Borders Revisited

The nature and configuration of borders, and the relationship between state borders and societies, have changed. In the 21st century, internationalism, transnationalism, and super-diversity have further provoked complexities and anxieties. It seems that as border and migration regimes undergo dramatic transformations, their public profile increases.

This book revisits borders, bordering practices, and meanings, with a particular focus on the United Kingdom as a case study. Bastian A. Vollmer examines not only the theoretical and historical dimensions of borders but also various empirical data, including extensive text corpora and dozens of in-depth interviews. Expanding on the concept of vernacular securitythat is, an everyday understanding of securityhe argues that the existential value of borders is not merely physical, but extends into the order and future construction of states and societies.

This book demonstrates decisively that the concept of theborder has not left the centre stage of philosophy, political theory, and political sociology, but has instead emerged as a focal point for multidisciplinary engagements. It further demonstrates how attention to a vernacular perspective can inform those engagements, yielding vital insights. As such, it should appeal to students and scholars across disciplines interested in the contemporary development and relevance of borders and their discursive cultures.

Explores the meanings and qualities of contemporary borders, using the UK as its key case study Reflects upon contemporary developments in the EU migration crisis, including its impacts on politics and public discourse Presents empirical analysis based upon long-term, extensive research using quantitative corpus linguistics, critical discourse analysis and in-depth interviews

Autorentext

Bastian A. Vollmer is Professor of Social Sciences at the Catholic University of Applied Sciences in Mainz, Germany. Previously, he was a Fellow at the University of Oxford. He is author and co-editor of several books and special issues, and he has published in journals such as Political Geography, Mobilities, Geopolitics and Environment and Planning D: Society and Space. He is co-editor of the journal Migration Studies and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2: Border histories and architectures.- 3. EU borders, UK borders and the state of migration.- 4. Border ontologies and border meanings.- 5. New horizons.

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