Contextualizing entrepreneurial identity amongst Syrian refugees in Jordan: the emergence of a destabilized habitus?

This paper aims to contextualise the entrepreneurial identity of Syrian refugees living
outside refugee camps in Jordan. The research adopts a social lens to consider the situation
Syrians find themselves in by drawing on the work of Bourdieu. A qualitative design is
applied to explore the different experiences and perceptions that pervade refugee stories and
the work of refugee aid agencies. By contextualising entrepreneurial identity in the
Jordanian context, the paper reveals how a destabilized refugee habitus based on an
embodied disposition of survivability is emerging. The paper makes an empirical and
conceptual contribution by highlighting how the entrepreneurial activities of Syrian refugees
are driven by their experiences of the harsh social conditions they find themselves in.