Borders, mobility and migration

This course offers an introduction to the study of borders, boundaries and migration in the 21st Century. We will explore how the governance of migration and borders has been transformed to include a diverse range of actors away from the exclusive domain of the state. Increasingly, EU agencies, IGOs, NGOs, security professionals and religious organisations have become key players in governing mobilities. Key rationalities underpinning this governance will be explored, from managerial, to security, and humanitarian. Emerging practices for migration control often defy a territorial logic to borders, instead taking place in so-called transit and sending countries or in virtual spaces through surveillance and technology mechanisms. Thus, far from disappearing, as some scholars of globalization maintain, borders are emerging in new spaces both inside and outside the territorial state. This leads us to question the location of borders, their constitution, and their effects on liberties and fundamental rights. The course will provide students with the knowledge and concepts to think critically about how power works through borders and with what effects on states, populations and individuals in terms of their inclusion/exclusion, freedom, and mobility.