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This paper examines the alignment of refugee aid interventions with Cameroon's national policy of emergence, shedding light on an authoritarian government's utilization of international assistance. Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, it investigates how international policies aiming at turning refugees into a development opportunity for their host states are managed by an aid-receiving country and strategically leveraged by Cameroonian authorities to strengthen their political apparatus. It explores how the government integrates humanitarian responses with large-scale development policies, while retaining control over strategic sectors. Implementing the emergence policy enables Cameroon to reappropriate international standards, navigating complex donor relations to establish new legitimacy. The analysis highlights the power dynamics and implications of aid interventions within an authoritarian context, demonstrating the state's capacity to transform internal crises into productive forces. This research contributes to a better understanding of the links between refugee aid, host states' domestic and international politics, and migration diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of refugees into host countries' formal labor markets is increasingly recommended as a durable solution to forced migration. Yet, this policy response is a contentious political topic with little empirical evidence, especially in low- and middle-income host countries available to support policy. This article examines the impacts of integrating Syrian refugees into Jordan's formal labor market. We use robust greedy one-to-one propensity score matching on comprehensive high-quality data from almost 75,000 Syrian refugee households collected between 2017 and 2019 to generate novel evidence on the socio-economic benefits of refugee labor market integration. Our findings show that the ability to access formal jobs, reflected by holding a work permit, is significantly associated with increased refugee income, strengthens food security, and reduces protection needs and child labor. These findings contribute to a better and knowledge-based understanding of a prominent policy response for forced migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"African Refugees" by Toyin Falola and Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso is a comprehensive book that covers the topic of refugees in Africa. The authors draw from their research and experiences to provide detailed coverage of various issues related to refugees in Africa, including the historical causes of conflicts, refugee experiences, and protection and solutions. The book challenges stereotypes and emphasizes the need to understand the colonial history of Africa in order to address the root causes of conflicts and displacement. It also proposes solutions such as prosecution of human rights abusers, international cooperation, investment in education, and promotion of self-sufficiency among refugees. While the book acknowledges the complexities and challenges of finding lasting solutions, it offers a hopeful perspective and emphasizes the importance of inclusive governance and development. [Extracted from the article]

Uganda is the largest refugee hosting country in Africa and third in the world. The country operates a progressive refugee integration and self-reliance policy whereby refugees are allowed access to land and other productive resources. The effectiveness of this unique approach to refugee integration has not been empirically investigated. We estimate a multinomial logistic regression model to investigate whether the food security of refugee households is not significantly different from that of Ugandan nationals. We use cross sectional data collected in July 2019 from 2400 national and refugee households across 10 control and 10 World Food Program (WFP) intervention districts in Uganda using a randomized control trial (RCT) design. As we hypothesized, Ugandan citizenship together with size of land holding, livestock ownership and consumption of animal source food, marital status and geographical location enhance the food security of the household. However, our study found surprisingly that households currently receiving WFP support remain food insecure compared to those not receiving support, something we did not anticipate finding. Another surprising finding was that women headed households were more food secure than male-headed households across other socioeconomic parameters. Our findings hence suggest that in terms of equalizing the food security of refugees with that of Ugandan nationals, Uganda's progressive policy on refugees remains work in progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the number of refugees in protracted stateless situations has steadily risen. These vulnerable individuals face serious economic and political issues in their host communities. We assessed the common market project in Tanzania's Nyarugusu refugee camp, examining its impact on refugees' self-reliance and its role in determining peaceful coexistence between refugees and host communities. Through field research and empirical analysis of original survey data gathered from 473 refugee households and 505 host community households, we demonstrate that use of the common market has increased the incomes of both refugees and host communities. Furthermore, interactions within the common market have improved the relationship between refugees and host communities, bringing deeper trust between them. This study supports the market-based approach targeting refugees and host communities near refugee camps as an alternative to the conventional humanitarian aid methods. This approach could effectively ameliorate prolonged refugee crises around the world, where people suffer from decreasing resources and increasing anti-refugee sentiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refugee resettlement in the US is built on the aim