Migration ethics in pandemic times

Geographical approaches to studying migration have recently been substantially enlivened by the introduction of social theory from a range of traditions - poststructural, feminist, new materialist, and postcolonial, amongst others. Tedeschi's introduction of Gilbert Simondon's notions of individuation, affect, and ethics offers an interesting and important addition to this growing movement to reconceptualising migration. In this commentary, I reflect on the potential of Tedeschi's approach in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications for border control and migration. I argue that while the focus on indivdiuation and individual-environment articulations is valuable, Tedeschi's argument also problematically sets aside collective individuation, affect, and ethics as well as their potential for addressing precarity. Here lies the risk for reconceptualising migration studies - that researchers aim for ever more granular accounts of migration but perhaps lose sight of the politics and ethics of transforming systems and circumstances in ways that enhance migrant lives.