Publications

Migration: why this policy field is emerging as a priority in Liberia

Sophia Stille, Franzisca Zanker

In this article for African Arguments, Sophia Stille, together with Franzisca Zanker, explains why migration policy is becoming increasingly relevant in Liberia. Across West African countries as a whole, there is a growing emphasis on migration policy - including in Liberia. On the one hand, this is linked to pressure from the EU to externalize migration; at the same time, this development is closely tied to the culture surrounding migration and mobility in the region. Stille and Zanker turn their attention to Liberia and its history. They show that, among other factors, the growing number of… Full article available on African Arguments.

Kenya wants to close refugee camps: the promise and risks of its ambitious new plan

Edwin Mutyenyoka, Franzisca Zanker

Kenya hosts nearly a million refugees, mainly from South Sudan and Somalia. Many of them have been living in refugee camps for decades. Now, the country is attempting a major shift in refugee policy. The Kenyan government and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) developed the Shirika Plan, launching it in March 2025. The policy aims to move refugees away from long-term encampment and integrate them in society. In The Conversation, Edwin Mutyenyoka and Franzisca Zanker explain the opportunities and challenges the plan presents for refugees and host communities. Full article available on The Conversation.

Afrocentrism as a postcolonial approach to understanding migration

Jamila Hamidu, Edwin Mutyenyoka, Sophia Stille and Franzisca Zanker

In this piece, the PolMig research team challenges Western‑centric migration theories by turning to Afrocentrism as a decolonial way of knowing. They expose how colonial borders and racialised hierarchies still shape mobility, citizenship and belonging. By centring African worldviews, they argue that migration emerges not as a crisis to control but rather a deeply-rooted social process. The discussion traces enduring colonial legacies, and introduces an Afrotheoretical focus lens for rethinking migration, agency and political life in Africa. Available on the Postcolonial Hierarchies website.

ALMA Reviews Blog: Decolonization and Afro-Feminism

Sophia Stille

For the ALMA Reviews Blog of the Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institute, PolMig’s Sophia Stille wrote a review on Sylvia Tamale‘s “Decolonization and Afro-Feminism”, published in 2020 with Daraja Press. In the book Sylvia Tamale illustrates how the theoretical strands of decolonisation and African feminist theory can be brought together and analysed in intersectional ways. The aim is to draw attention to the lingering dominance of Western-established theorisations and epistemologies in African contexts. Tamale contributes a pan-African perspective to the fields of decolonial, Afro-feminist and gender studies, while doing… Full article available at the Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institute (ABI) website.