Prolonged Social Contact with Internally Displaced Migrants Does Not Reduce Prejudice among Locals in Wartime Settings

Abstract

Can prolonged social contact reduce local residents' prejudice toward internally displaced persons (IDPs) in fragile and violent settings? Despite record numbers of IDPs globally, there are few experimental tests of the causal effects of intergroup contact on views toward migrants, and almost none in countries experiencing active conflict. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of a vocational skills training program in Kandahar, Afghanistan, that enrolled 2,597 locals and migrants, in near equal numbers. The program offered prolonged and meaningful contact; courses lasted three or six months and emphasized soft-skills, interpersonal development, and learning a technical trade. Unlike most contact studies that measure outcomes the same day, we surveyed locals at the end of the program and again eight months later. Despite meeting the conditions for contact theory, we find no evidence of prejudice reduction toward IDPs regardless of classroom demographics or course duration.