Uganda’s self-reliance policy for refugees has been recognized as among the most progressive refugee policies in the world. In contrast to many refugee-hosting countries, it allows refugees the right to work and freedom of movement. It has been widely praised as a model for other countries to emulate. However, there has been little research on the politics that underlie Uganda’s approach. Why has Uganda maintained these policies despite hosting more refugees than any country in Africa? Based on archival research and elite interviews, this article provides a political history of Uganda’s self-reliance policies from independence to the present. It unveils significant continuity in both the policies and the underlying politics. Refugee policy has been used by Ugandan leaders to strengthen patronage and assert political authority within strategically important refugee-hosting hinterlands. International donors have abetted domestic illiberalism in order to sustain a liberal internationalist success story. The politics of patronage and refugee policy have worked hand-in-hand. Patronage has, in the Ugandan case, been integral to the functioning of the international refugee system. Rather than being an inevitably ‘African’ phenomenon or the unavoidable legacy of colonialism, patronage politics has been enabled by, and essential to, liberal internationalism.

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难民和赞助：乌干达“进步”难民政策的政治史

乌干达的难民自力更生政策被公认为世界上最先进的难民政策之一。与许多难民收容国不同，它允许难民工作和行动自由。它被广泛称赞为其他国家效仿的典范。然而，很少有关于乌干达做法背后的政治研究。为什么尽管收容的难民比非洲任何国家都多，乌干达仍坚持这些政策？本文基于档案研究和精英访谈，提供了乌干达从独立到现在的自力更生政策的政治历史。它揭示了政策和潜在政治的重要连续性。乌干达领导人利用难民政策在具有重要战略意义的难民收容腹地加强赞助和维护政治权威。国际捐助者支持国内的非自由主义，以维持自由国际主义的成功故事。赞助政治和难民政策携手并进。就乌干达而言，赞助是国际难民系统运作不可或缺的一部分。赞助政治不是不可避免的“非洲”现象或不可避免的殖民主义遗产，而是自由国际主义促成并必不可少。赞助政治和难民政策携手并进。就乌干达而言，赞助是国际难民系统运作不可或缺的一部分。赞助政治不是不可避免的“非洲”现象或不可避免的殖民主义遗产，而是自由国际主义促成并必不可少。赞助政治和难民政策携手并进。就乌干达而言，赞助是国际难民系统运作不可或缺的一部分。赞助政治不是不可避免的“非洲”现象或不可避免的殖民主义遗产，而是自由国际主义促成并必不可少。