Theoretical Perspectives on Post-Migration Adaptation and Psychological Well-Being among Refugees: Towards a Resource-Based Model

Research on the psychological well-being of refugees has focusedon deficiencies within individuals either in terms of psychiatricsymptoms or feelings of distress. To achieve a more holisticview of the life experiences of refugees, we need to look atthe limitations of our current theoretical models. This articlecritically examines some of the major theoretical approachesthat have guided research on the psychological well-being ofrefugees: the medical model, the psychosocial stress model andBerry's (1997) ‘acculturation framework’. It goeson to examine Hobfoll's (2001) Conservation of Resources stresstheory, a model which has important implications for refugeeresearch. Drawing upon the models reviewed, the last sectionoutlines a conceptual framework for adaptation among refugees.At the heart of it lies the concept of resources. However, resourcesmust be understood in terms of the individual's needs, personalgoals and the demands he or she encounters. Each of these conceptsmust be examined in the context of the pre-migration, flightand post-migration phases. The additional concept of constraintson the use of or access to resources is particularly relevantto the post-migration phase. Such a conceptual toolkit couldprove especially useful in going beyond quantitative data topresent the human stories of refugees. It could also sensitizeresearchers to the impact of host societies on the well-beingof refugees.     

Dislocated Masculinity: Adolescence and the Palestinian Nation-in-exile

Taking as its starting-point emerging discussion about genderand nationalism, this article considers the masculinities constructedby and for adolescent males born into a Palestinian refugeecamp in Jordan. I consider the relationship of these masculinitiesto the construction of the camp as a moral and socio-politicalspace. Through the employment of ethnographic material, thearticle demonstrates the ways in which young males—throughthe performance of a particular, dominant vision of masculinitytermed mukhayyamji—serve to reproduce the camp as authenticlocation of an exilic national community. The article also examinesthe implications for individual young men of this interplaybetween masculine performance and the reproduction of the campas a moral and socio-political space. It explores the consequencesboth for those who fail or choose not to uphold the idealized,mukhayyamji adolescent masculinity and for those who evincethe skills and qualities that this entails. It is argued that,while the former risk marginalization from the camp as a moraland socio-political community, the latter face marginalizationfrom the economic life of wider Jordanian society and, withthat, endanger the transition to social adulthood. Thus, a setof paradoxes emerges for young males that reflects the ambiguousposition of the Palestinian refugees in Jordan at a specificmoment in the history of Jordan and the Palestinian nationalstruggle.     

Setting a new framework for co-operation between the Commonwealth and the European Union

This paper proposes a new approach to understanding the relations between the European Union (EU) and the Commonwealth. There has been a long-standing lack of mutual insight between the Commonwealth and the EU, chiefly due to a general lack of knowledge of the modern-day Commonwealth and its role on the international stage. The relations between both organisations are currently limited, despite the fact that there are areas of common interest, where cooperation would not only be feasible, but also beneficial. An agreement, such as that proposed in this paper could contribute significantly in the fight to eradicate poverty and uphold human rights.     

AFGHAN REFUGEES: THE IMPACT ON PAKISTAN

One of the most important arenas that have been profoundly affected by the security situation in Afghanistan is Pakistan's internal security environment. The instability in Afghanistan has had a negative spill-over effect on Pakistan's domestic security scenario, as the Afghan quagmire poses immense implications on Pakistan's domestic framework. One of the important consequences of the Afghan conflict since the 1970s has been the massive inflow of the Afghan refugee population to the neighbouring Pakistan which in following years has brought about a number of demographic and security challenges to the Pakistani society. Therefore along with a number of factors, at this present juncture, Afghan refugees have also become a principal factor in determining Pakistan's Afghanistan policy.     

The “Somalinisation” of terrorism and counterterrorism in Kenya: the case of refoulement

Kenya’s state discourse on terrorism and counterterrorism securitises Somali refugees and refugee camps. Using the securitisation theory, a perspective of social constructivism as a theoretical framework, the article attempts to establish the relationship between the securitisation of Somali refugees and refugee camps and refoulement as a measure to counter the securitisation. The arguments raised are the speech acts of Kenya’s securitising actors expressed in the terrorism discourse present Somali refugees and refugee camps as existential threats to peace and security in the country. Consequently, their speech acts expressed in the counterterrorism discourse present non-refoulement of the refugees as an existential threat to national security so as to justify, to the targeted audience, the adoption of refoulement, a norm-violating measure, to counter the fear of the threat of terrorism from Somali refugees and refugee camps. Terrorism and counterterrorism in Kenya have, therefore, been “Somalinised”. The conclusion offers ways of preventing the “Somalinisation” of terrorism and counterterrorism in Kenya.     

