Ioan Cosmin POPAN
2026/2027
Field of Study:
Sociology
Research Program:
NEC-AMEROPA
Affiliation:
Grenoble Alpes University
Position:
Associate Fellow
Country:
Romania
Research Project
Platform Migration Infrastructures in Bucharest. Intermediaries, Debt and Control in South Asian Platform Delivery
South Asian migrants now make up a large share of Romania’s platform food-delivery workforce. In Bucharest, recruitment agencies, fleet firms and informal brokers bundle visas, platform accounts, housing and transport, generating fees, debt and dependency while extending control beyond the app. Through interviews, observation, digital ethnography and workshops, the project maps these chains and the tactics couriers use to navigate, negotiate and resist them, as Romania becomes a new destination.