of assisting newcomers to quickly establish self-sufficiency. As resettlement opportunities shrink, securing national borders has become a U.S. priority. These aims neglect the reasons why people seek resettlement. Conducted at a time of change in U.S. resettlement, interviews with eighty-eight refugees resettled at least 5 years prior examined resettlement priorities and perceptions of successful resettlement. Participants prioritized safety, educational opportunity, financial stability, and social connections. U.S. resettlement policies and programmes can be strengthened through an increased focus on safety, education, and community building, in addition to the existing emphasis on economic outcomes. Additionally, resettlement services can expand to assist newcomers in navigating these priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Portes' critique of research that 'samples on the dependent variable', this article identifies three particularly widespread and inter-related examples of this tendency within research on displacement, and particularly within the growing field of literature on refugee self-reliance. The first concerns the tendency to sample those in possession of particular labels; the second to sample those who inhabit specific spaces; and the third to sample those who exhibit certain forms of vulnerability. The article introduces the stories of displaced Eritreans in the Gulf States to show how these tendencies have resulted in particular sites and experiences of self-reliance being difficult to analyse, and thus systematically overlooked, within refugee studies. It concludes by arguing that categorical, spatial, and vulnerability biases within research on forced migrants can lead to a general confirmation bias that ends up inadvertently narrowing the meaning of key concepts and processes, and obscuring similar actions, including those with more positive outcomes, that may be occurring outside of established 'host countries' and under alternative labels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses policy documents and data from interviews with employment and settlement service providers, employers, and government officials to explore the increasing shift of Australian refugee settlement policies towards neoliberal imperatives of productivity and self-sufficiency. The responses of service providers shed light on prevalent constructions of refugee subjecthood and related expectations of humanitarian entrants as potential labour market participants. Our analysis highlights the policy rationales that underpin the contemporary design and delivery of refugee settlement support, and draws attention to variations in service providers' adoption of these rationales. We argue that, while the realignment of refugee settlement support in Australia towards 'workfare' is consistent with emergent global narratives of 'enhancing refugee self-reliance', the significance of this shift lies in the ideologically driven erosion of the primary protective purpose of Australia's long-standing humanitarian migration programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the refugee phenomenon is not new and refugee camps are rarely temporary, in most cases, the procedures implemented within refugee camps have failed to apply principles of sustainability to ensure refugees' dignity and improve their quality of life, thereby helping them become independent and self-reliant. This improvement, in turn, may help them return to their homes in the future or may, at least, reduce the high cost and negative coping strategies associated with refugee camps and instead increase refugees' social integration within the host community. This paper discusses the procedures applied in both the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan and the Dadaab Refugee Complex in Kenya and provides evidence regarding the extent to which they meet the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development without leaving refugees behind. Furthermore, this paper shows how sustainable development goals (SDGs) are interconnected in a refugee camp setting. This study concludes that refugee camps not only failed to align with 2030 agenda but failed to ensure refugees' basic rights where a more inclusive and sustainable approach is required to improve the refugees' quality of life and to help them live in dignity and reach self-reliance that can benefit both refugees and their host communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resettlement in a third country is fundamental in the protection of displaced persons, yet the offer of refuge encompasses more than mere admission into a country. In the US, various resettlement organizations provide arrival services; however, the resettlement programme's ability to support long-term integration is restricted by an emphasis on economic self-sufficiency. Resettlement practices are shaped by the integration discourses of multiple resettlement actors, a term encompassing expectations, aspirations, and conceptions of 'ideal' refugee integration. This article explores the work of resettlement agencies and refugee 'third sector' organizations (RTSOs) by examining three organizations in a southeastern US city. Contesting government expectations of rapid 'self-sufficiency', RTSOs expand the offer of refuge provided in resettlement. They provide opportunities for social contact between volunteers and refugees and prioritize the formation of community and relationships. However, these organizations also reproduce neoliberal discourses of integration, ultimately constraining possibilities for expanded refugee integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, there has been some exploration of labour mobility policies in the context of refugees as a way of local country integration that can help with refugee self-reliance, with some examples from Africa and Latin America. Building on these examples, this paper explores the opportunities the Global Compact for Refugees presents in the countries making