Overview

Self-organization plays an essential yet often overlooked role in the everyday lives of refugees in exile. By self-organizing, they challenge restrictions, claim political representation, foster social relations and belonging, and create ongoing economic opportunities. While government authorities and aid organizations are supposed to provide protection and assistance, refugees often continue to face adversities, restrictions, and risks, prompting them to establish and maintain their own support systems. Refugee-Led Organizations in Uganda offers nuanced insight into the problems arising from the aid system and especially the significance of the spectrum of informal and formalized self-organizations. Ulrike Krause, Gato Ndabaramiye Joshua, and Hannah Schmidt draw on a gender-sensitive understanding of relational agency and situated knowledge and use empirical research in Uganda’s camp Kyaka II and the capital, Kampala, to reveal how individuals collectively contribute to their own support in times of emergency and in everyday life. Interwoven with reflections written by refugees in Uganda – Bengekya Mugay Gédéon, Noella Kabale, Paul, Janvier Hafasha, and Isreal Katembo, as well as the director of an LGBTQ+ refugee-led organization – the book centres on individuals’ lived experiences of self-organization in exile.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ulrike Krause ,  Gato Ndabaramiye Joshua ,  Hannah Schmidt
Publisher:   McGill-Queen's University Press
Imprint:   McGill-Queen's University Press
ISBN:  

9780228026952

ISBN 10:   0228026954
Pages:   348
Publication Date:   21 April 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Reflections Written by People with Lived Experience of Displacement vii Acknowledgments ix Abbreviations xiii 1 Self- Organizing in Exile: An Introduction 3 2 “We Combined Our Efforts”: Approaching Refugees’ Self- Organization Through the Concept of Agency 28 3 “Life Is Hard”: Uganda’s Refugee Regime, (Mis)Use of Refugee Groups, and Prevalent Challenges 57 4 “We Come Up with Solutions”: (In)Visibility of Refugees’ Formalized Self- Organization in Uganda’s Refugee Regime 106 5 “We Live in a Group”: Individuals, Social Support, and Everyday Self- Organization 148 6 “We Work Together”: Self- Organization, Socio-Economic Strategies, and Prevailing Difficulties 203 7 Concluding Thoughts on the Relevance of and Risks for Refugees’ Self- Organization 249 References 273 Index 311

Reviews

“Highlighting both camps and urban settings, illuminating the impact of COVID-19 and the experiences of LGBTI individuals, Refugee-Led Organizations in Uganda centres the voices of refugees in the Global South.” - Lisa Richlen, independent researcher

Author Information

Ulrike Krause (Author) Ulrike Krause is professor of political science and director of the Center for International Gender Studies at the Institute for Political Science, University of Münster. Gato Ndabaramiye Joshua (Author) Gato Ndabaramiye Joshua is a counselling psychologist in Uganda and affiliated research associate with the Center for International Gender Studies at the University of Münster. Hannah Schmidt (Author) Hannah Schmidt is a researcher in the Migration Policy Research Group at the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Hildesheim.

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