Principal Investigator

Franzisca Zanker is the Deputy Director of the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute (ABI) in Freiburg, Germany, where she also heads the research cluster on “Patterns of (Forced) Migration.” Prior to that, she worked at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies Institute in Hamburg and has a PhD in political science from the University of Tübingen. She is the co-founder of the AEGIS Collaborative Research Group on ‘African Migration, Mobility and Displacement’ (AMMODI). Her research interests include migration and refugee governance, peacebuilding and civil society and she has carried out research in Liberia, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and The Gambia. In her spare time, Franzisca likes to get lost in a good book, cook with friends in cosy kitchens and play Lego with her kids.

Doctoral Researcher

Sophia is the PhD student on the PolMig Project. She holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Groningen and an MA in Migration Studies from the University of Copenhagen. Passionate about research, she has worked in various roles including as a research fellow on the “Slavery and Forced Migration in Western Mali (SLAFMIG)” project at the University of Copenhagen and as a programme assistant for the Mixed Migration Centre’s West and North Africa Office. Sophia is interested in the interplay of migration policies, migrant trajectories & decision-making - and how they affect one another, especially on the African continent. After a work day behind the computer, Sophia enjoys going to a good concert, drifting away on her yoga mat, hosting board game nights with friends or once in a while a night of dancing.

Postdoctoral Researcher

Edwin Mutyenyoka is a Post-Doctoral Researcher in the PolMig research project at the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute (ABI). His PhD from the Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies (IMIS) at Osnabrück University, Germany, examined South-South migration and inequalities in post-colonial African contexts, particularly during crises. Using an in-depth case study of a South African township, his work provided a spatially, culturally, and temporally nuanced analysis of social protection access and utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic. Committed to decolonizing knowledge production, Edwin embraces Afrocentric methodologies which emphasize cultural immersion, the indigenization of research tools, and the interpretation of data through an indigenous African lens. Beyond academia, Edwin is a passionate sports enthusiast who enjoys playing, watching, and discussing basketball and football.

Research Assistant 

Constantin is the student assistant supporting PolMig. Currently in the final year of his masters in cultural and social anthropology at the University of Vienna, Constantin also studies Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies at the University of London. His research interests include migration governance in Africa and Europe, border externalisation, maritime migration governance in the Mediterranean, as well as questions of migrant agency within these contexts. Furthermore Constantin has a fond interest in West African history and politics. Beyond the academic, Constantin also has practical experience in the field of refugee accommodation and care services. Whenever he is not occupied with PolMig or his studies, he is a passionate basketball player and coach, and an even more passionate food lover. Most importantly however, he would describe himself as an exceptional to-do list writer (who enjoys writing them much more than finishing them).