Authoritarian legacies: how 1970s African dictators shaped contemporary refugee policies

During the 1970s, several East African autocrats implemented surprisingly progressive refugee policies. Idi Amin, Juvénal Habyarimana, Gaafar Nimeiry and Mengistu Haile Mariam, despite otherwise being known for their repressive human rights records, each adopted refugee policies that were praised by the United Nations Refugee Agency as ‘liberal’. This article makes three contributions: first, it describes these policies; second, it explains the strategic value of ostensibly liberal policies to these dictators; third, it argues that these approaches have in some cases had an important ongoing legacy in shaping contemporary refugee policies across East Africa. Amin’s policies shaped the globally celebrated Ugandan self-reliance model. Habyarimana’s selective integration of refugees based on ethnicity and economic value have remained hallmarks of Rwandan refugee policy. Mengistu’s recognition of the value of refugees for the development and governance of borderlands has continued to underpin national policy. Nimeiry adopted national legislation that enshrined socio-economic freedoms and endured for over 40 years. Given the region’s long legacy of proclaiming self-reliance policies, East African autocrats of the 1970s may have played a role in shaping today’s global self-reliance agenda.