The Bordering of Europe: Historical and Comparative Perspectives

EU borders have consistently made the news in recent years, especially through images of sinking boats in the Mediterranean. Most analysts have underlined that the deaths of thousands trying to reach the shores of EU countries was not the result of a growing number of migrants or refugees, but rather the consequence of stricter migration and border controls on the part of EU countries. This process of bordering has been located at the ‘external borders’, on land or at sea, generating a ‘border spectacle’ (De Genova 2002), but also in less visible ways in different sites across Europe, for example through visa policies, retention centers and deportation processes. This process is also far reaching and policing operations, prevention campaigns, or asylum processing funded by the EU take place in neighboring countries and beyond, through an externalization process reaching further and further. In parallel, the issue of borders has raised questions about who should be in Europe or not, including which countries should be part of the EU. Has the enlargement process altered perceptions of European borders and practices of control at the border? Will the Brexit process, for example, affect the ways in which EU borders are defined? How can the link between European integration and the dynamics of bordering practices be characterized? How can we best analyze the on-going process of bordering Europe? Against this background, we would welcome panel proposals dealing any aspect of this topic, for example: • The legal framework of EU/European borders • The practices of border control • Historical perspectives on European borders • The securitization and militarization of borders and border control • The racialization of Europe’s borders • The border spectacle in the Mediterranean and in other regions of Europe • Detention and deportation in the bordering of Europe • Policies and instruments of remote control • Architectures of the borders • The different actors involved in the bordering of Europe • The externalization process: the place of third countries in the bordering process • The role of private actors in the bordering process, especially private for-profit companies • Humanitarian work at the border We welcome proposals from disciplines such as history, law, geography, anthropology, sociology, political science, and we encourage proposals for multidisciplinary panels. We are also particularly interested in proposals based on fieldwork or archival work.