Refugees, conveniant bargaining chips? : a comparative analysis of Kenyan and Ethiopian refugee policy

Abstract

The recent refugee crisis have caused turmoil across the world, in which many states responds differently and making refugees a “hot” topic again. The global south have traditionally hosted the majority of the world’s refugee population, and they still do, as for them, there is more of a protracted situation. Anyhow, states in the global south have responded to the recent crisis, and two countries with many similarities have seemingly responded differently. Kenya have threatened to shut down the world’s largest refugee camp and repatriate hundred thousands of Somali refugees, while their neighbor Ethiopia has promoted its open door policy.

I study in this thesis to what extent their policy actually differ, why it potentially has changed, and causes for the different responses and approaches.

Based on interviews conducted during my fieldwork in Nairobi and Addis Abeba I find that the policies in the two countries have not changed as much as initially stated, and they only differ in one policy area. What is the major change, causing my curiosity, is mainly the countries rhetoric in the light of recent global events.