Liminal Boundaries and Vulnerabilities to Radicalisation in the Context of Securitisation of Migration

This thesis examines the systemic securitisation of migration, the production of liminality and associated vulnerabilities to radicalisation in a refugee camp context against a global backdrop. The camp has been conceived as a total institution that presents forms of physical, mental and other expressions of encampment inimical to freedoms. As such, three interlocking formulations of encampment, which is a measure of securitisation, arise. The first manifestation of encampment arises from the practice of the interminable spatial confinement of refugees in developing countries that has resulted in what is technically known as Protracted Refugee Situations (PRS). The second expression is the onshore and offshore immigration detention system in Western countries. The third manifestation of encampment is symbolic and constitutes the self or externally imposed patterns of settlement in migrant enclaves in developed and developing countries. In recent times, international migration has provoked concerns over insecurity in refugee-hosting states. Beyond the animated public discourse, the tenor of securitisation has further necessitated the use of extraordinary means of refugee containment that include confinement in ‘camps’. Indeed, some camps have become politicised and militarised spaces where sections of refugee populations have developed extreme views and exerted political influence in their homelands and host states. Encampment therefore not only presents humanitarian concerns but also raises significant security challenges for host states and beyond. The thesis examines vulnerabilities to radicalisation in a camp environment that closely interacts with the global system. The Somali protracted refugee situation at Dadaab Refugee Complex in Kenya, the thesis case study, is an archetype of encampment. The elusive actualisation of durable solutions to the Somali refugee problem has placed them in a state of limbo, technically referred to as the liminal state. The thesis traces the historical roots of conflict and forced displacement in Somalia. Further, the study traces the Somali migration trajectory from the homeland to the first host state, Kenya, and concludes the journey in the third countries of resettlement in the West. The research further employs a broad-brush approach and provides examples from other camps and countries to complement the case study and advance its arguments. It is argued that the conditions in a camp in concert with latent ‘external’ factors present sources of vulnerability to radicalisation, particularly in contexts in which polarisation, terrorism and other forms of political violence are already prevalent. It is further argued that as intersubjective constructs, securitisation may create vulnerabilities to radicalisation while radicalisation may expand opportunities for securitisation. Significantly, radicalisation in the context of migration does not occur in a vacuum but in a synergistic dynamic that summons a range of actors and drivers in securitised speech-act. By examining the interface of pre-encampment, encampment and post-encampment, the thesis demonstrates that the camp is a social entity that interacts with other systems. Notably, the continued adoption of ahistorical and reductionist approaches in the analysis of radicalisation in migrant contexts, and in counter-terrorism remain void as long as broader contextual factors and actors in other sub-systems that drive radicalisation are neglected. In adopting this approach, the research addresses the gap of technological advancements, ahistoricity and broader-context reductionism in dominant scholarship on radicalisation among refugees. The thesis’ contribution is therefore the development of an analytical framework that examines the dynamic and evolutionary character of deep-rooted structural drivers of radicalisation. The inter-subjective construction of radicalisation – of the refugee – in public space, constitutes another important contribution.

Author dc:creator

• Rowa, Yvonne

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Doyle, Timothy
• Torresi, Tiziana

• Radicalisation
• liminal
• securitisation
• migration
• refugees
• vulnerabilities

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/2440/119931

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digital.library.adelaide.edu.au:2440/119931