Thomas Swerts

Thomas Swerts is an Associate Professor in Urban Sociology at the Department of Public Administration and Sociology of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Chicago.

His research is situated on the nexus between urban studies and migration studies with a focus on (precarious) migration, urban citizenship and social infrastructures. His book, 'Citizen X: Becoming Undocumented Activists On Both Sides Of The Atlantic’, was published in 2026 by Oxford University Press. He has previously been awarded grants by the SSRC, NSF, the Mellon Foundation, the Center for BOLD Cities, the Erasmus Trust Fund and the ORS Seed Fund. He has published in academic journals like Global Networks, Mobilization, the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Antipode, Social Inclusion, Social Movement Studies and the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.