The intersectionality of gender and citizenship on livelihood strategies of protracted refugees : a case study of Palestinians in Jordan

This thesis is an analysis of the intersectionality of gender and citizenship on the livelihood strategies of protracted refugees, through a case study of Palestinians in a Governorate in Jordan. More specifically it looks at the intersectionality of gender and citizenship in shaping access to further education and private and public sector employment of protracted Palestinian refugees in Jordan. An interpretative research paradigm using multiple qualitative methods has been adopted. A single embedded case study design was used that included non-participant observation and interviews with Transjordanians, Palestinian Jordanians and ex-Gazans as well as policy makers, and training and employment service providers. The data set included a total of (44) individual interviews, (6) focus groups, and (48) days of field observations. The data were analysed thematically using NVIVO 10. The study extends knowledge empirically by exploring the livelihood strategies of protracted Palestinian refugees in and outside camps compared to their host population. The theoretical original contribution to knowledge extends understandings of how the intersectionality of gender and inclusionary and exclusionary citizenship of protracted Palestinian refugees impacts on their access to further education and employment at the macro, meso and micro levels. Structuration theory is used to examine enabling and disabling factors influencing the agency of women and men to develop livelihood strategies. This research highlighted the nuanced forms of disadvantage that different types of protracted Palestinian refugees experience in their access to further education and employment compared to their host population. While similar strategies are deployed to improve livelihoods, the intersectionality of gender and citizenship created different experiences for them. An analysis of the intersectionality of gender and citizenship provides a differentiated nuanced understanding of variations in livelihoods in a population often considered to be homogenous which has implications for other protracted refugee populations