The power of sponsorship: Power and moral action in private refugee resettlement

This article explores the power dynamics present in so-called “private refugee sponsorship” schemes, both theoretically and through data collected from interviews with Canadian refugee sponsors, as well as our own experience as a part of a refugee sponsorship group. We identify two different forms of power deployed by sponsors: power over resettlement, where sponsors deploy their skills and resources to ensure that newcomers have access to the services they require; and power over newcomers themselves, where sponsors take advantage of their superior knowledge of society to attempt to shape the options that newcomers have and the choices they make. We demonstrate that while some sponsors are anxious about this power dynamic, and work to mitigate it, others are less conscious of this power dynamic, and act paternalistically towards the newcomers they have sponsored, sometimes even in ways that are dominating.