Routes and ruptures of the mediterranean backway : an ethnography of Gambian men navigating the European border regime

Between 2014 and 2017, thousands of Gambians traveled along the route, known locally as the Backway to reach Europe. For many, Italy became the first point of arrival, as it was then one of the main gateways to Europe. Once in Italy, migration policies rendered many “irregular,” leaving them to navigate temporary residence permits and the legal uncertainties associated with this precarious status. This thesis explores how Gambian men who embarked on the Backway navigate and assert themselves within the political economy of borders through migration. It examines how they negotiate, respond to, and resist border regimes, with a particular focus on their arrival in Italy and the uncertain pathways that follow. Drawing on ethnographic research, the study examines everyday encounters in asylum systems, reception centers and labor markets, examining how borders operate not only as physical barriers but also as tools of containment, control and exploitation. By unpacking vernacular expressions such as Babylon system, napse, just sitting, and semester, the study traces how participants articulate the layered meanings embedded in the Backway. In doing so, it also reveals how the interlocking of race, masculinity, and “irregularity” shapes everyday lives at the margins of legal status and belonging. This is a doctoral thesis in Ethnology at Stockholm University, Sweden 2025