Game - The Economy of Undocumented Migration From Afghanistan to Europe

The Game follows a group of Afghan families and friends as they attempt the journey from Iran to Germany to seek asylum. Through this multi-sited ethnographic approach, Hannah Pool explores the economic and social interactions essential to completing undocumented border crossings. Bridging economic sociology and migration studies, she demonstrates how relationships along the route with family, fellow migrants, smugglers, humanitarian actors, and border control officials shape and are shaped by access to financial resources. Ultimately, the book shows how disparities in means and social networks can be the difference between remaining trapped or achieving the promise of a new life.

List of contents

• List of Illustrations


• List of Tables


• Abbreviations


• Acknowledgements


• Protagonists


• 1. Introduction


• 2. Iran


• 3. Turkey


• 4. Greece


• 5. Balkan Route


• 6. Germany


• 7. Conclusion


• 8. Epilogue


• Appendix


• Bibliography


• Index

About the author

Hannah Pool is a Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies. She has conducted extensive research on undocumented migration trajectories across Iran, Turkey, Greece, the Balkan route, and Germany. She studied at the University of Tehran and St. Andrews and has been a visiting scholar at both Oxford University and Columbia University, furthering her expertise in migration studies and economic sociology.

Product details

• Authors: Hannah Pool, Hannah (Senior Researcher Pool, Pool Hannah
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 18.06.2025
• EAN: 9780197812280
• ISBN: 978-0-19-781228-0
• No. of pages: 272
• Series: Oxford Studies in Migration and Citizenship
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; Human Rights, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Human Rights, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Civil Rights, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Refugees, Human rights, civil rights, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Discrimination, Social Discrimination, Refugees and political asylum, Refugees & Political Asylum, Social discrimination and social justice