Daring to aspire: theorising aspirations in contexts of displacement and highly constrained mobility

Abstract

Binary distinctions between 'refugees' and 'economic migrants' continue to prevail in humanitarian discourse, with asylum policies heavily focusing on refugees' vulnerabilities and reduced choices. By addressing the paradox between vulnerability and agency embedded in the international protection regime, this article aims to lay the foundations for reconceptualising aspirations in contexts of displacement and highly constrained mobility. First, we analyse how the current asylum regime selectively encourages certain aspirations among refugees and delegitimises others which do not fit the image of the hopeless refugee deserving assistance. Then, we pursue three new analytical avenues in adding nuance to previous versions of the aspiration-capability framework. First, we discuss the importance of aspirations to stay in contexts of displacement and suggest that they and aspirations to stay and to migrate should not be seen as mutually exclusive. Second, drawing on psychological studies, we highlight that aspirations can be an emotional resource even in contexts where their realisation seems to be or certainly is unreachable. Lastly, we propose looking at the political dimensions of individual and collective aspirations to understand how displaced people can strive to induce social and political change despite the structural constraints they face.