Refugees as Actors? Critical Reflections on Global Refugee Policies on Self-reliance and Resilience

Abstract

Global policies designed to promote the self-reliance and resilience of refugees strive to increase their abilities to deal with hardships; in doing so, they rhetorically shift refugees from the category of ‘vulnerable’ to that of capable actors. This shift as well as policy effects on refugees are at the core of this article. The meanings in global refugee policies, and particularly in UNHCR policies on self-reliance and resilience, are explored through an interpretive analysis. The article shows that, in lieu of the assumed shift, these policies continue to use vulnerability ascriptions and thereby produce binary categories of vulnerable versus self-reliant or resilient refugees. ‘Objective’ criteria are installed that obscure the idea of refugees as self-determined actors and lead to an understanding of them as ‘actors-to-be’. It is ultimately argued that self-reliance and resilience policies support the logic of traditional humanitarian aid and, rather than promoting refugees’ own capabilities, strengthen the power of aid agencies over refugees.

Resilience in Practice: Responding to the Refugee Crisis in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon

“…The examples from Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon illustrate that refugees' access to employment opportunities hinges on host countries' willingness to provide the necessary enabling environment (Easton-Calabria & Omata, 2018;Krause & Schmidt, 2020). Resilienceprogramming, in the form of "market-based skills training and employability, income generation opportunities and entrepreneurship programmes" (3RP, 2019, p. 9) is a farce in the face of poor host economies and hostile political environments.…”

“…Despite the convergence of their meanings as practitioners understand them, resilience and self-reliance are not the same things. As Krause and Schmidt (2020) point out, "self-reliance mainly suggests that refugees can support themselves, [whereas] resilience indicates their broader ability to absorb and deal with difficult situations and crises" (p. 23). Rather than a similarity to selfreliance or self-reliance as a constitutive element, theoretical explorations of resilience instead point to the importance of social networks and interdependencies (Aldrich & Meyer, 2015).…”

Resilience, smartphone use and language among urban refugees in the Global south

“…This approach is reflected in the Global Compact on Refugees which emphasises the importance of enhancing the self-reliance and resilience of refugees (UNHCR 2018a). While such policies have been criticised for shortcomings in promoting refugees' own capacities (Krause and Schmidt 2019), as Udwan, Leurs, and Alencar (2020) have observed, a resilience-focused approach provides opportunities for taking a 'power-sensitive, agency-centric' lens to these individuals' lived experiences.…”

Resilience and Empowerment through Higher Education in Kakuma Refugee Camp: A Conversation

“…Critics of policies and practices used to promote resilience and empowerment point to the seemingly contradictory notions of refugees as agents of their own change, while at the same time being vulnerable and in need of "humanitarian" oversight by institutions such as UNHCR (e.g., Krause & Schmidt, 2019). Putting these charges aside, it is perhaps unsurprising that as aid budgets tighten and displacement crises proliferate around the world, the promotion of resilience and empowerment have risen in prominence as humanitarian institutions struggle to cope (Anholt & Sinatti, 2019).…”