This project aims at understanding how agency develops in times of crises, by focusing on the perspective of precarious migrants and solidarity activists involved in forced migration processes. We pay particular attention to these actors’ perceptions, discourses and practices.
We work with the concept of “liminality”, which captures the “in-betweenness” and uncertainty that forced migrants experience when faced with (new) crises. With this concept, we refer to liminal spaces in which migrants live through, but also to the liminality that they experience with regard to waiting time, precarious livelihoods, and social and legal status. A specific focus of our project lies in the role that information and communication technologies play for migrants and solidarity activists in such situations.
Based on a qualitative empirical research design combining participant observation, virtual methods, document analysis and interviews, we conduct three case studies, in Turkey, Romania and Switzerland.