External Borders Research Articles

The cross-sectional morphology of the proximal femoral diaphysis is defined by the anteversion angle.

Osteoporosis in postmenopausal women is one of the causes of femoral fractures and is prevented by the administration of bisphosphonates. Individual morphologies are considered to increase the risk of atypical fractures associated with long-term administration. To evaluate cortical bone morphology quantitatively, we established a method to measure the distance from the center point of a cross-section to the external and internal borders based on CT images. Using this method, 44 sides of a female femoral skeleton specimen were examined and areas of protrusion and thickening in the medial anterior and lateral posterior regions just below the lesser trochanter were identified. These positions strongly correlated with the anteversion angle, suggesting the involvement of the distribution of the load received from body weight defined by the angle. The finite element method was used to examine the relationships between the positions of these areas with compressive and tensile stress distribution areas in the one-legged standing condition. The medial anterior region and lateral posterior region protruded and thickened in response to compressive and tensile stress, respectively. In addition, a hierarchical relationship was observed between the anteversion angle, tensile stress distribution, protrusion, and thickening in femurs with thinning of cortical bone, indicating that morphogenesis occurs adaptively to loading. The present results demonstrate the usefulness of this method in considering the formation mechanism and function of the femoral diaphysis and suggest that bone remodeling is necessary to maintain adaptability.

Administrative Lawfare at the European Union’s External Borders: Some Perspectives on Administrative Regulation of NGO Search and Rescue Activities in Italy and the Situation at the Polish-Belarusian Border

Abstract Violations of the rights of migrants by state actors at the EU’s external borders, including through the use of pushbacks and indiscriminate violence, both on land and sea, have resulted in NGOs, lawyers and citizen activists engaging in forms of humanitarian action and legal mobilization aimed at contesting inhumane state policies. State actors can similarly rely on various legal tools to create a chilling effect and a hostile environment for migrants’ rights activism. Such practices can be considered to constitute a form of lawfare against migrants’ rights activism, an instrumental and hegemonic use of the law in order to weaken support for migrants. The use of criminal law has been a common tool of lawfare at the European Union’s external borders. However, administrative law is increasingly being used to bring activists into compliance with states’ interests, creating compliant environments through the use of regulatory instruments and administrative sanctions. To critically assess the instrumental use of administrative law as a form of lawfare, it makes sense to review their application at the EU’s external borders. A good opportunity for such a review is being provided by looking at the administrative regulation of search and rescue (SAR) operations in the Mediterranean creating a hostile environment for SAR NGOs in the case of Italy, and the instrumental use of administrative regulations to limit access for activists to the Polish-Belarusian border in the case of Poland.

Security-centric approach in the use of digital technologies in EU migration and asylum policies

ABSTRACT The rapid evolution of digital technology, particularly in the domain of surveillance and identification, has brought forth a multitude of implications for the European Union’s approach to migration, asylum and border control. The use of digital technologies at the EU's external borders has emerged as a critical point of contention. By referring to ‘security-centric approach’ to describe the expansion of national security-related uses of digital technologies in migration and asylum, the article unveils the extent to which security considerations have permeated the use of digital technologies in this area. The analysis aims to demonstrate the predominance of this security focus and only a marginal role of efficiency, convenience and market needs objectives in the use of digital technologies in EU migration, asylum and border control policies.

Counter-forensics and the geographies of images

Counter-forensics emerged in order to deploy scientific investigative techniques usually wielded by the state against the state. In this article, we theorize how a counter-forensic approach can inform geographical approaches to the study of images. Our counter-forensic approach centers the material and semantic instability of images and highlights the indeterminacy of meaning and thus, the importance of the discursive activity of articulating the relationship between images and political claims. The article offers two case studies that deploy this approach. The first engages with cell phone images made by migrants at sea, showing how they can be read as evidence of the broader spatial politics of Europe’s external borders. The second case study examines the materiality of ultrasound technologies in relation to the changing legal terrain of abortion politics in the United States. Both studies use images as openings to intervene in contested politics that are part of the production of uneven geographies of state domination and control.

Europe’s spectacular borderlines: on refugee camps, banlieues and other spaces of exception

ABSTRACT Mourning the murder of Nahel Merzouk by the French police and the drowning of 750 human beings by the Greek coastguard’s recklessness, we argue that the erosion of human rights at the EU’s external borders is being co-constituted by an analogous erosion within its internal borders. To establish this connection, we re-conceptualise the EUropean b/ordering regime as a network of fractal borderscapes characterised by a selective criminalisation of mobility that reproduces longstanding racist prejudice along socio-spatial borderlines. We argue that the proliferation of these spaces of exception is degenerating into a state of exception: a polity’s self-destructive tendency to replace the rule of law for legalised despotism. Such autoimmune reaction, we claim, is rooted in borderism: a spectacle that misshapes geography into spurious antagonisms epitomised by national and civilisational dichotomies (“friends” and “foes”), thus creating a hyperreality that breeds racism, spatialises apartheid and exacerbates animosity.

