Governing Refugees Justice, Order and Legal Pluralism [Hardcover]

Refugee camps are imbued in the public imagination with assumptions of anarchy, danger and refugee passivity. Governing Refugees: Justice, Order and Legal Pluralism challenges such assumptions, arguing that refugee camps should be recognized as spaces where social capital can not only survive, but thrive.

This book examines camp management and the administration of justice in refugee camps on the Thailand-Burma border. Emphasising the work of refugees themselves in coping with and adapting to encampment, it considers themes of agency, sovereignty and legal pluralism in an analysis of local governance and the production of order beyond the state.

Governing Refugees will appeal to anyone with relevant interests in law, anthropology and criminology, as well as those working in the area of refugee studies.

Chapter 1. Governing Refugees Chapter 2. The Karen In Burma: Conflict And Displacement Chapter 3. The Camp Community Chapter 4. The Governance Palimpsest: Order Maintenance In Eastern Burma Chapter 5. Sovereigns And Denizens: Camp Governance And The Refugee Chapter 6. The Struggle For Ownership Of Justice Chapter 8. Enacting Interlegality: Human Rights And Local Justice Chapter 8. Beyond Encampment

There is much discussion in academic life these days about the importance of interdisciplinary research. This book is the real deal. Using the Karen refugee camps on the Thai Burma Border as a focus, Kirsten McConnachie moves effortlessly from law, criminology, through to anthropology with stops along the way in refugee studies, development and human rights. The result is a beautifully written book, theoretically rigorous, clear, unpretentious and morally compelling. A brilliant piece of socio-legal scholarship.'
Kieran McEvoy, Professor of Law and Transitional Justice, Queens University Belfast

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