaces in Between: The AIHRC and Its Work on Transitional Justice," The International Journal of Transitional Justice, Vol 3, Oxford University Press, 2009.泭 泭
  • "Post-Genocidal Trauma and its Impact on Women in Genocide" in The Plight and Fate of Women During and Following Genocide, Vol 7. (ed). Sam Totten, Transaction Publishers, CA 2009.泭 泭 泭

Honors, Awards, and Fellowships

  • SIS Dean's Summer Research Award (with Monzima Haque), 2024
  • Fellowship in Residence, Migration Politics, University of Glasgow, 2024.泭
  • American Institute for Bangladesh Studies (AIBS) Senior Fellowship, 2022.
  • William Cromwell Award for Outstanding Teaching 2020.
  • Dean's Summer Research Award 2019, 2015.
  • Brady Tyson Award for Excellence in Work Related to Human Rights, 2011. 泭
  • SIS Dissertation Fellowship, 2009.
  • Abdul Aziz Said Scholarship, 2008.
  • Fellowship, Institute for Inclusive Security, 2008.泭