The paradox of border security – an example from the UK

Abstract

The study of borders has experienced a renaissance in various disciplines, but the concept of vernacular security in the field of borders and the politics that surround them has been neglected. This article uses a people approach and examines the perceptions and understandings of the UK civil society and ‘their’ state border. Using the example of the UK is particularly interesting because governments have invested high efforts into constructing a more stringent, efficient and secure UK border for decades. As consequence, the concept of border has gained a raised public profile in the UK, which questions security perceptions by members of the UK civil society and what the UK border means to them. Drawing on a variety of empirical data and employing critical discourse analysis, this article will show an ambiguous and paradoxical picture of the UK border instead of its usually assumed monolithic symbolism of security and protection. The article shows that there is a mismatch present in border politics: security is aimed at however insecurity is generated. This mismatch and confusion among members of the UK civil society have further political and societal consequences. Borders and bordering effectively insecuritize people by which, as the article argues, the concept of vernacular security moves to the forefront of new theorizations of the relationship between borders, security and politics.