Mobile spaces of control and moral geographies: places of internal bordering, immorality and crime in Sweden

ABSTRACT This paper – based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2017 with the Swedish border police force in charge of detecting and deporting irregularised migrants – analyses bordered urban space. It contributes to discussions about moral geographies that are produced through bordering work of border police officers, which sometimes blurs the distinction between external and internal border controls, based on an analysis of three spaces: the port as an “in-between” space of bordering; workplace inspections; and searches of private homes and other types of accommodation, conducted with the aim of detecting morally censured sex work. As I find, officers function as gatekeepers of the nation and its moral values in relation to space and thus map the area of their jurisdiction according to potentially “illicit” conduct of noncitizens. This, in turn, legitimises their gendered, classed and racialised inspection practices even as these practices entrench the perceived “otherness” of such spaces and manifest moral judgements.

Mapping the internal border through the city: an introduction

ABSTRACT This editorial to the Special Issue introduces the concept of the internal border and presents its individual contributions. It discusses the shift from the borderline toward diverse sites and actors within the territory of the state and points to the border’s still neglected turn to city and urban space, and how this is connected to the external border. In doing so, the introduction explores the meanings of the internal border as a crucial mechanism of ordering and othering that represents, enacts, and creates the line between insiders and outsiders, citizens and non-citizens, along with divisions of racialisation, ethnicity, gender, class, and health. This notion assumes that the practices of bordering articulate social differences mapped onto space. Thus, recognizing the city as urban border space, this introduction proposes studying the border through the city, embedded within a multiscalar and relational framework.

‘Now they move you, now they don’t’: transferability, territory and (im)mobilities at the Spanish peripheries

ABSTRACT The analytical emphasis on migration control and external borders has overlooked the mechanisms of state regulation of internal mobility in the peripheral territories of the countries of the European Union. Based on an analysis focused on the Spanish case, and more specifically on the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands, this article introduces the concept of transferability to show the logics and dynamics of intraterritorial migrant (im)mobility between the peripheral enclaves and mainland Spain. The analysis shows the construction – and evolution – of (in)transferable migrant subjects and the complex and changing puzzle of (im)mobility at these peripheral geographies.

The role of the European Union and international legislation in the government of the migration crisis

This paper focuses on the over researched migrant and refugee emergency of 2015-2016, adopting a broader temporal and spatial lens. The 2015 refugee crisis shook Europe and its security and brought immigration and asylum policy to new political dynamics that are developing at a pace and with difficulty in coordination. This particular 'crisis' of 2015 gave a stronger political impetus to the migration and asylum agenda of the EU's destination and transit states. concerns about the limitations of the liberal state, including external border policy, the framing of migrants, European identity and the phenomenon of return migration security, which mainly affected Central and Eastern Europe. Through the analysis of a broad set of materials emerging from the research project, we identified several interacting features of governance in times of crisis, including a multilevel but complex actor landscape, complicated and fragmented legal systems and policy provisions that can change at the temporal level as well as at the territorial level and the current characteristics of a 'crisis governance mode'. Can we identify the specific features that form this state of crisis?

Narratives of Agency: Understanding the Refugee Experience through Paintings at the EU’s External Borders

Narratives of Agency: Understanding the Refugee Experience through Paintings at the EU’s External Borders

THE IMPACT OF BREXIT ON THE PEACE PROCESS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

The article analyzes Brexit as a factor influencing the Good Friday Agreement and the transformation of the peace process in Northern Ireland, as well as the relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It is argued that Brexit poses a threat to the security of Ireland and the EU, since it undermines the foundations of the peace process in Northern Ireland and creates the likelihood that the border will be closed on the island of Ireland again. The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 was based on the fact that both signatory states are members of the EU, and many of its provisions will not be implemented after Brexit. It has been proven that after Brexit, the most controversial issue was the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which became the external border of the EU. The border, which was heavily militarized during the conflict, became virtually invisible after its settlement, and people and goods freely cross it. This became possible largely because both Ireland and the UK were part of the EU single market, a common set of rules that ensures the free movement of goods, services, people and finances within the bloc.It is argued that the new relationship between the EU and the UK, which was agreed during 2020 and implemented from January 2021, resulted in an attempt to resolve the complex border issue, which was carried out in the Northern Ireland Protocol. The arrangements of the Northern Ireland Protocol, according to which Northern Ireland, but not the rest of the UK, remains within the framework of the EU single market for goods, make it possible to maintain an open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The establishment of an open border was a key aspect of the Northern Ireland peace process and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended the conflict in Northern Ireland. It is shown that the Northern Ireland Protocol creates a de facto customs border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom. Mainly to address the concerns of the DUP unionists about the Northern Ireland Protocol, in 2022-2023, the EU and the UK agreed on revised mechanisms for its operation – the Windsor Framework, which entered into force on March 24, 2023. The DUP refused to accept the Framework Program as meeting their interests until early 2024. Further adjustments to its work have not been agreed upon and the formation of a new Northern Ireland executive has not begun. It is proved that Brexit is becoming a new and significant factor in the unification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. Brexit has put the issue of the unification of Ireland at the top of the political agenda of both parts of Ireland. The majority of Northern Irish residents voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 UK referendum. Unification would give Northern Ireland, where both British and Irish citizens live, full EU citizenship.

