Palestinian Refugees and Their Love-Hate Relationship with UNRWA
Author: 
Michael Dumper
Digital Section: 
Reviews
Keyword: 
UNRWA
United Nations
Palestine refugees
international aid
education
Reviewed Book
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Abstract: 

Anne Irfan argues in this book that the relationship between Palestinian refugees and UNRWA is complex and multilayered and that Palestinian agency has contributed to the transformation of UNRWA, a point overlooked by many studies. The author examines the establishment of UNRWA and its expansion within the five areas of operation – Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, West Bank, and Gaza. Based on a comprehensive and diverse range of sources, this interdisciplinary study considers the way in which UNRWA has played a dual role – mitigating the disaster of their dispossession and expulsion in1948 but also containing Palestinian refugee frustrations at the lack of international support for their rights.

Author biography: 

Michael Dumper is emeritus professor in Middle East politics, University of Exeter, UK, where he worked since 1986. He has acted as a consultant on Middle East politics for the UK and Canadian governments, UNRWA, UNSCO, the European Commission Task Force on Refugees, and think tanks and research centers in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. His research and teaching has largely focused on Jerusalem and on Palestinian refugees. He is the author of Power, Piety and People: The Politics of Holy Cities in the 21st Century (Columbia University Press, 2020); Jerusalem Unbound: Geography, History, and the Future of the Holy City (Columbia University Press, 2014); and The Future of Palestinian Refugees: Toward Justice and Equity (Lynne Rienner, 2007). His most recent research project explores ways in which Palestinian refugee voices can be strengthened in debates concerning the future financing of UNRWA (see mas.ps/en/publications/7047.html).