Controlling national borders has once again become a key concern of
contemporary states and a highly contentious issue in social and
political life. But controlling borders is about much more than
patrolling territorial boundaries at the edges of states: it now
comprises a multitude of practices that take place at different levels,
some at the edges of states and some in the local contexts of everyday
life - in workplaces, in hospitals, in schools - which, taken together,
construct, reproduce and contest borders and the rights and obligations
associated with belonging to a nation-state.
This book is a systematic exploration of the practices and processes
that now define state bordering and the role it plays in national and
global governance. Based on original research, it goes well beyond
traditional approaches to the study of migration and racism, showing how
these processes affect all members of society, not just the marginalized
others. The uncertainties arising from these processes mean that more
and more people find themselves living in grey zones, excluded from any
form of protection and often denied basic human rights.