UNHCR and the pursuit of international protection: accountability through technology?

Better management and new technological solutions are increasingly portrayed as the way to improve refugee protection and enhance the accountability of humanitarian actors. Taking concepts of legibility, quantification and co-production as the point of departure, this article explores how techno-bureaucratic practices shape conceptions of international refugee protection. We do this by examining the evolving roles of results-based management (RBM), biometrics and cash-based interventions as ‘accountability technologies’ in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ international protection efforts. The article challenges the assumption that these technologies produce a seamless form of accountability that is equally attentive to donor requests and the protection needs of refugees. By focusing on how the constitution of these techniques as ‘accountability solutions’ shapes conceptions of the very meaning of protection (ie the problem to be addressed), we also show what dimensions of protection get omitted in this co-production of technical solutions and socio-political problems.     

Memory and identity: inter-generational narratives of violence among refugees in Serbia

This article examines the role of the inter-generational memory of the Second World War (WWII) in identity formation and political mobilization. An existing explanation in the ethnic-conflict literature is that strategic political leaders play a crucial role in constructing and mobilizing ethnic identities. However, based on 114 open-ended interviews with individuals born in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia, conducted in Serbia during 2008–2011, nearly a third of the respondents make spontaneous references to WWII in their statements, usually drawing parallels between the cycle of violence in the 1990s and that in the 1940s. The question this article asks, then, is why some respondents make references to WWII spontaneously while others do not. It is argued that inter-generational narratives of past cycles of violence also constitute a process of identity formation, in addition to, or apart from, other processes of identity formation. The respondents mention WWII violence in the context of the 1990s events because they “recognize” elements, such as symbols, discourse or patterns of violence, similar to those in the inter-generational narratives and interpret them as warning signs. Hence, individuals who had previously been exposed to inter-generational narratives may be subsequently more susceptible to political mobilization efforts.     

泰缅边境的缅甸难民问题

泰缅边境的缅甸难民问题已存在30年之久,目前仍未得到妥善解决。大量缅甸难民长期滞留在泰国境内,对泰国造成巨大负面影响的同时,也为泰北地方经济的发展贡献不菲。虽然缅甸的民主转型为缅甸难民问题的解决带来了希望,但难民问题已经发展到了不再是单纯的缅甸内政问题,难民问题的影响已经扩散至周边国家和地区,其最终解决仍需时日。     

When ‘brothers and sisters’ become ‘foreigners’: Syrian refugees and the politics of healthcare in Jordan

Abstract

Does overseas development aid necessarily translate into more generous national policies for refugees? Evidence from Jordan suggests that this is not always the case. Since the arrival of an estimated 756,000 Syrian refugees, international funding has made Jordan one of the top seven recipients of foreign aid in the world. Despite sustained international financing, however, national policies towards refugees have become increasingly restrictive, especially when it comes to healthcare. Based on fieldwork conducted between 2017 and 2019, this paper argues that Jordan’s healthcare policies towards Syrian refugees are not necessarily correlated to international financing, but are rather the product of political considerations aimed at maintaining domestic stability, increasing bargaining power in the global policymaking arena and resisting international pressures to integrate Syrian refugees. This paper contributes to filling a gap in the literature on the complex and interdependent factors which influence the evolution of national healthcare policies towards refugees in a country not only highly dependent on foreign aid, but also at the geopolitical crossroads of international interests in the Middle East.     

Humanitarianism,civil society and the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper reflects on responses to Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee crisis in the weeks that followed the increased numbers of Rohingya refugees who arrived from Myanmar after 24 August 2017. Drawing on literature on the local and international dimensions of humanitarianism, and the analytical lens of performance, it explores narratives of helping in relation to the shifting character of Bangladesh’s civil society, changing expressions of local and international religious sentiments, and the importance of understanding both formal and informal responses historically in the context of Bangladesh’s own experiences as a country born from a crisis in which citizens became refugees fleeing state-sponsored violence.