Author Description

"This dissertation investigates how Indonesian governance structures shape the lived experiences of stranded refugees, focusing on the concept of permanent temporariness. As a transit country, Indonesia has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol, resulting in absence of of a formal legal framework for refugee protection and integration. Refugees remain stuck in an endless state of indecision, experience prolonged uncertainty, since they cannot move forward with resettlement or go back to their home countries. Through nine months of ethnographic fieldwork between 2017 and 2018 in Makassar, researcher interviewed 132 refugees, host society members and government officials to explore how displaced populations manage their unstable living situations. An analysis of Indonesia’s refugee governance and the socio-political dynamics influencing host-refugee relations uses theoretical perspectives including governmentality, securitization, temporality, and social capital in this dissertation. Research shows that refugees face dual pressures of management and marginalization framed as security threats rather than humanitarian subjects which leads governments to establish surveillance-oriented policies instead of humanitarian protection. While host communities initially offer sympathy and informal support, prolonged refugee presence has led to increasing social tensions, economic competition, and cultural misunderstandings. Indonesia’s reliance on Presidential Regulation 125/2016 along with assistance from organizations like UNHCR and IOM, has entrenched bureaucratic inefficiencies which maintain refugees in a prolonged state of liminality. This study adds to migration and refugee studies by bringing attention to the unique circumstances faced by transit refugees within the Global South. A rights-based and sustainable governance approach is essential to address the structural challenges of prolonged displacement in Indonesia."--