up the Gulf Cooperation Council, specifically the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as related to expanding access to third-country solutions, refugee self-reliance, and responsibility-sharing. Many of the countries making up the Gulf Cooperation Council rely in large part on expatriate labour and are indeed made up of majority non-citizens. Many Syrians who have been able to obtain work visas have preferred to go to the UAE rather than seek refuge in other neighbouring countries. Some positive initiatives, such as a 2018 Amnesty Law in the UAE, which created a specific category of residency permits for those from countries suffering war and natural disasters, have ensured that de facto refugees are protected against refoulement in the event that they lose their residency. However, in order for labour migration in this context to work, there need to be better guarantees and minimum protections, such as schooling for children and healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of the US refugee resettlement program is for beneficiaries to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Yet, little research has examined the extent to which this objective has been achieved, nor the programmatic and contextual variables that influence this outcome. This study examines how beneficiaries' individual and job characteristics are associated with the likelihood of job retention after 90 days of employment. Data were obtained on 1787 refugees served by the International Institute of New England from March 2015 to January 2019. Logistic regression models were used to examine the predictors of retention in four cities (Boston, MA; Lowell, MA; Manchester, NH; and Nashua, NH). Different patterns emerged across cities, related to factors such as pay, educational level, legal immigration status, job permanency, and gender. The concept of self-sufficiency is closely linked to the context of resettlement and thus requires more careful articulation as a goal of the refugee resettlement program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship has been advocated as a path to self-reliance for refugees, but little scholarship has been produced about refugee entrepreneurs operating in their country of origin during reintegration. In 2003–04, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) implemented a group of 'entrepreneurial ventures' in urban and peri-urban locations in Kambia, Sierra Leone. Fifteen years later, 20 per cent of these ventures were still operating—a figure comparable with the success of start-ups in the United States. This paper examines the reasons for the sustainability of some ventures and the limited lifespan of others, using five interrelated metrics: ownership, management, mission and activities, financing and physical capital. It will be argued that, in the start-up phase, the UNHCR had a positive impact on the formation of entrepreneurial ventures by negotiating rules about property rights and credit, and by adopting a bottom-up approach to promote innovation among returnees. In the transition phase, however, the UNHCR's planned handover to other UN agencies as part of the 4 R's process largely failed because of inadequate attention to transition funding. In the mature phase, refugee enterprises survived if they could secure property rights to their facilities and adapt their management structures, activities and financing, while still preserving their social missions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016, refugees in the Kakuma camps in Kenya were offered the opportunity to relocate to the new Kalobeyei settlement, which ostensibly offered a better set of opportunities. While it was portrayed by the international community as objectively better for refugees' autonomy and socio-economic prospects, most refugees in Kakuma viewed the opportunity differently. Less than 16 per cent of refugees who heard about Kalobeyei were willing to be resettled there if land were provided. For refugees, the main justifications for the reluctance to move were linked to the likely disruption to existing social networks. This example of 'relocation for self-reliance' has wider implications for how we conceptualize self-reliance. Although the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)'s definition of refugee self-reliance recognizes that it applies to the community level as well as the individual level, self-reliance programmes that exclusively target individuals risk rejection by communities unless they also take into account the importance of social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on Syrian-refugee self-reliance and humanitarian efforts meant to foster it in Halba, northern Lebanon. I argue that humanitarian livelihood programming is 'neo-cosmetic', as the skills refugees acquire through humanitarian programmes turn out to be little more than a cosmetic accessory. While the humanitarian apparatus deliberately limits its action in order not to challenge host economies, the acquired skills do not practically enhance refugees' possibility to be employed. Instead, refugee self-reliance is reconfigured as the 'inter-ethnic promotion of host stability'. Relatedly, I propose that the aim of implementing social cohesion in multi-ethnic areas reveals a new ethnicization of care within the humanitarian system. Within this framework, the citizen practice of running hardware stores on a permanent basis coexists with the temporariness of refugee livelihood practices. Lastly, I rethink social membership in a refugee–host setting by adopting a practice-based approach to the research subjects in an effort to challenge the ethnic definitions of social groups and other pre-established forms of belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do we know whether a refugee household is self-reliant if this is not measured? Although self-reliance has been promoted as a critical assistance strategy for refugees in recent years, there have been limited attempts to rigorously measure