Drawing Boundaries and Crossing Borders: Migration in Theorie und Praxis

People from the Global North can cross borders more easily than ever before. By contrast, those from the Global South face controls far beyond national borders. These begin in their countries of origin and extend deep into state territories in the Global North. For decades, right-wing populist movements in the target regions of migration have symbolically underpinned these territorial borders. However, their arguments do not only lead to calls for more border controls, they also reinforce social boundaries within migration societies. Those who want to prevent the immigration of Muslims also deny belonging to those Muslims who live here. Thus, territorial borders and social boundaries are closely linked, but are rarely discussed together. The aim of this volume is to raise awareness of these connections. The contributions deal not only with asylum, but also with labour and return migration. All authors are keen to counteract increasing territorial and social marginalisation. To this end, they develop new perspectives on migration: they situate it within the broader paradigm of mobility, encourage new theoretical approaches and demonstrate the potential of post-migrant perspectives. They focus on legal and political developments that can be used to counter the escalating bordering in liberal democracies, are interested in whether and how migrants themselves can resist their marginalisation and deal with the possibilities of solidarity in wider society.