Organizing Refugee Camps: “Respected Space” and “Listening Posts”
通过对肯尼亚达达布难民营的深入案例研究，揭示了难民营如何通过平行组织结构、相互依赖、受尊重的空间和倾听站等机制维持社会稳定，对组织管理和社会治理研究者有参考价值。
We examine an organizational form that has received little attention despite its social significance—the refugee camp. From an in-depth case study of the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, we explain how these organizations maintain social stability even though refugees live for decades in them and are deprived of the freedom to move or work outside the camp’s boundaries. Our analysis finds that refugee camps are characterized by a parallel organizational structure in which the institutional worlds of (primarily Western) camp officials and (in our case, primarily Somali) refugees coexist. Mutual dependence between camp officials and refugees enables the use of a respected space of reciprocal tolerance and minimal intrusion, and a listening post that is perceived as a legitimate communication arrangement and that acts as a safety valve. These complementary mechanisms provide the means by which to allay the otherwise high potential of severe discontent.Whiteboard Video AbstractAOM Video Player5783748258001