‘They must know their rights’– reflecting on privacy, informed consent and the digital agency of asylum seekers and refugees in border contexts

AbstractThe article questions digital agency as a subjective experience of refugees when crossing Europe's external and internal borders. More concretely, the article asks how refugees experience digital agency, and how this concrete experience is constituted in specific border practices. In doing so, it examines the contradictions that arise between European laws and human rights in the context of border practices. The analysis of the data of this paper reflects two important components of digital agency: the sense of ownership and control of one's body and actions, and the capacity to think independently and thus make considered choices. This study is based on a qualitative research approach based on narrative interviews. The data was imported to MAXQDA, a software package that allows data to be efficiently collected, organised, analysed and visualised electronically. The article shows how refugees and asylum seekers, when crossing the border to Europe, do not simply enter another country, but a (powerful) institutional system. In having their biometric and digital data collected, they are confronted with several practices of border and risk management that have become routinised and thus ‘normalised’ on an institutional level. Thus, their digital agency must be understood as precarious, underscored by an installed coercive environment.

Czy czasopisma konserwatywne Gazeta Polska i Najwyższy Czas! pogłębiają rasistowskie schematy myślenia? Kryzys migracyjny na granicy polsko-białoruskiej w świetle teorii Étienne’a Balibara

The aim of the research was to determine whether Polish conservative opinion magazines (Gazeta Polska and Najwyższy Czas!) may be responsible for the deepening of racist patterns of thinking. The research context included the issue of migration from the countries of the Middle East and Africa based on the example of events on the Polish‑Belarusian border. The main research method was content analysis, including discourse analysis (media framework). The research sample consisted of a total of 109 texts (GP 86 and NC 23). In formulating the research theses, the theory of the French philosopher Étienne Balibar was used, especially considerations regarding racism and the concept of border. The research results gave a positive answer to the main research problem. The comparative analysis showed similarities between both magazines in terms of the rhetoric used towards migrants (anti-immigrant narrative, the “us-them” division, linguistic treatments that are part of the exclusion strategy), as well as the multiplicity of the border topos, which is understood as: the external border of the territory of Poland, the zoopolitical border and the mental border. The element that differentiated the examined magazines was the political context – GP supported PiS policy and used the conflict to deepen internal polarization, while NC criticized the United Right government’s actions.

STRENGTHENING COOPERATION FOR CUSTOMS RISKS MANAGEMENT AT EUROPEAN BORDERS IN THE NEW REGIONAL SECURITY CONTEXT

In the current security context of the Black Sea region, trade relations are affected by the imperative of international sanctions, which have imposed a series of restrictions that make it difficult for professionals to carry out commercial contracts. Through the 12 packages of restrictions established by the EU, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the supply of raw materials from the East and exports to these destinations are largely blocked. The risk of fraud is evident as long as production facilities are designed for the use of certain categories of goods in the supply chain, which are currently under economic embargo or directed toward specific markets. Integrated border management is a priority for authorities, and consolidating cooperation for customs risk management involves adopting exceptional measures. This study aims to identify the gaps in the Union's regulatory framework regarding risks and the critical knowledge of control authorities regarding the processes defined for processing customs and commercial documents within import-export operations at the Union's external eastern border. The scope, interpretation, and effects of European and international legal provisions constitute a separate analysis of the exceptional nature of international sanctions.

Employment of Migrants as a Response to the Needs of Entrepreneurs in Rural Border Regions—Examples from Poland

The aim of the study was to identify the needs of entrepreneurs in the context of labor shortages on the local labor market and supplement them with immigrants from Ukraine. The focus was on border enterprises from rural areas located on the external border of Poland and the EU. It was determined in which industries cross-border entrepreneurs are looking for migrants to work. A research questionnaire was created to determine the migrant’s profile from the point of view of the entrepreneur’s needs. It covered 400 enterprises, 100 from each of the surveyed voivodeships of Eastern Poland: Warmia-Masuria, Podlaskie, Lublin and Subcarpathia. Correspondence analysis was used to help determine differences in entrepreneurs’ preferences in the studied voivodeships. Entrepreneurs are most likely to employ qualified immigrants with professional experience in flexible forms of work. They expect that immigrants will be more available and will have lower wage requirements compared to local workers, which will translate into lower labor costs and better economic results. They believe that employing immigrants will improve productivity, quality and work discipline. The main limitations include ignorance or poor knowledge of the language of the host country, premature termination of contracts and working under the influence of alcohol.

