Seasonality as an Analytical Lens

This paper explores the notion of seasonality as a conceptual and methodological lens to analyze the intersections between migration, environment, and governance in the Italian border town of Trieste. The article investigates how temporal and environmental factors shape the governance of migration along the Balkan route. Building on three ethnographic fieldworks conducted by the authors between 2021 and 2023, it offers a composite, multi-sited account of how changing weather patterns, shifting political contexts, and evolving institutional responses co-produce the dynamics of asylum and mobility in the city. By linking natural and political “seasons”, the article shows how local authorities instrumentalize environmental conditions to regulate migrant presence and visibility, while solidarity groups and migrants continuously adapt their practices to these shifts. The paper situates these processes within broader European migration governance transformations, revealing how time, environment, and control converge in local border management. Ultimately, Trieste emerges as a paradigmatic site where the temporalities of nature, policy, and human mobility intertwine, exposing the inherent fragility of contemporary migration regimes

Corporate governance · Ethnography · Fragility · Lens (geology · Politics · Solidarity · Temporalities · Temporality · Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies · Migration, Refugees, and Integration