the concept. This field report introduces a new measurement tool to assess the movement toward self-reliance among refugee households. The development and utility of a tool to measure self-reliance are described using the pilot studies conducted in Ecuador, Egypt and Lebanon over a 9- to 18-month period. This report utilized unique panel data from 167 refugee households in Egypt and 94 households in Ecuador. The panel data was collected at two points in time (baseline and endline) using paper and pencil or Open Data Kit forms on tablets during face-to-face interviews. This panel group was used to perform the change analysis to examine the movement of households along a self-reliance continuum. Findings show that, overall, 59.8% of households in Ecuador and 64.7% of households in Egypt moved upward in composite score in self-reliance while less than 30% of households regressed in both countries. Further examination is needed to refine and evaluate the tool. The results provide an important starting point and insights into measuring self-reliance using simple indicators and an opportunity to reframe assistance around self-reliance, neither of which had previously been a focus of refugee assistance or relevant literature. It is believed that this methodology will be of use to academics and practitioners seeking to study refugee self-reliance around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The years following the so-called 'refugee crisis' of 2015 saw unprecedented efforts to promote the social and economic inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers. Entrepreneurship has been praised as a promising route to refugee self-reliance, but its viability remains contested and under-researched in developed economies such as Germany. Limited literature on the topic suggests entrepreneurship is a useful route to self-sufficiency, although refugees face more barriers than other immigrant entrepreneurs, such as language barriers and bureaucratic processes. This article uses semi-structured interviews with refugee entrepreneurs, civil society, social enterprises and the public sector to identify the main challenges for refugee entrepreneurs and to examine whether entrepreneurship is effective for achieving self-reliance in one of the most important centres for creating innovative projects supporting refugee inclusion and entrepreneurship, namely Berlin. Though it is too early to demonstrate whether entrepreneurship has long-term economic gains, this research shows that entrepreneurship is not a 'fast track' to economic self-reliance, but has several benefits for social inclusion. It also demonstrates the importance of holistic support systems for refugee entrepreneurs and the difficulty of refugee entrepreneurial success even in the most developed economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016, the Kalobeyei refugee settlement was created, just 3.5 kilometres from the Kakuma camps in Kenya. In a departure from Kenya's policy of not allowing refugees to work, its aim was to provide self-reliance to refugees and greater refugee–host interaction. But are refugee policies and programmes in Kalobeyei really different from those in Kakuma? If so, what are the differences? And do these differences actually translate into different self-reliance outcomes for refugees? Drawing upon a mixed-methods approach, we compare aid models, self-reliance enabling factors and self-reliance outcomes between Kalobeyei and Kakuma. After just 15 months, we find that self-reliance-enabling factors—such the environment, assets, networks, markets and public goods—remain similar across both sites and, in some cases, are better in Kakuma. The major differences between the sites are in the aid model: Kalobeyei's cash-assistance and agricultural programmes. We find improved nutritional outcomes and a greater perception of autonomy in Kalobeyei, both of which may be attributable to differences in the aid models. These findings have implications for how we conceptualize the institutional design of self-reliance in Kalobeyei and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In striking contrast to most other refugee groups, Afghan refugees in Pakistan during the 1980s have primarily been understood as a successfully self-reliant population. However, little work has hitherto focused on the international assistance programmes that sought to support their everyday self-reliance. Drawing on extensive archival research, this article presents four phases of self-reliance assistance for Afghan refugees in Pakistan between 1979 and 1995, which correspond to shifts in broader economic trends from Keynesian economics to neoliberalism. At different times the practice of self-reliance assistance promoted large-scale collective employment, individual income-generation, protection for vulnerable populations unable to succeed in the market-based economy, and finally morphed into a form of self-governance through the 'Afghanization' of NGOs after the Cold War. These stages of self-reliance assistance encompass periods of humanitarian focus on so-called 'refugee dependency syndrome' and self-reliance as psycho-social support, holding parallels to the practice and discourse of contemporaneous Anglophone Western welfare systems. This article illuminates another chapter in the history of refugee self-reliance, and demonstrates the dynamism of self-reliance as both a concept and a practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although not new topics in the field of refugee studies, self-reliance, livelihoods and entrepreneurship have recently taken on a heightened emphasis. However, critical questions remain regarding how and by whom self-reliance is defined and measured, and the intended and unintended outcomes of historical and contemporary efforts to foster it. This introductory article highlights key points arising from the Special Issue and presents a short history of the evolution of the concept of self-reliance in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including