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Gender and Intimate Solidarity in Refugee-Sponsorships of Unaccompanied Young Men

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Abstract

Based on qualitative interviews conducted in Austria, this chapter analyses the practice of a particularly intimate form of refugee help: sponsorships of young male refugees. The chapter discusses the motivations that lead volunteers to engage in sponsorships, analyses the processes that shape the relationships between them and their ‘godsons’ and describes the wider effects these experiences have on the sponsors’ lives and viewpoints. Analyzing the data in light of theoretical approaches from critical migration and refugee studies as well as feminist debates about gender and care, the concept of ‘intimate solidarity’ is proposed to understand the gendered and racialized dynamics that surround these sponsorship arrangements.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Science, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    Paul Scheibelhofer

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  1. Paul Scheibelhofer
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Correspondence to Paul Scheibelhofer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary

    Margit Feischmidt

  2. Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    Ludger Pries

  3. Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

    Celine Cantat

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Scheibelhofer, P. (2019). Gender and Intimate Solidarity in Refugee-Sponsorships of Unaccompanied Young Men. In: Feischmidt, M., Pries, L., Cantat, C. (eds) Refugee Protection and Civil Society in Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92741-1_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92741-1_7

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-92740-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-92741-1

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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