Constructing Identities in UN Refugee Camps: The Politics of Language, Culture and Humanitarian Assistance

In this article, we draw on qualitative research at three United Nations refugee camps to examine the ways in which two field directors made sense of their work with refugees. We analyze their discursive practices to illustrate the construction of culture and identities within a humanitarian context. We illuminate the deficit discourses and achievement discourses used to construct negative identities for refugees and positive identities for United Nations staff. This study significantly contributes to the limited research on the discursive construction of identities in refugee camp settings.