Michel Agier

Michel Agier is a Professor and Director of Studies at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris, where he is affiliated with the Center for the Study of Social Movements (CEMS). He also serves as Research Director at the Institute for Research for Development (IRD). His academic career spans several decades with significant contributions to social anthropology, particularly in migration, refugee studies, and urban anthropology. Agier has been a visiting professor at numerous universities worldwide, including the University of Michigan, New School for Social Research, University of Milan, and University of São Paulo.

Agier's research centers on the anthropology of travel and new urban logics, with particular focus on borders, cosmopolitics, humanitarian government, and the encampment of undesirables. His fieldwork spans African cities (Lomé, Douala), Latin America (Salvador de Bahia, Cali), and more recently refugee camps and migrant settlements across Europe and the Middle East. He has designed and directed major collective projects including 'Global Landscape of Camps' (Mobglob) and 'Babels' (Borders Analysis and Borders Ethnographies in Liminal Situations), supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR).

His extensive publication record reveals an evolving scholarly trajectory from studying urban margins in the Global South to focusing on refugee camps and migrant settlements worldwide. Recent works like 'Racisme et culture' (2025) and 'Babels' (2022) demonstrate his growing engagement with transnational racism, cosmopolitan ethics, and the politics of hospitality in an increasingly borderized world. His influential concept of 'humanitarian government' has reshaped how scholars understand the management of refugee populations.

Agier's scientific contributions have been recognized with prestigious awards, including the 2022 Honorary Award from the French Red Cross Foundation 'for his entire career' and an Honorary Doctorate from Lund University in Sweden in 2024. These honors acknowledge his decades-long commitment to understanding and advocating for migrants and refugees through rigorous anthropological research.

As a public intellectual, Agier actively shapes migration policy and discourse. He serves as Director of the Policy Department at the Institute Convergences Migrations (ICM) and sits on several scientific committees, including the Scientific Committee of the General Controller of Places of Deprivation of Liberty (CGLPL) and the Scientific Council of the Rivesaltes Camp Memorial. His 'Babels' project exemplifies his commitment to engaged anthropology that bridges academic research and public policy.

Agier has founded and co-directs several important academic initiatives, including the journal 'Monde commun: des anthropologues dans la cité' and the 'Bibliothèque des frontières' collection. These platforms serve as forums for public anthropology, bringing anthropological perspectives to contemporary social and political debates while maintaining rigorous academic standards.