Paper short abstract:

Drawing on research on refugees and South Sudanese transnational networks in the Horn of Africa and beyond, this paper will explore the impact of long-term forced displacement on societies with little history of strong central authority. What new formations emerge and what are their implications?

Paper long abstract:

This paper will draw primarily on two bodies of work: research into South Sudanese transnational networks based on fieldwork in South Sudan, Gambella and Melbourne that has sought to understand and describe the economic, social and political impact of these networks from the perspective of individuals and communities living in the Horn of Africa; and research into the impact of current refugee policies and programming on the choices and perspectives of refugees and borderland communities in Ethiopia.

It will set out the findings of this research through a governance lens, seeking to understand the new forms of governance that have emerged out of the chronic displacement of the last half century, the unintended consequences of the international legal regime related to refugees, and the ways in which these new forms of governance transcend and exploit existing state structures.

It will explore the implications for both national and transnational governance, from the perspective of both conflict-affected countries and those that have received refugee populations. It will place the agency of displaced people at the heart of this analysis, asking whether a keener understanding of the nature of mobility in the 21st can better inform policymaking in such environments.