South Asian International Mobilities between Skilled and Forced Migration:Insights from Higher Education

Abstract

This paper explores the interconnections between skilled and forced migration in the context of South Asian scholars relocating in Europe. It draws from qualitative interviews with 25 researchers from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan who, due to different forms of political violence, have to leave their country. While in current debates skilled migration is approached as a privilege, forced migration rarely involves the study of highly educated subjects: this unravels a bias in the way ‘talents’ and ‘refugees’ are dichotomised as opposite analytical categories. South Asian international mobility holds relevance to apprehend the intricacies between skilled and forced migration: on the one hand, Soth Asians have been studied in relation to brain drain and, on the other, rights-limitations related to political violence results in growing outflows towards Europe. The analysis highlights how scholars’ mobility is driven by the intent to resume their career and academic freedom, and yet how their migration to Europe can turn into periods where physical immobility combines with dispossession from scientific capital. This is party due to the constraining academic labour market in Europe which, while open to programs supporting ‘at-risk scholars’, remains framed around temporary work contracts. The paper considers how time, space and volition combine in shaping the experiences and meanings of ‘being stuck’ in science while moving.