Public Authority, Resilience and Mobility
South Sudanese in Palabek Refugee Settlement, Uganda.
This research investigated the multi-dimensional dynamics of mobility among South Sudanese in Uganda through twelve months ethnographic fieldwork primarily based in Palabek Refugee Settlement, Lamwo District.
How do forms of governance shape the dimensions and dynamics of migration?
The project first investigated diverse understandings, experiences and practices of migration of differing scales and longevity, and how the dynamics of displacement and return link to diverse manifestations and negotiations of public authority. Secondly, the research investigated South Sudanese refugees’ vernacular understandings of and practices around resilience, and especially how these might contradict or contest the normative agendas pushed forward as part of standard humanitarian practices.
Both strands of research were particularly concerned with issues surrounding 1) individual, communal and cultural resilience; 2) the experiences, meanings and practices involved in the movement of people, ideas and things; and 3) how diverse forms of public authority are constituted and maintained throughout, across and beyond these movements.
Researcher
Ryan Joseph O’Byrne
Dr Ryan O’Byrne researches the migration experiences of South Sudanese in Uganda. He holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from University College London based on ethnographic fieldwork in South Sudan.
Research interests: migration, displacement, resilience, public authority
Region: Uganda, South SudanEmail: r.obyrne@lse.ac.uk