Mobility Economies in Europe's Borderlands
Migrants' Journeys through Libya and the Mediterranean

Examines migrants' journeys through Libya by boat to Malta to offer new conceptualizations of mobility and economy under contemporary capitalism.

Marthe Achtnich (Author)

9781009310871, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 October 2023

204 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 1.7 cm, 0.44 kg

The arrival of unauthorised migrants at the shores of southern Europe has been sensationalized into a migration 'crisis' in recent years. Yet, these depictions fail to grasp migrants' experiences and fall short of addressing a more complex phenomenon. In this original ethnography, Marthe Achtnich examines migrants' journeys and economic practices underpinning mobility to recast how we think of migration. Bringing the perspectives and voices of migrants to the fore, she traces sub-Saharan migrants' journeys along one of the world's most dangerous migration routes: through the Sahara Desert, Libya, and then by boat to Malta in Europe. Examining what she calls 'mobility economies', Achtnich demonstrates how these migrant journeys become sources of profit for various actors. By focusing on migrants' long and difficult journeys, the book prompts a necessary rethinking of mobile life, economic practices under contemporary capitalism, and the complex relationship between the two.

Introduction: mobilities and economies at the edge of Europe
Part I. Libya: 1. Detained
2. Staying on
3. Waiting
4. Turbulence at sea
Part II. Malta
5. Stuck
6. Moving on
Conclusion: mobile lives
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC]