Anatomy of Humanitarian Innovation: Mapping Syrian Refugee Governance in Jordan in the Age of Digital Technology

PhD Research
Written By CTMF Admin

Project dates (estimated):

September 2024 - September 2028

Name of the PhD student:

Nayantara Nandi Basu

View bio

Supervisors:

Andreas Hackl – School of Social and Political Science

Nicola Perugini – School of Social and Political Science

Project aims:

Nayantara’s project examines how digital technologies are transforming the humanitarian governance of Syrian refugees in Jordan. Focusing on the deployment of biometric identity systems, digital cash assistance, digital skills training, and AI-driven feedback platforms, she investigates how these innovations are reshaping relationships among refugees, humanitarian actors, and private-sector partners. Drawing on multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork across refugee camps and urban spaces, her research project seeks to unpack the tensions between techno-optimistic narratives and lived realities, and to situate such innovations within longer histories of humanitarian care.

Disciplines and subfields engaged:

  • Social Anthropology

  • Critical Humanitarian Studies

  • Science and Technology Studies

Research Themes:

  • Ethics and Politics of Data

    • Dataveillance and Data Privacy

    • Data Justice and Data Violence

  • Emerging Technology and Human Identity 

    • Emerging Tech and Human Autonomy 

Related Outputs:

Awards:

  • Edinburgh Doctoral College Scholarship

Presentations:

  • Presented at ‘PhD Presentation Day May 2025’ hosted by International Development/Centre for African Studies at the University of Edinburgh.

  • Presented and moderated a session at ‘Situating (im)mobilities, (un)fixing borders PhD Conference Feb 2025’ hosted by the Citizenship and Migration Research Network (CMRN).

CTMF Admin
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