Following in the Footsteps of Others? A Life-Course Perspective on Mobility Trajectories and Migrant Networks among Senegalese Migrants

Sorana Toma, University of Oxford
Eleonora Castagnone, Forum Internazionale ed Europeo di Ricerche sull’Immigrazione (FIERI)

International migration is still mainly analysed as a one-time, one-way movement from an origin country A to a permanent destination B. Yet migration trajectories are often more complex, as migrants may travel through and successively settle in several countries, or engage in circular mobility. However, the factors that shape individuals’ migration trajectories remain little known. In particular, secondary intra-European migration is still an under-researched area, despite the fact that qualitative studies suggest that secondary movements have become a common mobility strategy increasingly adopted in times of crisis.Taking Senegalese migrations as a case study, this paper characterizes the diversity of migration trajectories and explores the drivers shaping them. In particular, it focuses on secondary migration within Europe and the role networks play in this form of mobility. We use quantitative, longitudinal data recently collected within the framework of the Migration between Africa and Europe survey, that we analyze with life-course methods.