Who Feels Safe? Uncertain Futures and Enduring Aspirations in Italy

Bibliographic Data

ID5126366
AuthorsDaniela Giudici (0000-0002-5769-2728, Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), Polytechnic and University of Turin, Turin, Italy, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume31
Issue2
Pages1-21
Publication date2024-05-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeopolitics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1465-0045 • E-ISSN: 1557-3028
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14650045.2024.2349633
OpenAlexW4396660165
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited76

In an attempt of going beyond a simple opposition between those conceived as agents and those seen as subjects of disciplinary power, this article engages with a reflection on differential states of precariousness and (un)safety, which involve both ‘forced migrants’ and ‘citizens’. Drawing on ethnographic research in Milan (Italy), I outline some recent institutional changes in the Italian asylum system, which led to the political abandonment of refugees in situations of increasing marginalisation, but also to the layoff of several frontline asylum workers, who were often young people hit by the consequences of economic recession. Through the words and biographical trajectories of three young women (two asylum workers and one refugee), I trace the emergence of contested temporal and work experiences, marked by widespread feelings of uncertainty and devaluation. I approach empirically the idea of (un)safety as a material and bodily condition and as an emotional state, directly linked to the perceived possibility of being able to orient oneself towards the future. By zooming in on differential experiences of (un)safety and precariousness – but also on enduring aspirations – I aim at documenting the material and affective entanglements of acts of government, as well as their inherent potential for empowerment and transformation

Business · Economics · Financial economics · Futures contract · Political economy · Political science · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Regional resilience and development

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