Counter moves. Destabilizing the grand narrative of onward migration and secondary movements in Europe

Abstract

AbstractEuropean migration scholars are increasingly interested in people's onward migrations and secondary movements. This paper takes a critical look at the conceptual underpinnings of this subfield by indicating how the lexicon of onward migration frames migratory processes as a staged process, involving a South–North directionality and hinting at a gradual progress for the migrants in question. This “grand narrative” of onward migration is anchored and reproduced by EU’s overarching policy frameworks. Based on an ethnographic project that followed African trajectories inside Europe, I present some dynamic im/mobility trajectories that can be considered counter narratives of onward migration. The detailed outlining of these trajectories show how mobility itself is a shifting ground without one major vector directing the movements. These counter narratives result in a discussion on the migranticization of mobility. More specifically, I plea for research approaches that free migratory movements from prepossessed directions.