Dr Ayushman Bhagat
Lecturer in Political Geography
- Anthropology
- Social Science and Communications
Research area(s)
My work is rooted in my policy and grassroots experiences and problematises the implications of restrictive migration policies and practices, with a particular emphasis on the spatialisation of state power and non-state actors, and the autonomy of migrants. My conceptual endeavours thus far have focused on the co-constitution of migrant workers' diverse mobility practices and restrictive policies and practices in the Global South. This has involved exploring issues related to borders, mobilities, place-based stigma, carceral protectionism, internal detention and deportation in the emigration regime, as well as exploitation, entrapment and abandonment experienced by citizens in their labour relations.
I prioritise participatory praxis as a guiding principle in my research, teaching, and advocacy efforts.
Research Interests
Politics of Anti-Trafficking, Modern Slavery and Migration Control
Mobility, Borders, Carceral Protectionism, Stigma, Escape
Abandonment, Desertion and Strandedness
'Modern Slavery' Funding Landscape
Migrant Workers' Death
Research grants and projects
Grants
Funder: ǰ Research Interdisciplinary Lab (BRIL)
Duration: December 2024 -
This scoping project asks: what is it like to be international postgraduate taught (PGT) master students from the majority world studying in post-1966 UK universities today? Accordingly, the scoping project aims to: 1) investigate how “PGT international students” are portrayed in media and policy, often in contradictory ways, impacting their sense of belonging and daily lives; 2) examine the challenges these students face in navigating poverty and hardship, particularly in relation to food and accommodation; 3) explore how they manage to survive within the precarious lower end of the labour market, often taking on low-paid, unstable work. Finally, the study will 4) investigate how these students’ aspirations, motivations, identities, and adaptations evolve as they respond to the complex socio-economic realities of studying abroad.
Funder: BRIEF Award ('BRUNEL RESEARCH INITIATIVE AND ENTERPRISE FUND')
Duration: December 2024 -
Aims: To investigate the deaths of Nepalese migrant workers in their labour relations, examining the consequences of government policies and practices on the families of deceased labourers. Project objectives: • To map multifaceted causes contributing to deaths of Nepalese labour migrants in their workplace. • To evaluate policies designed to compensate and support migrant workers and their families upon workplace deaths. • To analyse the impacts of exclusionary policies and practices aimed at supporting migrant worker and their families after deaths.
Funder: Gerda Henkel Stiftung
Duration: January 2024 - December 2024
This project aims to better understand forced migrant labourers’ situations ‘in limbo’ when they are stranded in transit and destination countries.
Funder: Unfunded Research Project
Duration: October 2023 -
This project explores the ways in which funding streams and funder priorities effect how researchers engage with specific topics and languages. The primary focus is the concept of ‘modern slavery’, which was formally enshrined as a legal category by the British government via the Modern Slavery Act of 2015.
Research links
- The Business of Anti-Slavery: Following Modern Slavery Funding in the United Kingdom
- Policy brief: Reducing Vulnerability to Exploitation of Nepali Migrant Domestic Workers