Temporal logics in geographical research on migration and refugees

Abstract

This paper identifies and examines three key approaches prevalent in the geographical study of migration: the displacement and mobilities approach, the transit and waiting approach, and the immigrant settlement approach. Each approach is analyzed in terms of its treatment of time and migratory experiences, critiquing them for reinforcing conventional temporal categories: the past, present, and future. It argues that these categories are problematic as they oversimplify the complex spatiotemporal nature of migration. The paper proposes the concept of “temporal logics” to problematize and de-reify these categories, enabling a more nuanced analysis of time in migration, mobility, and displacement processes.