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Digital Exiles

Refugee Work in the Global Digital Economy

Andreas Hackl

$75

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English
MIT Press
23 June 2026
A deep exploration of the opportunities and risks a global digital economy poses for refugees.

Digital Exiles opens a rare window into the world of refugees trying to survive and thrive in an increasingly digitalized and technological world of work. Often excluded from local employment and struggling to make ends meet, refugees are increasingly dependent on digital jobs and online work as a financial lifeline. Andreas Hackl offers a human-centered and global perspective to these struggles through his research into three of the most important refugee-hosting countries- Lebanon, Kenya, and Germany.

The pursuit of a digital livelihood-from attending coding schools in Berlin to training datasets for AI in crisis-stricken Lebanon to online freelancing in Kenya's refugee camps-represents an increasingly important income opportunity for refugees. Digital work programs by aid organizations and the private sector aim to help the forcibly displaced become self-reliant and successful workers, yet, for many, it creates new forms of exclusion, precarity, and risk. Combining human stories with insights from five years of multisited research and applied work with leading organizations, the author presents an alternative vision of an inclusive world of work that can help shape the fair digital economy of the future.
By:  
Imprint:   MIT Press
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 229mm,  Width: 152mm, 
Weight:   369g
ISBN:   9780262052450
ISBN 10:   0262052458
Pages:   216
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming

Andreas Hackl is a Social Anthropologist at the University of Edinburgh, specializing in international development, migration, and the digital economy. He is the author of The Invisible Palestinians.

Reviews for Digital Exiles: Refugee Work in the Global Digital Economy

ENDORSEMENTS “A powerful and empirically grounded intervention, Digital Exiles exposes structural barriers while pointing to humane pathways for improving refugee livelihoods in the digital age.” —Mark Graham, Professor, University of Oxford; coauthor of Feeding the Machine “A compelling and important exploration of how refugees engage in digital work—and the nuanced barriers that are easily overlooked. Relevant, insightful, and deeply needed.” —Liz Vickers, Human Empowerment Coach, World of Work Expert, senior operations strategist “A must-read for anyone who wants to gain an in-depth understanding of the industry of digital refugee livelihoods beyond the hype and meet the workers powering the global digital economy from the margins.” —Iva Gumnishka, Founder, Humans in the Loop


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