Maya Beney

Migration Studies (2022 cohort)

Maya is a DPhil candidate in International Development. She holds a MSc in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies from Oxford (Distinction), and a BA from Cambridge in History (Starred First), where she was the top-ranking woman in her cohort.

Her DPhil research examines how perceptions of time shape 'durable solutions' for internally displaced persons (IDPs) alongside the success of the humanitarian-development nexus. Despite durable solutions becoming the new buzzword for long-term, resilient solutions, there exists little in-depth analysis of this concept beyond the traditional three pathways. For example, when is an IDP no longer an IDP? How durable are the durable solutions? When do humanitarians leave – and when does development begin?

The principal case study for this research is Northwest Syria, focusing on practitioners’ different attitudes towards durable solutions in the ‘field’ in Gaziantep, versus institutional HQs in New York, Geneva, and Amman.

Prior commencing her DPhil, Maya consulted for the Danish Refugee Council on durable solutions in Yemen, and produced an independent report for the UN’s International Organization for Migration Iraq on innovation within the country mission. Her experience in the humanitarian sector further includes leading grants and proposals for REACH Yemen.

Maya welcomes inquiries about her research and opportunities for collaboration with UN agencies and INGOs. She can be contacted at: maya.beney@qeh.ox.ac.uk.