Current Project:
Social Capital among Urban Syrian Refugees in Jordan
While international attention is fixed on the sprawling refugee camps of Zaatari and Azraq, 80% of Syrians in Jordan settle in cities, beyond the reach of conventional aid regimes. Humanitarian surveys have been carried out to determine how these families survive, how well, and by what means, but little work has been done on how families access various survival strategies and what factors influence that access. Without this information, the international community cannot provide efficient, sustainable services to the majority of conflict-displaced Syrians.
Membership in social networks is correlated with access to informal economies, emotional wellbeing, and decreased vulnerability. Among Syrians, social networks are heavily based on religion, class, ethnicity, and family lineages, but also increasingly include new elements such as business connections or education; these networks are flexible and intersect. There is little understanding of how Syrians negotiate these belongings to maximize opportunities for survival.
To this end, my research will answer three questions:
1) How do urban Syrian refugees forge and reforge social networks in Jordan?
2) How do social networks and social capital contribute to differing strategies of self-support?
3) How do urban Syrian refugees negotiate belonging to multiple social networks?
Research will take place in Irbid, Jordan, from June to November 2014.
By linking social network studies and livelihoods analysis, this research will suggest methods to connect urban refugees with the resources required for self-empowerment. Further, by highlighting links between Syrians and the Jordanian host population, stronger community ties can be built, reinforcing peaceful coexistence for the duration of the crisis. By understanding how social networks reflexively interact with communal support strategies, approaches to maximize well-being in vulnerable populations can be identified—meaning more collaboration, fewer conflicts, stronger communities, and a better quality of life for those affected by conflict.
Membership in social networks is correlated with access to informal economies, emotional wellbeing, and decreased vulnerability. Among Syrians, social networks are heavily based on religion, class, ethnicity, and family lineages, but also increasingly include new elements such as business connections or education; these networks are flexible and intersect. There is little understanding of how Syrians negotiate these belongings to maximize opportunities for survival.
To this end, my research will answer three questions:
1) How do urban Syrian refugees forge and reforge social networks in Jordan?
2) How do social networks and social capital contribute to differing strategies of self-support?
3) How do urban Syrian refugees negotiate belonging to multiple social networks?
Research will take place in Irbid, Jordan, from June to November 2014.
By linking social network studies and livelihoods analysis, this research will suggest methods to connect urban refugees with the resources required for self-empowerment. Further, by highlighting links between Syrians and the Jordanian host population, stronger community ties can be built, reinforcing peaceful coexistence for the duration of the crisis. By understanding how social networks reflexively interact with communal support strategies, approaches to maximize well-being in vulnerable populations can be identified—meaning more collaboration, fewer conflicts, stronger communities, and a better quality of life for those affected by conflict.