Poverty, in addition to fleeing war, is one of the main factors driving international migration. While such migration can bring great benefits to both countries of origin and destination countries, there is often poor integration leading to the emergence of tensions between newcomers and natives. Does poor integration pose security risks? Does it threaten to create an underclass susceptible to the lure of international terrorism? Are such problems best addressed by repressive policies, or rather by policies aimed at supporting and promoting integration? Can we promote international security through certain forms of development cooperation? Over the years, a wide range of policy instruments and associated interventions have been developed by both governments and private actors to address causes and/or consequences of poverty. Looking to the future, a major challenge lies in understanding the effectiveness of these policy instruments so that we can better understand what to focus on. In doing so, the stakes are both to reduce poverty and to increase global well-being.
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Answering this question requires a multidisciplinary approach. Insights from economics, international relations, sociology, law, history and development studies can contribute to unravelling how certain policy interventions work. Examples include peace operations, food aid, security partnerships, investments in the economy or in the development of democratic rule of law. These interventions aim to contribute positively to people's prosperity and well-being. For science, one of the challenges lies in applied/evaluative research into the effectiveness of particular interventions, where comparative research can provide insight into the effectiveness of different types of approach, but also of different types of policy instruments, such as communicative, financial-economic, legal and facilitative instruments. In doing so, it is also important to conduct evaluative/comparative research into the preconditions within which an intervention does or does not work. Consider the extent to which there is political support for certain measures. Achieving innovation in tackling poverty through strategic/design-oriented research is a challenge. It is economically important to develop interventions that both reduce poverty and lead to greater economic added value - and thus increased prosperity. In addition, new insights can be incorporated into new types of interventions. This question can be perceived from both a national and international perspective.
