Paperback
978-1-77212-703-4Size: 6" x 9"
Pages: 264
epub
978-1-77212-730-0Pages: 264
Pages: 264
The Elephant Has Two Sets of Teeth
Bhutanese Refugees and Humanitarian Governance
By Alice Neikirk
This ethnography follows Bhutanese refugees who fled Bhutan, resided in camps in Nepal, and finally settled in the vastly different culture of Australia. Along the way, they learn the ways that humanitarian compassion is used to oppress, contain, and erode human rights. They also learn, however, that this charitable framework has small cracks that allow for action. The Bhutanese find ways to move between the contradictory expectations of refugee-ness as they strive to become citizens. Their experiences illustrate the complex strands of power that intertwine to limit the scope of people who “deserve compassion.” Neikirk also describes how responses to refugee crises have shifted from facilitating the movement of people to enforcing their containment. Readers in refugee studies, anthropology, and development studies will be interested in this rich transnational study.
Book details
Publication date: October 2023Features: Map, table, index
Keywords: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; UNHCR; resettlement; migration; humanitarian policy; human rights; borders; citizen
Subject(s): SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, Anthropology, Anthropology / Social & Cultural Anthropology, Social Sciences, Social Sciences / Migration & Refugee Studies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations), SOCIAL SCIENCE / Refugees, Development studies, Development Studies, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; UNHCR; resettlement; migration; humanitarian policy; human rights; borders; citizen, Anthropology / Refugee Studies
Publisher(s): University of Alberta Press
Book details
Publication date: October 2023Features: Map, table, index
Keywords: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; UNHCR; resettlement; migration; humanitarian policy; human rights; borders; citizen
Subject(s): SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, Anthropology, Anthropology / Social & Cultural Anthropology, Social Sciences, Social Sciences / Migration & Refugee Studies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations), SOCIAL SCIENCE / Refugees, Development studies, Development Studies, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; UNHCR; resettlement; migration; humanitarian policy; human rights; borders; citizen, Anthropology / Refugee Studies
Publisher(s): University of Alberta Press
Alice Neikirk. Alice Neikirk is a Lecturer in the Newcastle School of Law and Justice in Australia.
“Neikirk’s ethnography documents the ways that key life moments are shaped by expectations put upon the Bhutanese as they wear the mantle of “'refugee.'” Susan Banki, University of Sydney
“In this ethnographic study of Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal and Australia, Alice Neikirk makes an important empirical contribution to refugee and forced migration studies. She also contextualizes refugees’ experiences within humanitarian practices and pressures to conform to being an 'ideal' refugee." Christina Clark-Kazak, University of Ottawa
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: On the Fringe of Empires
Chapter 3: Learning to Be Humanitarian Subjects
Chapter 4: Behind the Performance
Chapter 5: On the Threshold of Australia
Chapter 6: Domestic Humanitarianism
Chapter 7: Sanitizing Otherness, Becoming Australian
Conclusion: Humanitarian Gestures
References
Alice Neikirk. Alice Neikirk is a Lecturer in the Newcastle School of Law and Justice in Australia.
“Neikirk’s ethnography documents the ways that key life moments are shaped by expectations put upon the Bhutanese as they wear the mantle of “'refugee.'” Susan Banki, University of Sydney
“In this ethnographic study of Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal and Australia, Alice Neikirk makes an important empirical contribution to refugee and forced migration studies. She also contextualizes refugees’ experiences within humanitarian practices and pressures to conform to being an 'ideal' refugee." Christina Clark-Kazak, University of Ottawa
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: On the Fringe of Empires
Chapter 3: Learning to Be Humanitarian Subjects
Chapter 4: Behind the Performance
Chapter 5: On the Threshold of Australia
Chapter 6: Domestic Humanitarianism
Chapter 7: Sanitizing Otherness, Becoming Australian
Conclusion: Humanitarian Gestures
References