Contesting returns from below: Local inclusion of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Sweden

Swiss partners

• HES-SO, HES-SO Valais-Wallis - Haute Ecole et Ecole Supérieure de Travail Social: Lisa Marie Borrelli (main applicant)

Partners in the MENA region

• Yarmouk University, Jordan: Ayat J. J. Nashwan (main applicant)

Other partners

• Institute of Social work, Sweden: Annika Lindberg

Presentation of the project

The project aims to study how refugee-led movements, non-governmental actors and state authorities operating on the local city level challenge national-level return policies. Empirically, it focuses on initiatives to support Syrian refugees displaced by the more than decade-long civil war, in two major host states in Europe and the Middle East: Sweden and Jordan. In both countries, Syrian refugees are experiencing mounting political pressure to return to the war torn country as well as the effects of precarious residency, living conditions, and limited access to social rights and societal participation. The project draws on ongoing collaborations between the main partners within the framework of a research project on the transregional  politics of refugee return decision-making, and the LH-MENA Consolidation Grant would allow the researchers to consolidate their collaboration and to pursue a pressing research topic emerging from the ongoing research. The project proposes a qualitative and participatory research design that engages with interlocutors involved in supporting Syrian refugees in two cities: Irdib in Jordan, and Gothenburg in Sweden. By comparing different local strategies to challenge return oriented policies, the project contributes with knowledge on the complexities of multi-scalar refugee governance and amplifies strategies for refugees’ inclusion and future-making in host societies.