Fencing The Sea Borders? Making Sense Of The “Digital Turn” Of The State

The construction of digital borders in Europe is an ongoing process, at least since the entry into function of the Schengen Information System. Nowadays, emphasis on what could be called the “digital turn” in states’ capacity to manage and regulate migration is further raising the policy and the research agenda. Paradoxically, many political science approaches to this field tend to overlook the crucial role played by technologies. Though, those are the elements that are explicitly supposed to provide modern solutions to challenges such as “illegal migration”, terrorism and transnational crime. Therefore, the premise of this contribution is that “socio-technological assemblages matter”, especially when it comes to understanding the digital turn of states’ capacities. Taking technologies seriously, and thus bringing them back into the research design, is the first step to analyse how and with what effects Europe’s borders are digitalised. In particular, the twin aim of the paper is to study the modes in which states still try to make sense –justify and embody their role–, and to make sense of –explain– the power relations in which they are entrenched. The conceptualization and the implementation of the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) are a particularly representative case study. According to the Commission, EUROSUR should support the Member States in reaching “full situational awareness at their external borders" and in increasing “the reaction capability of their law enforcement authorities” (EC, COM68, 2008). The system encompasses secure communication networks, radars and sensors for detection and tracking of suspect targets, but also satellite imagery or unmanned aerial vehicles. The paper assesses existing tools for operational co-operation in the field of maritime surveillance, such as Frontex joint operations, risk analysis practices, European Patrol Network (EPN) or Centralised Record of Available Technical Equipment (CRATE). It then provides a critical analysis of the potentialities and limits of the EUROSUR “digital surveillance model”.