Borders and Migration

Students can study any of the articles listed below. Write a 1-page essay on what you learned and email it to HumanistMutualAid@gmail.com. In your essay, discuss the three most important ideas that you learned and share your own reflections, thoughts, and reactions. You can write about as many of the articles as you wish.

“The relational dimension of externalizing border control: selective visa policies in migration and border diplomacy” — Lena Laube
Discusses how visa regulations are used by powerful states (especially the EU) to externalize border control, controlling migration flows via diplomacy and policy rather than physical borders alone. SpringerOpen

“Visible and invisible bordering practices: The EU-African migration conundrum and spatial mobility of borders” — C.C. Nshimbi & I. Moyo
This article analyses how Europe and African states interact in migration policy, considering both visible border fences/policies and less visible practices (e.g. legal regimes, transit zones). Emerald

“Automated decision-making and artificial intelligence at European borders and their risks for human rights” — Yiran Yang, Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius, Pascal Beckers, Evelien Brouwer
A recent interdisciplinary paper exploring how AI/ADM systems are used in migration control in the EU, and implications for privacy, discrimination, and fairness. arXiv

“Freedom of movement, migration, and borders” — Jaya Ramji-Nogales & Iris Goldner Lang
Discusses how COVID-19 disrupted freedom of movement, migration, and asylum rights globally (with examples in EU and elsewhere), examining legal, ethical, and human rights dimensions. Taylor & Francis Online

“Information Directed Towards Migrants and the (Un)Making of Borders: An Interdisciplinary Perspective Between Countries of Origin, Transit, and Destination” — Anissa Maâa, Julia Van Dessela, Amandine Van Neste-Gottignies
Investigates how information (about borders, migration routes, policies) shapes migrants’ behaviours and how borders are reinforced or undermined by such flows. Taylor & Francis Online

“Violence at the border: borders and their deleterious socio-political effects on international migrants” — Adrian Wang Xinting
Essay on how border constructions and border regimes cause political, social, and personal violence, with examples from multiple regions. Routes

“Bordering Practices Across Europe: The Rise of ‘Walls’ and ‘Fences’” — Burcu Togral Koca
Critical analysis of the proliferation of physical barriers in Europe since the Syrian conflict, and how they reflect and reinforce discourses of exclusion and danger. Migration Letters

“The Borders of ‘Europe’: Autonomy of Migration, Tactics of Bordering” — edited by Nicholas De Genova
This collected volume investigates how migration is governed (or resisted) at Europe’s margins, with discussions of maritime borders, camps, transit, legal vs “illegal” movement. Duke University Press+1