Refugeedom and humanitarianism in Cold War Central America: refugees in Honduras during the 1980s

O'Hara, Fionntán (2024) Refugeedom and humanitarianism in Cold War Central America: refugees in Honduras during the 1980s. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Abstract

This thesis looks at Salvadoran and Nicaraguan refugee camps in Honduras during the 1980s. During this time, Honduras, firmly allied with the United States (US), was involved in both the Salvadoran and Nicaraguan conflicts from which the refugees had fled. Those from El Salvador came from regions in which the leftist guerrilla group, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, were particularly strong. The Honduran government saw these refugees as dangerous and potentially destabilising and thus they were confined to closed refugee camps. On the other hand, those from Nicaragua crossed into Honduras following conflict with the Sandinista government and so their anti-Communist credentials were, in the eyes of the Honduran government, secure. These refugees were granted freedom of movement. Comparing these two cases, this thesis explores the way in which refuge was politicised and intrinsic to the way the Cold War unfolded in Central America. An array of actors were involved in the camps and settlements for these refugees; the refugees themselves, the Honduran government, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the US embassy in Honduras, and a number of national and international aid and solidarity organisations. Moreover, the camps were also linked to guerrilla groups in El Salvador and Nicaragua. This thesis examines the interactions between these different groups, all of whom were operating in the context of the Cold War. In doing so, the thesis shows how the Cold War both limited the space for humanitarian action, but also how the Cold War shaped competing visions of humanitarianism. At the same time, refugees, and guerrilla groups linked to them, successfully utilised humanitarian demands and language to influence the actions of state and transnational actors. By taking a multi-archival approach along with oral histories, this thesis brings together both refugee and institutional perspectives, therefore enabling it to highlight the evolution and contested nature of refugeedom in Cold War Central America.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	© 2024 Fionntán O’Hara
Library of Congress subject classification:	F History United States, Canada, Latin America > F1201 Latin America (General) J Political Science > JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration J Political Science > JZ International relations
Sets:	Departments > International Relations
Supervisor:	Harmer, Tanya
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/4666

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