uncertainty that mold the lives of Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Through case studies in a country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita in the world, the book tackles often misconstrued notions of ambiguity and informality in refugee policy and research. It distinctly shows how institutional ambiguity is deliberately used as an instrument to hold refugees in a state of exceptionalism and constant temporariness. The book is a remarkable addition to the field of critical refugee studies.'
- Nasser Yassin, Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut
'In this important book, Nora Stel provides a novel analysis of Lebanon's multi-layered refugee governance that moves beyond simplistic notions of a "weak-state." Combining first-hand research among Palestinian and Syrian refugees with critical readings of extant scholarship and policy, her keen analysis not only details how ambiguity is strategically employed in all levels of the state bureaucracy, but the costs to those subject to it. The book thereby represents a highly original perspective on refugee governance in Lebanon and beyond.'
- Are Knudsen, Senior Researcher at the Christian Michelsen Institute
'
Hybrid Political Order and the Politics of Uncertainty provocatively and persuasively demonstrates how informality, liminality, and exceptionalism in Lebanese refugee governance is everything but accidental. Those continuing to view the country's institutional bedlam and injustices as "state failure" will have a hard time confronting Stel's lucid analysis. Theoretically sophisticated and informed by deep knowledge of Lebanon's intricate politics, the book flags the significance of intraelite collaboration in disciplining both refugees and citizens. This has profound implications for understanding the Lebanese state.'
- Reinoud Leenders, Reader in International Relations and Middle East Studies at King's College London
'With this theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich book, Nora Stel makes a profound contribution to our understanding not only of refugee governance in Lebanon, but of institutional ambiguity and the politics of uncertainty. With eloquence and analytic intensity, Stel conceptualizes how marginalised spaces both make and are made by deliberate forms of ignorance, offering tremendous insights and inspiration to scholars working across multiple fields.'
- Tom Slater, Reader in Urban Geography at the University of Edinburgh'Zooming in on Lebanon, this book has profound theoretical implications for our understanding of the causes of institutional ambiguity in the lives of refugees. Through her detailed desk review, ethnographic fieldwork and interviews, Stel points to the reasons why such institutional ambiguity emerges, whom it benefits and how it is navigated. The book thereby offers a much-needed perspective in today's world of systematic denial of rights behind the veil of uncertainty as a general mode of governance of populations.'
- Katarzyna Grabska, Assistant Professor in Displacement Studies at the Institute of Social Studies