Практические задачи постгуманизма. Размывание внешних границ человечества

This article systematizes practical tasks that can be attributed to the implementation of the ideas of posthumanism. The reader’s attention is drawn to the erosion process on the external boundaries of human society. There are many lawsuits that recognize animal rights. There are several aspects to this process. The fi rst is the recognition of the rights of wild animals and partial bans on their keeping in captivity and the introduction into legal circulation of the category ‘non-human person’. The second is to reduce the number of laboratory animals subjected to lethal experiments in order to obtain new drugs and develop new methods of treating people. Previously, this activity was considered morally justifi ed. Currently, it is under the close attention of animal rights activists and is controlled in the legal sphere. The third aspect of the problem is the emergence of ways to take into account the rights of pets. If previously pets were equated with things, now there is a shift towards external control over the relationship between pets and their owners. Many countries have laws protecting the rights of pets. The fourth aspect of the problem is that new relationships between human society and the world of microorganisms have formed. If previously this world was predominantly interpreted as hostile and predominantly pathogenic microorganisms were studied, in recent decades microorganisms that have a beneficial effect on human health have begun to attract significantly more attention. Finally, the fifth aspect is the emergence and solution of new problems on the external border of humanity and the virtual world created by people. Previously, this world existed in the form of fantasies, religious concepts, art, folklore, etc. But the boundary between this world and real people was not fully realized. In recent years, artificial intelligence, intelligently operating mechanisms and much more have appeared in this virtual world, which makes this world equal to the human one.

Authority and Coercion Beyond the State? The Limited Applicability of Legitimacy Standards for Extraterritorial Border Controls

Extraterritorial border controls prevent migrants from arriving at the territory of the state and effectively undermine rights to apply for asylum and protections against non-refoulement. As a result, a wealth of scholarship argues that external border controls are illegitimate exercises of state power. This paper challenges two versions of this argument, first, the claim that carrier-sanctions are illegitimate because they subject migrants to morally impermissible forms of coercion and, second, the claim that carrier-sanctions are illegitimate because they subject migrants to illegitimate claims to authority.Against coercion-based accounts of legitimacy, this paper defends the view that while carrier-sanctions are coercive, the coerciveness of a policy is not relevant to its legitimacy. What is relevant is instead whether the authority claimed by the state is legitimate. Against authority-based accounts, this paper argues that states are unable to claim authority in the relevant sense over migrants that are present in the territories of other states.The paper concludes by suggesting that the charge that carrier-sanctions are illegitimate should shift towards the state that allows carriers to enforce these policies on their territories. No state has the legitimate authority to permit other states to pressure carriers to prevent migrants in need of protection from travelling. The state that introduces carrier-sanction legislation, on the other hand, is not exercising illegitimate authority though they may act contrary to demands of justice.

Emmanuel Macron on the EU's Control of Its External Borders

Emmanuel Macron on the EU's Control of Its External Borders

A principal-agent analysis of inter-agency cooperation in EU border management

ABSTRACT In the wake of the 2015 Migration Crisis, the European Union has embarked on an extensive process to reinforce external border controls and make horizontal cooperation between EU agencies critical. This article leverages the principal-agent model to elucidate the impact of inter-agency cooperation on agency autonomy and, by extension, the management of the EU’s external borders. The findings reveal that inter-agency cooperation leads to a situation in which the participating agencies enjoy more room for manoeuvre than originally granted by the EU legislature. This research sheds light on the proactive efforts of the concerned agencies in working alongside their counterparts to bolster their institutional standing and policy turf, thereby fuelling the institutionalisation of joint implementation in EU border management.

EU-Osterweiterung – Bilanz und Perspektiven

Abstract May 1, 2024 marked the 20th anniversary of the EU’s eastward enlargement. At that time, ten new member states joined the European Union, seven of which belonged to the former Eastern bloc. The enlargement is a success story, as the new members have since achieved high growth rates, and this has driven the convergence process between old and new member states. In view of increasing geopolitical crises, including at the EU’s direct external borders, only a prosperous EU can remain an anchor of stability. The following questions arise: What impact has the enlargement had on the old and new EU member states? What lessons can be applied to future enlargements, for example with regard to (delayed) accessions to the internal market and the eurozone?