In this blog post Sorcha Daly reflects on the use of imagery in international NGOs’ campaigns and the influence of these images on conceptualisations of the ‘global South’ and ‘processes and structures of inequality’ found in humanitarian discourse and action. Daly argues that these images contribute to the construction of a distant, at times ‘primitive’... Continue Reading →
Syrian Faith Leaders in Displacement: Neglected Aid Providers?
When we ‘sweep away the professional, intimate, spiritual and even socio-economic past of refugees,’ what impact does this have on our understanding and (non)engagement with forcibly displaced people, including displaced religious leaders? In this post, Dr Estella Carpi, Southern Responses Research Associate, draws on her research with Syrian religious leaders in Lebanon who have worked... Continue Reading →
Refugee diaspora humanitarianism and the value of North/South distinctions in research on responses to forced displacement.
What is the value of the North-South distinction when discussing ‘humanitarian’ responses to forced displacement? In this blog, Louise Olliff draws on her ethnographic fieldwork in Australia, Thailand, Indonesia and Geneva and her interviews with refugee diaspora organisations (RDOs) to explore how this distinction makes it possible to trace the significance of power and inequality... Continue Reading →
Municipal-level responses to Syrian refugees in Turkey: The case of Bursa
Turkey hosts the highest number of people forcibly displaced from Syria and local municipalities can struggle to meet their basic needs, leaving much-needed integration programs de-prioritised. A lack of data concerning the numbers of refugees in specific areas, and a lack of additional funding or local staff, are clear barriers to implementation, even where policies... Continue Reading →
The Rise and Fall of Pan-Arabism
Pan-Arabist approaches, along with internationalism and solidarity, refugee-refugee humanitarianism, and faith based responses to forced displacement, can be seen as presenting alternatives to dominant humanitarian discourse and approaches that situate Northern providers as the saviours of Southern victims of displacement. In this piece, Prof. Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou, interviewed by Aditya Kiran Kakati, draws upon his chapter 'The... Continue Reading →