In The Concerned Women of Buduburam, Elizabeth Holzer draws on her extensive fieldwork in Ghana to document and analyze how Liberian refugees, Ghanaian 'hosts,' and international agencies interact with one another in administering camp life. Holzer reveals that camp political life is a complex interweaving of actors at all levels. Humanitarianism is a form of rule, and as such it ... Read moreis shaped by myriad instances of activism, coalition building, conflict, and strategizing.
Daniel J. Hoffman, University of Washington, author of The War Machines: Young Men and Violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia This book is a must read for all those concerned with transnational governance, the practicalities and ethics of humanitarian aid, and human rights in general.
Katarzyna Grabska, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
American Journal of Sociology
The author deploys both extensive ethnographic research and a nuanced review of social theory, examining the 'themes of civic engagement, transnational government, administrative caregiving, political legitimacy, contentious politics and repression.' Integrating their impact, she names the resulting form of rule 'compassionate authoritarianism': compassionate in that its goal is to relieve the suffering of a displaced and traumatized population and authoritarian because clients lack power to pursue their own ends, are blocked from expressing discontent, and are incapable of receiving compensation for administrative failings.
S. J. Gold
Choice
Holzer's engagingly written text is unique in establishing... how women and men experience refugee relief that has morphed into a system of rule. Holzer's attention to the motivations of all involved in the clash between the Liberian refugees, the Ghanaian host government, and the UNHCR is commendable. Along with delineating how social complexities of age, gender, ethnicity, and migration route impact camp politics, she describes the constraints imposed by the basic structures of humanitarian aid. Concerned Women of Buduburam is an unflinching and vital interrogation of the practical pitfalls and theoretical nuances of humanitarian aid.
Abena Ampofoa Asare
Mobilization
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