Paper short abstract:

Drawing on conversations and ethnographic research in Senegal and Spain, the paper deals with the experiences and expectations of labour migration between West Africa and Southern Europe, focusing on the complex interplay of subjectivity and structure in contemporary migratory transitions.

Paper long abstract:

Drawing on conversations and ethnographic research in Senegal and Spain, the paper deals with the experiences and expectations of labour migration between West Africa and Southern Europe. Making use of theoretical perspectives ranging from existential thought to political economy, the paper explores the complex interplay of subjectivity and structure in contemporary migratory transitions.

Without being a new phenomenon as such, migration from West Africa to Europe has arguably taken on a new quality during the last 20 years. One of the main stages of these developments has been Spain. Until the tightening of border controls and the onset of the international financial crisis which had a particular harsh impact on the Spanish economy, large numbers of West African migrants arrived in Spain in search of work. In this context, the paper addresses a wide range of issues, reaching from labour market developments and the administration of residency to the personal experience of these and other conditions. Through this ethnography of migratory experiences and conditions, in both peri-urban and urban environments, the paper attempts to develop an understanding of the dialectics of contemporary migration that is both existentially sensitive and critical.