0703, 2019

Migrants granted bail left trapped in British immigration detention because of nowhere to go

By 643577|March 7, 2019|Immigration dentention, Migration|0 comments

This post is written by Anna Lindley, Senior Lecturer in Migration, Mobility and Development at SOAS, and Clara Della Croce, Senior Teaching Fellow in the School of Law at SOAS. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons License. Read the original article. Britain’s already Kafkaesque immigration detention system has reached new heights as it’s become clear that migrants who’ve successfully challenged their immigration detention are remaining incarcerated,

1701, 2019

Hunter and Prey in a Mauritanian Café

By 643577|January 17, 2019|Borders, Doctoral Research at SOAS, Migration|1 comments

This post is written by Hassan Ould Moctar, Doctoral Researcher and Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of Development Studies at SOAS. One evening while sitting in a café in the northern Mauritanian port city of Nouadhibou, I was unexpectedly joined by a member of the Spanish Guardia Civil and a companion of his. I was on a research trip to Nouadhibou and had been introduced to the Guardia Civil officer

1311, 2017

Food, Myself, and Refugees

By 643577|November 13, 2017|Migration, Uncategorized|2 comments

This post is written by Paolo Novak. Paolo is conducting research on asylum seekers’ reception in Italy, funded by the British Academy/Leverhume Small Grant SG162483. I love food, as all those who know me, or perhaps just see me, can confirm. I love the full spectrum sensorial satisfaction it provides, and the social life that defines each plate and accompanies its consumption. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that food has

0307, 2017

Using Literary Comics to Understand the Role of Borderland Brokers in Post-War Transitions

By Jo Tomkinson|July 3, 2017|Borders, Conflict, Migration, Peace, State in development|0 comments

This post is written by Jonathan Goodhand, Professor in Conflict and Development Studies in the Department of Development Studies at SOAS, and Oliver Walton, Lecturer in International Development, University of Bath. “It is true that Hambantota is the periphery and is in need of development. However, we should not blame people (from the centre). We must portray the periphery as a partner. Not as a hotbed of resistance”. The quotation

2704, 2017

The Centrality of the Margins: Brokering Borders and Borderlands in the age of Trump and Brexit

By Jo Tomkinson|April 27, 2017|Borders, Migration, State in development|0 comments

This blog post is written by Dr Sharri Plonski (SOAS) and Dr Patrick Meehan (SOAS). Borders are never far from the news these days, with a relentless media focus on Donald Trump’s new America and Theresa May’s ‘Hard Brexit’. Trump’s Mexico Wall epitomises this border neurosis and symbolises a wider trend towards protectionism that seeks to thwart the flow of people (into the country) and of capital, jobs and control

0203, 2016

Workshopping Borders – Going Beyond the News Headlines

By Jo Tomkinson|March 2, 2016|Borders, Migration|0 comments

Paolo Novak is a lecturer in the SOAS Department of Development Studies. His research develops at the intersection of borders, migration and development studies, and is concerned with the geography and spatiality of development; border management and interventions; the figures of the migrant and the refugee. Whether you agree or disagree with Etienne Balibar‘s proposition that “borders are everywhere”, border-related workshops certainly are. This is unsurprising as most, if not all,

0412, 2015

Valletta Summit: Aid For Africa Is Not the Solution to the Refugee Crisis

By Jo Tomkinson|December 4, 2015|Migration, Uncategorized|0 comments

Laura Hammond is a Reader in Development Studies and Head of Department at the SOAS Department of Development Studies. Her research interests include food security, conflict, forced migration and diasporas.

Giving more development aid to Africa may be a good idea, but the proposition that it will be an effective way of stemming the flow of migrants out of Africa towards Europe is deeply flawed.

At the recent Valletta Migration Summit between European and African leaders in Malta, the European Union announced the establishment of an Emergency Trust Fund for Africa to promote stability and to address the root causes of irregular migration and displacement. The EU has pledged 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion) and has asked member states to make additional contributions to match that amount.

The funds are to be spent on an array of activities including generating employment opportunities, reintegrating returnees, providing basic services for local populations, and promoting environmental sustainability. Money will also be directed at law enforcement, border management, containing and preventing irregular migration, combatting trafficking and smuggling and countering radicalisation and extremism.