Coming of Age While Challenging Borders: Networks of Solidarity and Resistance of Swedish-Afghan Youths on the Move in Europe

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In the abstract, the manuscript is referred to as a chapter.  Is this a chapter from dissertation research?  I would think article would be a better term.

There are too many references to literature in the introduction. The intro should describe the theme, research questions, etc. of the paper so that the reader will know what it's about.  It's find to include references to literature, but the author should reduce the number that are included in the intro and place them in other parts of the article.

On page 2, describe what an ethnographic study is (either here or in the methods section). Why was this study used? In other words, what are the advantages of using this type of study to people who may not be familiar with it? I see the description on page 3, but it's still unclear what this is?

The main shortcoming that I see in the manuscript involves the lack of a literature review (often called a theoretical framework). What body of literature is this research contributing to? For example, is it contributing to literature about the racism encountered by immigrants? Immigrant assimilation and incorporation? Refugee policies/politics? Collective resistance? Solidarity and networking among immigrants? I can see this research contributing to research on racism in Europe (and the false belief that there is a color-blind society in European countries).  

It is a fascinating study, but needs clarity and organization.

Author Response

Please find the detailed response to Reviewer 1 in the attached document.

Thank you!

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper aims to examine the crafting of networks of informal support among Afghan youth in Portugal and their allies.

 

The paper focuses on those rendered illegal by Sweden after they reached 18 years of age.

Researcher is very reflexive about her role as an activist and ally – uses ethnographic methods – to present the stories of 4 young men.  But then switches to ‘the author’ (page 3) – having earlier introduced the first person ‘I’ – seems odd and jarring. I suggest consistently using the first person.

 

The author may be interested in a recent paper by Lopez and Ryan (2023) in a special issue of the journal Frontiers in Sociology on the theme ‘Bodies at Borders’. That paper focuses on Afghans – male and female – who crossed Europe using various means. That paper draws on rich in-depth interviews with Afghan participants.

Attention is needed to how quotes are presented.

Quote Thelma pages 4 –5 needs to be clearly indented and signalled as a quotation.

Quote Nora page 5 and page 7 – also needs to be clearly indented and indicated as a quote.

On page 8 there are field notes referring to Thelma and Nora but it is not clear if these are direct quotations or simply summaries of things they had said.  Overall, the way in which direct quotes and more general notes are presented needs to be clarified for the reader.

Consider changing the headings ‘Results’ sounds a bit too much like a PhD chapter.

Page 6 is headed as results but in fact section 3.1 goes back to presenting more context and background information about Swedish policies. I think it would be better to present all that context information earlier in the paper. Then having presented the Methods, the following sections should be focused on presenting the researcher’s own findings based on the rich ethnography.  The actual data only begin in 3.1.1.

Given that this paper is about the stories and experiences of Afghan youth, I would expect their voices to be foregrounded. In fact, it is many pages (page 9) into the article before we hear the voices the Afghan young people.  Instead, it is Nora and Thelma who are cited most frequently.  I would urge the author to introduce the voice/ quotes from an Afghan participant earlier in the paper.

On page 9, it is rather curious that the boys feelings are being filtered through the voices of the two Swedish women – they tell the researcher how the boys are feeling.  This may be pragmatic because of language barriers, of course. That is understandable. However, this is a serious limitation and so I would urge the author to make this much more explicit at the start of the paper.  The paper began by presenting itself as ethnographic research with the 4 young men but actually much of the paper relies on interviews with two Swedish women.  Thus, the way the paper is set up and introduced, the claims it makes, need to be adjusted to reflect the actual reality of the data presented here.

Only from the latter half of page 9 do we finally begin to focus on the experiences of one Afghan young man.  Is there a way to reframe the paper so that his voice/ story is foregrounded earlier?

Ahmed’s story is very powerful. I was particularly struck by how the future he had imagined whilst living in Sweden was suddenly destroyed when he was ‘re-aged’ by the Swedish authorities and then fled to Portugal. All the hopes and aspirations that had seemed achievable in Sweden when suddenly gone. There has been some interesting work on how Afghan refugees imagine their future – see Lopez and Ryan, 2023.

The update that Ahmed was granted asylum in France and is now rebuilding his life in Paris is a welcome piece of good news that I am sure all readers will be relieved to see.

For me, the missing piece of the article is any engagement with social networks literature.  The article is presented as a discussion of networks – and indeed relationality is crucial throughout the analysis.  However, there is no analysis of networks per se such as the literature on how particular kinds of social ties are forged, resources mobilised and relationships navigated over time.  There is a large body of research on migrant networks that could be cited.  If the author does not intend to engage with social networks, then perhaps that could be removed from the title and abstract – as it may be potentially misleading to readers.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the paper, particularly Ahmed's story. The paper is engaging and has the potential, with some amendments, to make a nice contribution to the literature on migration and the toolbox of methods used by migration researchers.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Overall, good, only a very few minor errors.

Author Response

Please find the detailed response to Reviewer 2 in the attached document.

Thank you!

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I have read the revised paper and in my view it is now improved. My comments have been taken on board and the argument is now more clearly structured.

The engagement with the relevant, recent literature on Afghan migrations is now more thorough with the addition of sources such as Lopez and Ryan. 

But English language needs to be checked. For example Ahmed was 'aged 14 years' - not 'had 14 years'. But check language throughout.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

English language needs to be checked. For example Ahmed was 'aged 14 years' - not 'had 14 years'. But check language throughout.

Author Response

I thank the reviewer for the second round of reading. I have submitted to manuscript to an external English revision.