On 17 December 2021, Dr. Tihomir Sabchev successfully defended his doctoral dissertation titled "Local authorities, human rights and the reception and integration of forced migrants in Greece and Italy". In this episode, Tihomir is interviewed by his Cities of Refuge colleagues and supervisors Barbara Oomen and Moritz Baumgärtel on some of the key findings of his four-year research project. This includes a conversation about the scope and sustainability of local policies in Greece, the relationship of Greek local authorities to international organizations, the relevance of human rights in local approaches to migration in cities like Bologna, the significance (and limits) of mayoral leadership, and his current work exploring the potential of community-based refugee sponsorship.

Selected chapters of Tihomir Sabchev's PhD thesis are also available online, including "Against all odds: Thessaloniki’s local policy activism in the reception and integration of forced migrants", Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 47, 1435-1454, "The role of local political leadership in the reception of forced migrants: evidence from Greece", Territory, Politics, Governance, and "Human Rights Localisation and Individual Agency" (with Sara Miellet and Elif Durmus), Myth or Lived Reality On the (In)Effectiveness of Human Rights.

This episode was produced with the assistance of Sithis Yim Samnang.