This text examines how political concepts become depoliticized when they migrate into academic discourse, focusing on the case of “Relational Integration” in Migration Studies. To trace the evolution of the discourse, I draw on three key moments in its conceptual history: mainstream approaches that treat integration as a valid response to migration (such as Alba,

Unveiling Power Dynamics: Insights from the Autumn Research Academy on Migration Governance in the Mediterranean Region   The debate around migration, as well as the academic and practical approach to migration are inextricably linked to power dynamics. This became particularly clear in the contributions during the Autumn Research Academy “Dialogues on Migration Governance in the

When I moved to Egypt, I never thought I’d call 6th of October City my home. October is located far out in the Egyptian desert, past the Pyramids, and it’s roughly a one-hour drive from downtown Cairo. It’s quite a peaceful city, and the home to thousands of displaced families from Sudan, Syria, and other

Burnt fingertips. I keep turning over specific lines from The Optician of Lampedusa (Kirby, 2016) since I first read them eight years ago. They depict the protagonist discovering that some refugees, whom he had rescued from the sea just a few days prior, burnt their fingertips. Why would someone willingly harm their body, most likely