Through the eyes of vulnerability: transforming a buzzword into an analytical category for the study of migration

Summary
The term vulnerability is a crucial part of our vocabulary nowadays. It has become a buzzword used to discuss a variety of topics and to reach different goals without being fully defined. When used in the context of migration, vulnerability can be instrumentalized in political discourses and policy frameworks governing migration, with severe consequences for migrant communities. In terms of academic research, while existing literature has critiqued vulnerability as a policy category, a systematic theoretical reflection on its boundaries and potential as an analytical tool in the context of migration is missing. The present dissertation aims to fill this gap, elaborating the concept of vulnerability in theoretical, empirical and methodological terms for the study of migration. The central contribution this work intends to make is conceptual. The project intends to promote a nuanced understanding of this notion beyond simplistic categorizations and to transform vulnerability from a buzzword into an analytical category.
This goal is achieved in five consecutive steps. First, the thesis offers a critical conceptual analysis of the definitions and conceptualizations found in research and policies, and the negative consequences the use of this notion can have on migrant communities. Based on these considerations a proposal for a new conceptual model of vulnerability as an analytical tool for the study of migration is developed. The model conceived vulnerability as the product of multiple conditions (or layers) originating from different aspects of the context in which an individual is embedded and dynamically interacting with each other. Second, the analytical category of vulnerability is empirically implemented to study the lived experiences of a group of young refugees living in reception centres in Luxembourg. The analysis shows the complex system of conditions of vulnerability these residents face across their subjective temporal imaginaries and points to the individual variability of their subjective experiences. The third step of the project further develops this finding, comparing conditions of experiential vulnerability among the same group of participants to identify the elements shaping each subjective experience. The analysis yields three main components of experiences of vulnerability: positions, interpretations and (re)actions. Fourth, the concept of vulnerability is used in the preliminary evaluation of a participatory methodology. Considering the participatory experiences of a group of Peer Researchers who collaborated to a project on migrant youth, the paper reflects on how vulnerable conditions and positionalities may have affected them. The final chapter reflects on the project’s
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contribution to previous literature, its limitations and possible future research avenues. Some final remarks on the possible societal relevance of the project conclude the dissertation.
In sum, this work is rooted in a moral re-evaluation of vulnerability, challenging its negative connotations and paternalistic and patronizing rhetoric. The dissertation underscores the importance of considering vulnerability not merely as an inherent characteristic but as a product of complex interactions and dynamics within broader socio-political contexts. In doing so, vulnerability becomes a tool for exposing power structures, inequalities, barriers, constraints, and challenging lived conditions. Finally, through its inclusive and dynamic approach, this research showed the importance of recognizing the subjective experiences and agency of migrant residents, who interpret, negotiate and face vulnerable conditions.