Argonauts of West Africa

"The book is a sophisticated and detailed account of the social aspects of African migrants’ lives in precarious contexts. The stories of the different protagonists enable us to look anew at the meaning of kinship and its importance for personhood and social identity formation in contemporary Europe. They advance our understanding of the usefulness of theories on kinship, the family and friendship in the context of migration. As such, the book is a very valuable resource for students, researchers, and policymakers who are interested to learn about migration, kinship and social inequality." * Ethnic and Racial Studies *
"The author provides a careful description of the dizzying complexity of migratory processes […] as well as the risks and confusion that characterize the trajectories of precarious migrants." * Cahiers d’Études africaines *
“In this sophisticated, original, and wonderfully detailed ethnography of migrants’ lives, Andrikopoulos shows how the creative possibilities of kinship provide a highly flexible resource for migrants to ‘craft’ documented selves and settle in Europe. In so doing, he illuminates both the expansive and generative possibilities of kinship and its continued pertinence as a means of resisting state efforts to control migration and citizenship.” * Janet Carsten, University of Edinburgh *
“A lively account of how undocumented migrants in Amsterdam use kinship as they seek to establish themselves in the context of the Dutch state’s efforts to control immigration and increasing migrant precarity. With its detailed narratives, fresh perspectives, and important research, Argonauts of West Africa will be of interest to scholars of Africa, Europe, and migration—and, of course, kinship.” * Jennifer Cole, coeditor of Affective Circuits: African Migrations to Europe and the Pursuit of Social Regeneration *
“This is a fascinating ethnography of West African nimble-footedness. It explores and explains ties and thirsts that defy the European logic and practice of containment of mobility and the incompleteness that fuels it.” * Francis B. Nyamnjoh, University of Cape Town *
"Andrikopoulos provides detailed insight in the everyday lives of West African migrants and their intimate others, both in their lives in Amsterdam, as well as across multiple borders. . . . the reader is swiftly invited to a glimpse of the positionality of the ethnographer and the complex webs of relations and reciprocities surrounding him."
  * Political and Legal Anthropology Review *
"Throughout his dynamic and gripping ethnography, Andrikopoulos presents a vivid portrayal of the regime of restrictive and increasingly stringent immigration policies aimed at deterring immigrants and forcing them to stay put. . . . Importantly, the monograph challenges the binary way of seeing migrants as either victims of structural inequalities or as active agents. In addition to reintroducing how civic inequality affects population mobility, Andrikopoulos’ findings call attention to the importance of creating humane policies and practices rather than seeking to stem migration." * International Migration Review *
"Andrikopoulos shows how kinship, usually studied as something pertaining to ‘traditional’ societies, is part and parcel of the modern state. Kinship for the participants in this study is a way to deal with and at the same time circumvent a restrictive state. Argonauts of West Africa provides a detailed description of these kinship practices showing not only the possibilities they enable and how they can be beneficial, but also the tensions and inequalities that such kinship relationships entail.” * International Migration *