Nomadism and the Boundary Problem

Abstract

The challenge of establishing the boundary of the demos is of particular significance for peripatetic groups given non-conformity to salient criteria for membership. The boundary problem as manifested in the case of ‘customary strangers’ like Irish Travelers, French ‘gens du voyage’ and nomadic Romanis has received contradictory solutions in practice: exclusion through outlawing nomadic people(s) altogether, and compulsory inclusion through forcing populations to settle and assimilate. This duality invites reflection on the role of cultural characteristics in shaping the political/legal boundary of the demos, the importance and difficulty of (re)shaping the boundaries of the demos when criteria for membership falsely parade as universal, and the tensions between voluntary exclusion and rights protection by the state.