Abstract
This thesis is concerned with the reimagining of humanitarianism as it relates to refugees - one in which development is cast as a solution - and the implications this has for refugees’ assistance and protection. I explore how this reimagining of humanitarianism unfolds on the ground in Jordan.The empirical material is based on 11 months’ ethnographic fieldwork undertaken in Jordan during 2017-18 (November 2017- to August 2018, and from October to mid November 2018). The analysis draws on 61 interviews with aid workers, government officials, and others involved in the refugee response, as well as participant observation in humanitarian operational fora, within organisations, and amongst refugee communities, and a large cache of operational documents.
In this thesis I study the governing practices of aid workers, donors, and governmental actors. I show how the political agenda to developmentalise the refugee response is manifesting in a profound shift within the humanitarian response field. I contend that fundamental to this process of shifting is a re-conceptualisation - and re-purposing – of the concept of ‘vulnerability’. Despite resistance, I demonstrate that the way in which the shift to developmentalism materialises also has perverse effects, the most significant of which is the systematic and necessary exclusion of certain refugee groups. As such, I argue that the shift to developmentalism erodes the moral universalist foundations of humanitarianism by reinforcing the trend to de-universalize humanitarian action both in practical and normative terms.
| Date of Award | 7 May 2025 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Jason Hart (Supervisor) & Emma Carmel (Supervisor) |
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