Des espaces d’ambiguïté: les camps de réfugiés palestiniens en Jordanie

in A Contrario (2016), (23), 17-36

This article looks at the evolution of Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. To understand the complexity of refugees’ experience, it is necessary to move beyond the discussion of whether refugee camps are ... [more ▼]

This article looks at the evolution of Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. To understand the complexity of refugees’ experience, it is necessary to move beyond the discussion of whether refugee camps are « spaces of exception » or « ordinary spaces », and examine how exceptionality and ordinariness are dimensions ultimately interconnected in the camp. The authors argue here that the concept of « spaces of ambiguity » is the analytical category best suited to grasp the complex nature of refugee camps and the crucial role that they have played to the very political stability of Jordan. To show this, the article will explore the institution of this ambiguity, its spatialisation and its re-production within the camps. It will do so by looking at the management of camps and the main actors involved. [less ▲]

“Space, Knowledge and Power: Foucault and Geography”, Jeremy W. Crampton et Stuart Elden (eds), Aldershot, Ashgate, 2007, 377 p.

in A contrario (2009), (11), 217-222