Academic Displacement and the Multi-Dimensional Life of Migration Categories: Insights from Global South Migration

This article proposes academic displacement as a lens to analyse interconnections between skilled and forced migration, and discusses the policy, work and subjective dimensions of the phenomenon. The analysis suggests that policy construction of academic displacement is framed around a temporal oxymoron between short-term emergency intervention and long-term expectations around ‘rescued’ scholars’ capacity to engage in scientific excellence. It also rests on an individualistic interpretation of academic freedom. Differently, displaced scholars reassert the importance of the communitarian dimension of academic freedom. Being represented as exceptional/temporary guests risks bordering them from both their home academic community and their European ‘host’.