Border Ontologies and Border Meanings

Abstract

In this chapter, I will draw on a variety of empirical data examining the perceptions and everyday understandings of the UK civil society and ‘their’ state border. The example of the UK is particularly interesting because governments have invested high efforts into constructing a more secure UK border for decades. My data, however, will show an ambiguous and paradoxical picture of the UK border instead of its usually assumed picture representing a monolithic symbolism of security and protection. People are no longer sure about their borders, although their borders are navigators for finding ways through the politics and cultures of fear. The continuum of insecurities has not only reached the peripheries of state and society but arrived at the heart of both.