Case studies – New Geographies of Hope and Despair

The programme is based on ethnographic field studies in Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Argentina, guided by a common theoretical and methodological framework. While context-specific questions are asked in each study, we all address the following research questions:

1. How do different systems of migration management regulate and reshape perceptions of hope, risk, failure and opportunity among prospective, actual and deported West African migrants and their families?
2. How do the affected groups reconfigure mobility patterns and seek alternative livelihood strategies?
3. And through which means do they renegotiate their imaginaries for the future?

All data collection is carried out with the full consent of the participants, whose anonymity is guaranteed in accordance with national and international ethical guidelines.

Deportation and emergency return to Ghana from Europe and Libya(Nauja Kleist)
This research project examines deportation and other kinds of forced return among Ghanaian migrants. It explores the social consequences of interrupted migration projects for deportees, involuntary return migrants and their families as well as the local responses to their situation.

From Transit to Settlement? – West African migrants in Morocco (Dorte Thorsen)
The study analyses the trajectories of West African migrants and refugees who have stayed in Morocco for more than a year. It examines how the labour market, local politics and European immigration politics shape their hope to ameliorate their own and their family’s circumstances.

Emerging Transatlantic Migration – West African Migrants in Argentina (Ida Marie Vammen)
This PhD project explores an emerging transatlantic migration system between West Africa and South America. It follows a group of Senegalese migrants in Buenos Aires, Argentina and their transnational connections to families and friends back home.