Response to Tom Scott-Smith’s Review of Undoing Nothing: Waiting for Asylum, Struggling for Relevance

Paolo Boccagni

doi:10.1017/s1537592725103782

March 1, 2026Perspectives on PoliticsOpen Access

Response to Tom Scott-Smith’s Review of Undoing Nothing: Waiting for Asylum, Struggling for Relevance

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Key Points

The aim is to challenge the perception of asylum seekers as passive and highlight their active role in reclaiming their relevance.
Analysis of Boccagni's arguments and perspectives.
Critical review of the themes presented in the book.
Asylum seekers actively reconstitute their moral worth.
They strive to regain political visibility in institutional contexts perceived as dismissive.

Implication

This review demonstrates how asylum seekers reshape their visibility and worth, suggesting a shift in understanding their agency.

Abstract

than viewing asylum seekers as passive recipients of state power, Boccagni shows how they reconstitute moral worth and political visibility from below.Above all, he succeeds in showing how refugees seek to undo that sense of suspension-the way they strive to "produce relevance" in a condition of institutional irrelevance.

Discussion

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Cite This Study

Paolo Boccagni (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69d0ae68659487ece0fa4609 https://doi.org/10.1017/s1537592725103782

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Response to Tom Scott-Smith’s Review of Undoing Nothing: Waiting for Asylum, Struggling for Relevance

Key Points

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

Response to Tom Scott-Smith’s Review of Undoing Nothing: Waiting for Asylum, Struggling for Relevance

Key Points

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

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