Undoing Nothing: Waiting for Asylum, Struggling for Relevance

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

Young West African men in Italian asylum centers endure a profound struggle for relevance and meaning during prolonged periods of waiting for asylum decisions. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Karen Fog Olwig

doi:10.1080/00141844.2026.2720146

August 25, 2026Ethnos

Undoing Nothing: Waiting for Asylum, Struggling for Relevance

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Key Points

To examine the daily lived experiences, temporal uncertainty, and social negotiations of young West African men awaiting asylum determinations.
Conducted an in-depth ethnographic monograph focusing on young West African men residing in an asylum reception center in northern Italy.
Engaged in participant observation and qualitative field interactions to document routines, waiting periods, and personal coping strategies.
Documented how institutional waiting and protracted legal limbo generate profound feelings of powerlessness and existential stagnation.
Demonstrated that asylum seekers actively develop personal and communal strategies to counter enforced idleness, maintain dignity, and assert social relevance.

Implication

Ethnographic study uncovers the struggle for agency and relevance among West African asylum seekers awaiting legal status, highlighting the psychological burden of enforced waiting.

Abstract

Paolo Boccagni’s monograph offers a close-up, thought provoking ethnography of young men from West Africa who have been placed at an asylum centre in northern Italy while they wait for a decision o...

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Cite This Study

Karen Fog Olwig (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8fe9b910c91c1e926219b7 https://doi.org/10.1080/00141844.2026.2720146

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Undoing Nothing: Waiting for Asylum, Struggling for Relevance

Key Points

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

Undoing Nothing: Waiting for Asylum, Struggling for Relevance

Key Points

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

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