Refugees in the Imperial Order of Things : Citizen, Subject, and Polish Refugees in Africa (1942–50)

Title data

Lingelbach, Jochen:
Refugees in the Imperial Order of Things : Citizen, Subject, and Polish Refugees in Africa (1942–50).
In: Africa Today. Vol. 69 (2022) Issue 1-2 . - pp. 14-35.
ISSN 1527-1978

Official URL:

Abstract in another language

Examining the case of some nineteen thousand Polish refugees in British colonial Africa, this article challenges the Eurocentric historiography of the post–World War II international refugee regime. These Poles, after being hosted by the colonial governments first, eventually came under the mandate of emerging UN refugee organizations that treated Europeans as internationally recognized refugees everywhere in the world. In contrast, fleeing Africans (and Asians) did not fit this category. This distinction had more to do with imperialism and race than with any geographic limitation. Conceptually, the refugee regime rests on the differentiation of refugees and national citizens, while imperial rule differentiated between European citizens and colonized subjects. I want to complicate this by emphasizing that the international refugee regime emerged in a largely imperial world signified by a tripartition into citizen, subject, and European refugee.

Further data

Item Type:	Article in a journal
Refereed:	Yes
Institutions of the University:	Faculties > Faculty of Cultural Studies > Professor History of Africa > Professor History of Africa - Univ.-Prof. Dr. Joël Glasman Research Institutions > Collaborative Research Centers, Research Unit > EXC 2052 - Africa Multiple: Afrikastudien neu gestalten Faculties Faculties > Faculty of Cultural Studies Faculties > Faculty of Cultural Studies > Professor History of Africa Research Institutions Research Institutions > Collaborative Research Centers, Research Unit
Result of work at the UBT:	Yes
DDC Subjects:	900 History and geography > 900 History 900 History and geography > 940 History of Europe 900 History and geography > 960 History of Africa
Date Deposited:	05 Oct 2022 09:17
Last Modified:	05 Oct 2022 09:17
URI:	https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/72281