Tempora et Spatia Disrupta: Space‐Temporal Disruptions and the Hauntological Shaping of Migrants' Narrative Identities on the Balkan Route
2025-11-20
This article examines how disruptions of time and space along the Balkan route affect migrants' narrative identities and uses hauntology to describe these effects. The research, based on qualitative interviews and selected excerpts, shows that migrants experience prolonged liminality, repeated violence, and unstable legal conditions that fragment their sense of identity. The concept of hauntology signifies the enduring manifestations of loss, displacement, and trauma that hinder migrants' capacity to completely disengage from their pasts. These dynamics reveal that the Balkan Route is not merely a transit corridor; it is a site where time and space intersect, giving rise to unresolved states of identity and belonging. The aim of this study is to explore how migrants cope with these disruptions and fragmentations, thereby challenging the conventional view of migration as a linear journey. Instead, it is characterized as an ongoing process of negotiating absence, presence, and an uncertain future. This approach offers critical insights into the complex interrelationships between space, time, and identity in contemporary migration. By doing so, it sheds light on the intricate dynamics that shape the understanding of mobility and belonging in the modern world.