Regulating immigrant identities: The role of government and institutions in the identity construction of refugees and other migrants

Ibi Losoncz, Jay Marlowe

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

    Abstract

    This interdisciplinary paper explores the role of governments in the identity formation of people of resettled refugees. Using ethnographic data collected from 32 South Sudanese Australians and 9 professionals who work with this community, the paper outlines how participants face a range of systemic barriers and threats from government institutions relating to the cultivation of self-identity. We demonstrate how institutions poorly respond to the three typologies of self: moral, democratic, and status-seeking, and forward alternative institutional responses and possibilities. We conclude by arguing that rather than delivering a cohesive society, the regulation of cultural values and moral identities threatens the development of positive self-identities among resettled refugees and their children.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1-16
    JournalJournal of International Migration and Integration
    VolumeOnline
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2019

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