Elio Panese (Master in Development Studies) wins the Global Migration Award for his master dissertation entitled: “Border Violence by Other Means An Inquiry into the Embodied Experience of the Swiss Asylum Dispositif” Congratulations!

His study explores forms of violence that are both experienced in and produced by the Swiss asylum dispositif. Building on interviews, document analysis and direct observations, it focuses on the embodied experience of people during their asylum procedure in Switzerland, analyzing the administrative journey they travel through and the heterogeneous temporalities and securitized spaces they are subjected to.  Using a critical border studies lens, his research situates this form of violence on the broader continuum of border violence endured by people throughout their journey. This violence is most of the time indirect, difficult to attribute to specific perpetrators, and happens in seemingly non-violent settings at the borders within. It is then characterized by its invisibility – and sometimes invisibilization. In that sense, this study also proposes to use the impact it has on the bodies and minds of people seeking asylum as traces rendering the violence visible.

The Global Migration Award has been created by the GMC to promote innovative and high quality research on global migration. The prize rewards a Master student of the Graduate Institute for her/his outstanding thesis in the field of global migration (including mobility, forced or voluntary migration, transnational or internal displacement, citizenship, diaspora and the many other issues linked to the movement of persons). It is delivered each year on a competitive basis following a peer review process, and is open to any Master students of the Graduate Institute regardless of their specialization.

The next call for applicants is Autumn 2023