The development of refugee protection in Africa from cooperation to nationalistic prisms

Abstract

This piece posits that refugee protection in Africa has developed concurrently and has been influenced by transformation of the concept of nationalism in Africa. Deploying the concept of nationalism to construct a coherent understanding of refugee protection is useful and relevant because the ‘nation-state’ project is largely accountable for most conflict-induced displacement in many if not all parts of the world (Davenport and Moore 2003). Africa is no exception. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that over 60 million people were either refugees or asylum seekers in 2016, a higher number than after World War II (UNHCR 2016).