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'On the border, i learned how to advocate': borderlands as political spaces for Burmese women’s activism
Umeå University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Political Science. (Peace and conflict studies)ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2400-9144
Department of War Studies, Swedish Defense University, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9535-3276
2025 (English)In: The Journal of Refugee Studies, ISSN 0951-6328, E-ISSN 1471-6925, Vol. 38, no 2, p. 326-339Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article explores the political space of the border through the experiences of Myanmar women activists, for whom the borderlands in Thailand have provided refuge as well as a conducive environment for political mobilization. At the same time, the border renders refugee activists insecure and precarious. Drawing on life history interviews, our analysis expands conceptualizations of the border as a dynamic political space by illustrating its dual capacity to both facilitate and constrain the political agency of refugee women from Myanmar. In particular, the spatial and temporal fluidity and in-betweenness of the border is shown to foster both repression and resistance. Exploring the character and salience of the border as a space for activism over time, we demonstrate how the political space of the border is relational, constituted in interaction with other political spaces, such as politics and governance in Myanmar, transnational activist networks, and the politics of international aid. 

 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Oxford University Press, 2025. Vol. 38, no 2, p. 326-339
Keywords [en]
Refugee women, women’s activism, border politics, political space, life history interviews, Myanmar
National Category
International Migration and Ethnic Relations Political Science
Research subject
Peace and Conflict Research
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-213522DOI: 10.1093/jrs/fead030ISI: 001007745000001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105008720189OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-213522DiVA, id: diva2:1791141
Part of project
Feminists, Ethno-nationalists and Peace Activists? The Role of Diasporic Minority Women?s Organizations in Burma?s Conflict Transformation Process, Swedish Research CouncilThe politics and effects of gender expertise in peacebuilding, Swedish Research Council
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2015-01756Swedish Research Council, 2019-04227Available from: 2023-08-24 Created: 2023-08-24 Last updated: 2025-07-01Bibliographically approved

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Olivius, Elisabeth

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