Towards a Vernacularized Border Studies: The Case of Citizen Borderwork

Chris Rumford

Journal of Borderlands Studies, 2013, vol. 28, issue 2, 169-180

Abstract: The paper proposes a non-state centric approach to the study of borders, building upon Balibar's "borders are everywhere" thesis. It is argued that a vernacularized border studies highlights a number of dimensions not normally accorded priority in the study of borders. Borders can be political resources in that they can be drawn upon by a range of actors who seek to either selectively regulate mobility or use the border as a staging post which connects to the wider world. One key dimension of a vernacularized borders studies is explored in detail: borderwork, societal bordering activity undertaken by citizens. This bordering activity is not linked to national securitization in any obvious way. Borderwork is explored at two UK sites, Melton Mowbray and Berwick-upon-Tweed, in order to demonstrate the ways in which borders are not always the project of the state, that they can exist for some (but not all), and can be "engines of connectivity," linking people to the world beyond the "local" border.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1080/08865655.2013.854653

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