IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/popdev/v48y2022i3p723-743.html

Securitization and Forced Migration in Kenya: A Policy Transition from Integration to Encampment

Author

Listed:
  • Billy Agwanda

Abstract

This article explores forced migration and policy transition in East Africa using the case study of Kenya—a key regional destination for forced migrants. Using a descriptive and historical approach to highlight the dynamics of forced migration (1990–2021), the study emphasizes on what factors underlie the change of policy from integration to encampment. The author argues that central to this transition are discourses on national security, domestic, and regional politics. Using the theory of securitization, the study finds that assumptive blames on forced migrants expose them to greater vulnerabilities, while failure to recognize the challenges facing host states also undermines the management of forced migrants. The author concludes that the principles of global cosmopolitanism should underlie response and that when critical national interests necessitate stricter limitations on the extent to which forced migrants can enjoy certain rights and freedoms, then the international community must strive to play a greater role to minimize risks to both host nations and forced migrants.

Suggested Citation

  • Billy Agwanda, 2022. "Securitization and Forced Migration in Kenya: A Policy Transition from Integration to Encampment," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 48(3), pages 723-743, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:popdev:v:48:y:2022:i:3:p:723-743
    DOI: 10.1111/padr.12483
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12483
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/padr.12483?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michele Tuccio & Jackline Wahba & Bachir Hamdouch, 2019. "International migration as a driver of political and social change: evidence from Morocco," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(4), pages 1171-1203, October.
    2. Rose Jaji, 2013. "Somali Asylum Seekers and Refoulement at the Kenya-Somalia Border," Journal of Borderlands Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 355-368, December.
    3. Onur Altındağ & Neeraj Kaushal, 2021. "Do refugees impact voting behavior in the host country? Evidence from Syrian refugee inflows to Turkey," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 186(1), pages 149-178, January.
    4. Fleck, Robert K. & Kilby, Christopher, 2010. "Changing aid regimes? U.S. foreign aid from the Cold War to the War on Terror," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 185-197, March.
    5. Hopkins, Daniel J., 2010. "Politicized Places: Explaining Where and When Immigrants Provoke Local Opposition," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 104(1), pages 40-60, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carlo Devillanova, 2021. "Tolerant or segregated? Immigration and electoral outcomes in urban areas," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(2), pages 495-515, April.
    2. Elif Erbay & Emine Kübra Usta, 2025. "Prolonged Guesthood: How Syrian Refugees Shaped Turkish Politics?," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 638-652, July.
    3. Gallegos Torres, Katia, 2023. "The 2015 refugee inflow and concerns over immigration," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Andrew Boutton, 2019. "Of terrorism and revenue: Why foreign aid exacerbates terrorism in personalist regimes," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 36(4), pages 359-384, July.
    5. Cornelius Wright Cappelen & Hakan G. Sicakkan & Pierre Georges Van Wolleghem, 2023. "The trade-off between admitting and paying: Experimental evidence on attitudes towards asylum responsibility-sharing," European Union Politics, , vol. 24(3), pages 470-493, September.
    6. Broich, Tobias, 2017. "Do authoritarian regimes receive more Chinese development finance than democratic ones? Empirical evidence for Africa," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 180-207.
    7. Alessandro De Matteis, 2018. "Follow the leader! The peer effect in aid supply decisions," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 36(6), pages 631-648, October.
    8. David Switzer & Jiwoong Jung, 2023. "Contextual responsiveness in U.S. local government climate policy," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 40(6), pages 920-949, November.
    9. Sekeris, Petros & Vasilakis, Chrysovalantis, 2016. "The Mediterranean Refugees Crisis and Extreme Right Parties: Evidence from Greece," MPRA Paper 72222, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Peter Nunnenkamp & Rainer Thiele, 2013. "Financing for Development: The Gap between Words and Deeds since Monterrey," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 31(1), pages 75-98, January.
    11. Liya Palagashvili & Claudia R. Williamson, 2021. "Grading foreign aid agencies: Best practices across traditional and emerging donors," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 654-676, May.
    12. Rozo, Sandra V. & Urbina, Maria José, 2020. "Who Does Not like Migrants? Individual Demographics and Attitudes Towards Migration," IZA Discussion Papers 13842, IZA Network @ LISER.
    13. Matti Sarvimäki, 2021. "Managing Refugee Protection Crises: Policy Lessons from Economics and Political Science," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 2131, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    14. Marrow, Helen B., 2012. "Deserving to a point: Unauthorized immigrants in San Francisco’s universal access healthcare model," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(6), pages 846-854.
    15. Carlos Bethencourt & Fernando Perera‐Tallo, 2025. "Foreign aid and corruption: Unveiling the obstacles to effective development," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 91(3), pages 881-914, January.
    16. Özge Kozal & Mehmet Karaçuka & Justus Haucap, 2025. "Geography of Discontent in Türkiye: Populism, Autocracy, and Voting Behavior in General Elections of 2007–2023," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(3), pages 1076-1095, November.
    17. Amelie F. Constant, 2020. "Time-Space Dynamics of Return and Circular Migration: Theories and Evidence," CESifo Working Paper Series 8053, CESifo.
    18. Jasjeet Singh Sekhon & Richard D. Grieve, 2012. "A matching method for improving covariate balance in cost‐effectiveness analyses," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(6), pages 695-714, June.
    19. Perrotta Berlin, Maria & Lvovkskyi, Lev, 2025. "Russia’s Involvement on the African Continent and its Consequences for Development: The Aid Channel," SITE Working Paper Series 64, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics.
    20. Dimiter Toshkov, 2024. "The political effects of intra-EU migration: Evidence from national and European elections in seven countries," European Union Politics, , vol. 25(4), pages 723-747, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:popdev:v:48:y:2022:i:3:p:723-743. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0098-7921 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.