Breaking away from Western-centric paradigms, the decentering approach proposes to embrace multiple ways of thinking in world politics. In this article, we chart an empirical agenda for decentering conceptions of refugee governance, a particularly contentious research terrain. We build on three interconnected scales of analysis in the decentering agenda as important gateways for our exercise: temporalities, policy orders and geographies. First, we retrace refugee hosting temporalities that predate the adoption of the 1951 Refugee Convention, considered to be the pillar of the modern refugee regime. In so doing, we destabilize the assumed centrality of a standpoint from which refugee law evolved. Second, we look at notions of governance outside of the policy-centric realm and center attention on refugee experiences. Third, we engage with non-Western geographies as actors in their own right. Inspired by the Middle East as a site for knowledge production rather than data extraction, we build on three examples: The historical refugee order in the Ottoman empire, refugee experiences in the context of the Jordan Compact, and hosting experiences of non-signatory states to the 1951 Convention. By developing this three-fold- albeit non-exhaustive -pathway we ground decentering as an empirically and methodologically relevant research strategy in refugee studies.
Grounded in ethnographic fieldwork in Tunis (2015–2020), this article explores how cohabitation temporarily enhances the existential mobility of a self-proclaimed minority of Tunisian students and young professionals in post-uprising Tunis. It demonstrates how cohabitation, as long as it aligns with their romantic and professional desires and aspirations, gives these men and women the feeling of “going somewhere” in life, helping them avoid its opposite—a sense of existential immobility. Cohabitation underpins their liberal secular sense of personhood and serves as a crucial avenue for carving out (normative) space for a lifestyle that most Tunisians consider immoral and to create a “home away from home” where they feel they can be themselves, develop their relationships, and live their (love) lives more freely. This space not only increases their sense of belonging but also reinforces their belief that a better future is attainable without leaving the country. However, when their desires and aspirations shift along their life trajectories, marriage often emerges as a strategy to regain their sense of movement towards a better life and a place to feel more “at home”—either within or outside of Tunisia’s borders.
Morocco is transforming from a transit country to a destination country since a growing number of migrants are choosing to settle there. For many of these migrants, the pursuit of a new life in Morocco is closely tied to the establishment of familial structures, with marriage often comprising a critical first step in this process. Migration represents a disruption of normalcy in which new perceptions and practices can emerge. In this article, we engage in a socio-legal analysis of marriage practices among sub-Saharan, Middle Eastern, and South Asian migrants in Morocco, focusing on both the formal and informal dimensions. By employing a legal pluralistic lens, we analyze what type of marriage migrants enter and examine how they navigate the legal, religious, and customary norms in place. An intersectional analysis explains why a formal marriage is attainable for some migrants but not for others. Key factors such as administrative status and financial resources serve as significant barriers to their marital aspirations, resulting in either delays in formal marriage or decisions to marry through informal channels. The concept of belonging explains why informal and formal marriages continue to be practiced among migrants.
