Borders in Motion: Concept and Policy Nexus

Abstract

This article is based on the hypothesis that the relationship between politics and borders is being reshaped as a consequence of the movement of people between States. This process of redefining the concept of “border”, present in both the new approaches to managing migration and the public perception of immigration, is closely linked with the image of “border” projected by politics. For this reason, the ability to manage borders can create or modify a particular image of migration. Against this backdrop, this article seeks to explore the link between the concept of the “border” and policies aimed at managing human mobility from the perspective of political theory. Assuming that there is still no Political Theory of Borders in the strict sense, in this article I will argue that in order to establish its foundations, border must be considered as a concept and as an approach (section 3), as well as a political category (sections 4 and 5). Finally, I will review some arguments regarding human mobility and border control (section 6).