Migrants, militants, criminals: sovereign relations and the (un)making of Afghan refugees in Pakistan

Drawing on primary data, this paper shows how the everyday lives of refugees are shaped not only by the state but also by a constellation of socially embedded power structures. Focusing on Afghan refugees in Pakistan, we empirically explore how overlapping sovereign relations – formal, petty, and informal – symbolically enacted by diverse (sovereign) actors create the social environment in which refugee lives develop. These relations not only politicise refugee identities, making them fluid, but also influence their survival strategies. Our findings reveal tactical silence, calculated (in)visibility, and spatial mobility as key forms of resistance that refugees use to navigate precarious social terrains.