Amelia Kuch takes a look at Tanzania, where durable solutions have been offered to Burundian refugees. New political rules are now in play for these citizens but, as Amelia shows, older ways of organising land and livelihoods in settlement areas are still alive and well. Amelia is a PhD candidate in African Studies at the University of […]
The Bigger Picture Project at the University of Edinburgh has teamed up with Democracy in Africa to bring you videos from academics and practitioners in international development and humanitarianism. In this post, Katy Long looks at the importance of the labels we use to describe different forms of (im)mobility.
The Bigger Picture Project at the University of Edinburgh has teamed up with Democracy in Africa to bring you videos from academics as well as practitioners in international development and humanitarianism. In this post, Lucy Lowe draws on her research to explore health and mobility amongst Somali migrants in Nairobi.
Lucy Lowe fills our Fourth Day of Analysis with a blog for our ‘Politics of (im)Mobility Series’. She explores the position of Somali refugees in Kenya, and argues that we need to return to the spirit of the refugee regime erected at the end of World War II, which was intended to protect rather than […]
In this post, Ellen Houston adds nuance to the diaspora debate when looking at return migration to Ghana, asking what impact it has on social, economic and political dynamics in the country. Ellen is a former student from The University of Edinburgh, currently living and working with the UN in Lomé, Togo.
Kicking off our new series on the politics of (im)mobility, Will Jones explores why the Rwandans that he spoke with were so reluctant to refer to themselves as members of the diaspora. Will is a Departmental Lecturer in Forced Migration at the Refugee Studies Centre. He works with Alexander Betts on the project ‘The Nation […]
Laurent Fourchard tells us about his research into certificates of origin in Nigeria, and explains why talk of ‘corruption’ does not get us far in exploring the politics and processes that surround them. Laurent is a is a senior researcher with the French Foundation of Political Science (FNSP) at the research institute ‘Les Afriques dans le […]
Andrew Walker argues that Buhari’s military past was characterised by a brutality that is likely to re-emerge as he seeks to tackle Boko Haram. Andrew has been writing around Nigeria since 2006. He worked in Abuja for The Daily Trust and reported from there for the BBC. His new book, ‘Eat the Heart of the Infidel: […]
Alexander Thurston argues that many accounts of shari’a law in Nigeria have underestimated the complex politics that surround this issue, overlooked the diversity of Muslim constituencies involved in its implementation, and failed to explore the unstable political alliances between Muslim scholars and elected Muslim politicians. A more detailed account of his research has recently been published in African Affairs. […]
Closing the camps: Kenya’s déjà-vu politics
Hanno Brankamp explores refugee politics in Kenya. The government’s announced closure of its refugee camps is not just a worrying déjà-vu; it is driven by national politics and a renewed bid for more donor funding. While it seems highly unlikely that Kenya will actually close Dadaab, the government is likely to seek a diplomatic horse trade. Hanno is a DPhil […]