Imperial Crisis Management: The Humanitarian-Development Nexus in Jordan and Lebanon
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Authors
Tawakkol, Lama
Date
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
humanitarian-development nexus , refugee , aid , development , capitalism , middle east , neoliberalization , neoliberalism , jordan , lebanon , EBRD , World Bank
Alternative Title
Abstract
In 2016, and in the wake of the Syrian refugee influx into neighboring countries like Jordan and Lebanon, Western donors shifted from a strictly humanitarian emergency response to forced displacement to a humanitarian-development nexus (HDN) that incorporates development donors and activities to respond to the needs of both refugees and host populations. Promising to address the root causes of host countries’ challenges and promote longer-term and more sustainable development, the HDN focuses on offering support to host countries in coping with the surge in their populations and improving their public services and infrastructure. In this dissertation, I problematize the emergence of the HDN, and donor narratives surrounding it, focusing on the politics and power relations underlying it, its impact on access to basic services in host states and its primary beneficiaries.
Historically situating the HDN within global capitalism, I trace its emergence to the Syrian refugee influx in the Middle East and draw on the cases of Jordan and Lebanon to highlight its inherently political nature and the interests driving it. I argue that the HDN is an expression of imperial development, extending and deepening imperial relations in MENA to provide fixes for global capitalism’s overaccumulation and legitimacy crises. HDN development projects in hosts’ public services (specifically water), jointly formulated and promoted by donors and host states, promote accumulation in the public sector and entrench neoliberalization. They advance the material and political interests of donors, host states as well as private actors, whilst commodifying the basic survival needs of marginalized populations, including refugees themselves. The HDN, and its underlying imperial relations, unfolds along multiple interrelated scales and in relation to local social relations, including state institutions and protest movements.
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ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.