Dr Ayushman Bhagat
Lecturer in Political Geography
- Politics and History
- Social and Political Sciences
- College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences
Summary
I am a political geographer with a research focus on the politics of anti-slavery and the spatialisation of migration control. My interest in contemporary anti-slavery politics emerged from my long-term consultancy work with the International Labour Organization (ILO), where I assisted multiple anti-trafficking/slavery programmes in various locations in India. This experience showcased a disconnect between the protectionist migration, labor, and anti-trafficking/slavery policies and practices, and the voices of people on the move who are oppressed, exploited, and rendered rightless due to such policies and practices. To address this gap, I conducted Participatory Action Research at a post-disaster site in Nepal and engaged in border ethnography spanning across four countries during my doctoral research in the Department of Geography at Durham University. Subsequently, I pursued a post-doctoral fellowship at TraffLab within the Buchmann Faculty of Law at Tel-Aviv University, Israel.
I have taught a range of human geography modules at all levels, at both Durham University and Edge Hill University.
Qualifications
PhD Geography, Durham University, United Kingdom (2021)
MBA Rural Development, Xavier Institute of Social Service, India (2012)
Newest selected publications
Bhagat, A. (2024) 'Beyond Victim Centric Research: Participatory Action Research in a Trafficking ‘Hot-Spot’.', in Faulkner, E. (ed.) Modern Slavery in a Global Context: Human Rights, Law and Policy. Bristol : Bristol University Press. ISBN 10: 1-5292-2470-5. ISBN 13: 978-1-5292-2470-2. Open Access Link
Bhagat, A. and Quirk, J. (2024) 'Do we really need a Global Commission on Modern Slavery?'. openDemocracy | Beyond Trafficking and Slavery.Open Access Link
Bhagat, A. (2023) 'Forgotten survivor initiatives: the zombie projects of anti-trafficking'. openDemocracy | Beyond Trafficking and Slavery.Open Access Link
Bhagat, A. (2022) '“Who is not an agent here?”: The Collateral Damage of Anti-Trafficking in Nepal'. Antipode, 55 (1). pp. 70 - 89. ISSN: 0066-4812 Open Access Link
Bhagat, A. (2022) 'Entrapment processes in the emigration regime: The presence of migration bans and the absence of bilateral labor agreements in domestic work in Nepal'. Theoretical Inquiries in Law, 23 (2). pp. 222 - 245. ISSN: 1565-1509