Self-reliance and refugee economics in Uganda

Uganda has a long history of dealing with refugees and internally displaced people and represents one of those paradigmatic cases where local IDP and refugee approaches to displacement have been scaled up to global levels, and global policies and discourses have turned into specific local outcomes for displaced people. The country has been the testing ground for the UN global compact on refugees and displacement policies focused on promoting self-reliance amongst refugees and their hosts as part of national development frameworks. This chapter looks at the history of IDP and refugee response in Uganda to examine how discussions on durable solutions have developed from restricting IDP and refugee movement to opening up for interaction between displaced people and hosts. While Uganda is promoted as a 'refugee paradise', the chapter shows how policy frameworks and practice emphasize self-reliance over de facto local integration and what this means for IDPs and refugees.