Production et gestion d’une « marginalité » contemporaine

This article, based on a shared work experience, analyses the production and historical development of a specific “social border” by considering the case study of a centre for refugee seekers in a northern province of Italy. The article discusses three levels of analysis conducted over a period of thirty-two months, from March 2016 to November 2018. The first, political-economic level highlights three key moments of the recent migration flow to Italy, in March 2016, February 2017, and March 2018. The second level concerns technological and disciplinary implementations. Referring to the three key moments identified, we analyse proposals issued by a prefecture to entrust non-governmental organizations with temporary reception services for asylum seekers. The third level is specifically ethnographic (but also auto-ethnographic) and examines the effects of the first two levels on the management of a project for the temporary reception of asylum seekers.