its linkage to livelihoods. The article then discusses contemporary connections between self-reliance and entrepreneurship vis-à-vis the promotion of the 'refugee entrepreneur'. It concludes with a brief overview of the articles and themes in the issue. Overall, the article argues for an expanded definition of refugee self-reliance that promotes social as well as economic components and moves beyond narrowly implemented programmes targeting individual and market-based solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article traces the evolution of an urban refugee self-reliance model developed in Nairobi, Kenya that intends to bridge the gap between 'care and maintenance' programmes and durable solutions. It does so by presenting the development of the approach used by the non-governmental organization RefugePoint to assist urban refugees in Nairobi. In developing its approach, RefugePoint drew on elements of the model employed by the United States Department of State and its contracted partners for resettling refugees in the United States. The applicability and limitations of this model in the context of a country of first asylum are examined. The article concludes by suggesting potential applications of RefugePoint's 'self-reliance runway' approach (and the measurement tool that is integral to it) in expanding self-reliance opportunities for refugees globally. In particular, it recommends that both donors and operational agencies look beyond sector-based programming towards more holistic approaches and focus their impact measurement on the collective outcomes for refugee households rather than project-specific delivery indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India, urban refugees sit within a legal vacuum and often struggle to make ends meet in the socio-economic periphery. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and its implementing partners have focused on supporting refugees to achieve a level of self-reliance, primarily through market-based livelihood interventions. However, refugee lives in India's cities continue to be characterized by economic insecurity, exploitation and marginalization. This article explores the limitations of a market-orientated approach to fostering refugee self-reliance in the context of Delhi and departs from the burgeoning literature on refugee self-reliance by examining it from a spatial perspective. Building on recent work in political geography, the article highlights historic and ongoing practices of spatial exclusion of refugees and other poor migrant groups in India's capital city, as well as a diverse range of (non-economic) social networks and activities that have emerged as safety nets. We argue that, in addition to livelihoods, humanitarian actors must also explore non-economic initiatives that might contribute to refugee self-reliance and, importantly, must pay more attention to how the urban environment both delimits and enables these activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the Global Compact on Refugees--a UNHCR-led effort following recommendations by the United Nations. The article reviews the progress to date, focusing in particular on Annex I of the 2016 New York Declaration: the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF). It argues that two elements of the CRRF--its emphases on inclusion and self-reliance and its call for easing pressures on host societies--are necessary and commendable, but that two other elements--the focus on voluntary repatriation and third-country solutions--create unrealistic expectations about the degree to which these solutions can reach enough refugees to constitute a meaningful durable solution. Neither assisted voluntary return nor third-country solutions will serve enough refugees to make a significant difference to the global population of displaced people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burmese refugees have been living in Thailand for over 20 years. Warehousing has not prevented them from seeking better livelihood opportunities, but the options are limited and illegal. Thai policy forbids refugee labour, and the last regularization of migrant workers dates from 2004. This formal legal framework is circumvented by inventive strategies of the refugees themselves, but also by Thai stakeholders such as the employers and local governments. There is an urgent need for advocacy on the benefits of refugee self-reliance and legal access to work. The Thai Government needs to review its stance regarding refugee labour to the benefit of both the refugees and the Thai host population. The political will to achieve this, combined with the current international aid flows and resettlement programmes, can make the refugees' presence even less of a `burden' for Thailand than is the case today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UNHCR's community development approach (CDA) consists of a disparate set of guidelines designed to strengthen the self-reliance of refugees during protracted displacement. It envisions refugees as agents of their own development, and aims to prepare them for a durable solution. But in the absence of basic standards and benchmarks, the CDA is being used— by implementing partners as well as specialized units with the agency— as an opportunity to advance rights-based development. This raises a number of concerns related to the desired aims of the CDA, the accountability of UNHCR and its implementing partners and its capacity to administer development while preserving its core mandate. This article casts a critical eye over CDA as experienced in Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal. It contends that UNHCR must develop appropriate standards for CDA. At the very least, the agency must move beyond basic emergency benchmarks and toward minimum standards that strengthen self-reliance and empower refugees, but do not simultaneously undermine prospects of achieving a durable solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]