PhD Thesis
Title: « Défendre le droit d'asile. Socio-histoire des mobilisations à Genève de l'entre-deux-guerres à la fin des années 2010. »
PhD Supervisors:
- Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou (2020–2024), in memoriam
- Amalia Ribi Forclaz (2024–present)
- Camille Hamidi (Université Lyon II / ENS Lyon)
Second Reader:
- Nicole Bourbonnais
Expected completion date: 2026
Apolline’s doctoral research examines the social movement for the right to asylum in Geneva from the 1930s to the 2010s. It traces how grassroots organizations have adapted and reconfigured in response to increasingly restrictive asylum policies in Switzerland and the EU, within the broader process of Europeanizing migration governance. Drawing on the concept of the space for the cause of refugees, her work explores the reciprocal influences between grassroots mobilizations and asylum policies at local, national, and European levels. It also investigates the effects of institutionalization on refugee associations and the tensions between control and care that shape asylum advocacy.
Profile
Apolline Foedit is a PhD candidate in International History at the Geneva Graduate Institute and a Research Assistant at the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (since April 2024). Combining history and sociology, she examines the evolving configurations of mobilization through archives and oral history. Her broader interests include human rights, development, peacebuilding, and social movements.
Research Interests
- Social Movements
- Migration Policies
- Asylum
- Human Rights
- Associations
- Collective Action
- Civil Society
- Socio-History
- Peacebuilding
- European Construction
Publications and Works
- Foedit, Apolline. “Summary Report No.231: Democracy in the 21st Century: Fragility and Resilience”. Toda Peace Institute. Policy briefs and reports. July 14, 2025 https://toda.org/policy-briefs-and-resources/policy-briefs/democracy-in-the-21st-century-fragility-and-resilience.html
- Foedit, Apolline; Krause, Keith; Urwin, Eliza. “Strengthening Democratic Resilience in a Changing European and Transatlantic Security Landscape”. June 2025. Issue Brief n.03/25. Democracy and The New Security Agenda. Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy. https://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/StrengtheningDemocraticResilience_Final.pdf
- Foedit, Apolline; Krause, Keith. “Report No. 215: Taking Stock — Moving Forward: Opportunities and Shortcomings from the Pact for the Future’s ‘International Peace and Security’ Actions.” Toda Peace Institute. Policy briefs and reports. March 20, 2025 https://toda.org/policy-briefs-and-resources/policy-briefs/taking-stock-moving-forward-opportunities-and-shortcomings-from-the-pact-for-the-futures-international-peace-and-security-actions.html?utm
- Foedit, Apolline; Piana, Francesca. « Le Centenaire du service social international : points de vue historiques ». Fondation Pierre Du Bois. Série : « Papiers d’actualité / Current Affairs in Perspective ». N°2 | Février 2025. https://www.fondation-pierredubois.ch/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/n%C2%B02_2025_Foedit_Piana.pdf
- Foedit, Apolline. « Politisation des expériences de racisme en France. De la reconnaissance à la stigmatisation des victimes ? (1983-2020) », Cahiers de la LCD, vol. 17, no. 2, 2023, pp. 101-114.
- Foedit, Apolline. L’européanisation Des Politiques Migratoires : Vers La Précarisation Du Droit D’asile En France. Geneva, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. Print.
Fellowships, Grants and Awards
- Europeaum Scholars cohort (2024/2025);
- IHEID scholarships (academic years 2021-2022; 2022-2023; 2023-2024);
- Merit-based excellence scholarship (IHEID, academic year 2020-2021);
- SESAM scholarship (University of Geneva, 2017) for the exchange semester in Australia.