ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that hope constitutes a fruitful analytical framework in which to link questions of political economy and mobility regimes with analyses of the collective social imaginaries and aspirations which imbue migration projects-to examine the social effects of the mobility paradox, in other words. In that sense, hope offers a particular take on uncertainty, one which emphasizes potentiality and anticipation rather than fear and doubt. The focus on potentiality means analyzing social imaginaries of the good life or 'sparks' of faith or confidence, however frail; uncertainty implies examining precarious or unpredictable life conditions and how the hoping subject deals with them. Empirically, it emphasizes the ambivalence and precariousness of social hope in migration in the context of the contemporary mobility paradox. Contemporary migration is characterized by a mobility paradox: the increased reach and accessibility of communication, media and transport technologies mean that people in many parts of the world are exposed to visions of the good life elsewhere.
