Globalization, Migration, and Borders (PDF)

Evaluation : Note orale sur votre présentation : interview en anglais avec une ONG avec la méthodologie d’entretien vu avec Sarah. des ONG qui travaille avec : - les migrants - les femmes - les communautés indigènes - Borders and abortion Fin de semestre : dissertation de fin de sess...

Evaluation : Note orale sur votre présentation : interview en anglais avec une ONG avec la méthodologie d’entretien vu avec Sarah. des ONG qui travaille avec : - les migrants - les femmes - les communautés indigènes - Borders and abortion Fin de semestre : dissertation de fin de session, semaine 12 ou semaine 13 Le cours : Definition of borders: “borders are discontinuous in space that render space meaningful by compartmentalizing it into two distinctive units” G. Popescu, Bordering and ordering the 21st Century Borders and power : borders are the limit of power and sovereignty, when you cross the borders, you’re under the control and power of another state. Borders are where the state exerts its power. Borders and identity: borders are also the guarantee of the cohesion of the nation, it's an external envelope that binds a society together, sovereignty to the state and citizenship to the people. “Making a difference in space” (Popescu), there is a difference between “us” and “them”, a binary phenomenon that takes place in borders. Ambivalence of borders: borders are by essence ambivalent, a border divides countries and separate people and it’s also what bring those countries and people together, it is a line but also an interface, that’s where countries trade, that’s where people travel, and separates identities, families can be split by borders, it can separate people and also bring them together. I- The definition of a border A- Vocabulary - Boundary and border : borders are a line of people, a line that is an institution, border checks… - Borderland: a border region, that is the territory that surrounds the borders, that is shaped by the borders. Living in the middle of France is not the same as living next to the borders, borders affect the people that live there. - Frontier: false friend, in american history, it is the conquering, a mobile line, inhabited area that gradually expands, in french it's called a fronrelie? B- the concepts linked to borders: borders are a line of sovereignty: A State has power over a territory, the border is where two sovereignties meet, two borders can’t share the sovereignty over one territory, otherwise it’s a war. the treaty of Westphalia. A border allows a state to appropriate its territory, the border is an instrument that helps. Decompression of sovereignty: when you cross borders you change systems, you respect the laws, the borders are a line between two political systems, two economic systems, two fiscal systems, working in Switzerland is far more profitable to someone that lives in France, because of the difference systems in the two countries. a line or the border may be invisible but the power it has is real. With a border wall, you have a military power that is very much visible. In terms of power, the borders have 5 functions : - An ideology/ political function - An economic/ commercial function: the state controls what enters its territory, it can restrict certain goods from coming - A strategic/ defensive function: that’s where you build walls, that’s where you defend your country. These three functions were created as soon as the concept of borders was made. - a function of control of migrations - an ethnic/ cultural function: an identity/ ethnic function More recently there is also a health function, getting tested at the borders, your vaccination status,... A border is a regulatory mechanism, there are lines or envelopes that contain relations, whether it is economic or social relations. Open vs closed borders but avoid binary approach: a border can be militarized but open to people, it can be open to goods but closed to people. Borders and bilateral relations The borders are where two countries come physically into contact. Different kinds of relations can develop: - Martinez’ typology: - Alienated borderlands: it’s when a border is militarized, it is closed to people and goods, when two countries turn their backs on eachother, when there is hostility. For example north and south korea;  - Co-existent borderlands: you have friendly associations, but the border is not central to people’s lives, it is due to a former hostile relation between two countries. The borderland remains peripheral to people’s lives. For example, Italy and France in the Alps region. - Interdependent borderlands: there is a lot of trade, a lot of travel, for example, Canada and the US, the great lake region. Geneva and France - Integrated borderlands: that are described by Martinez as barriers that stop human travel are removed, a good example is Monaco and France, a border is there but isn’t felt. Overnight, if the relationship between two countries goes bad, it can easily fall into another category overnight. Borders and nations The border is the envelope of the nation. In the 19th century, the border was used to create a feeling of belonging to something bigger, that’s what France did by enforcing french all over the territory. - The “territorialization” of differences” and “exclusionary power” - there are nations without borders like indigenous populations - Nations that straddle several countries, the basque and the catalans exist in both France and Spain - Nations that share a territory, as in the UK where several nations share one country. Borders are social constructions, they were built like that by states. In addition, nations that straddle borders, people that live in two different countries, they feel like they belong to two different countries, the borders can be blurred. “Natural” vs “artificial” borders there is no such thing as natural borders, all borders are artificial, it is a human construct. - A human construct - Influence of the enlightenment - Nature as a pretext - Good borders It is an abusive use of language, it is artificial and was used by Napoleon. II - Borders and Research A- why study borders? The end of the cold war was seen as a victory of open borders, some people argued that we reached the end of history, that we will live a “borderless world”, people thought that europe will be an example to the entire world, that there would be no absolute obstacles. Closed borders were seen as bad and open borders were seen as good. Economically, they were seen as faster economical trade, but when the US had its victory over the USSR, it saw the opportunity to promote international trade. Building supranational institutions that overcame national borders, fostering… the cultural and standardized behavior that was promoted by the western way of life, that was the result of globalisation, the fact that the nation-state lost its power to international organisations and NGOs to a lesser state. That’s where we were heading in the 1990’s after the fall of the USSR. 30 years later, this was not the case, now borders are back in many ways, new borders have been created, with the fall of the USSR, new countries came to existence, since 1994, 34 new countries were created and a lot of borders as a result of that, old borders were reinforced, the construction of border fences, it has became a new phenomenon around the world, a lot of borders have been contested, some nationalist groups want their own countries, some nations without countries want their own borders. The covid-19 pandemic, borders were shut down even in the European union, in a nationalist reflex, even if that was not beneficial. The right wing reinforced closing borders. That’s what Trump promoted with protectionism, to close the borders. What changed mostly today is how we perceive borders, the fall of the German wall changed the world perception, fences today are the same concept, it is a brutal way to close borders. B - A critical approach to borders The limits of binary approach and the nation-state model, it is a very limited approach because it affects people. In Africa, borders were set to impose colonial domination over groups, it did not respect nations or people, it was made to divide and conquer, that’s what western countries did with colonialism. Putting forward new phenomena : - relations of domination - access to natural resources - violence of borders - resistance on the part of individuals C - Borders and Activism Looking at how NGOs work with migrants, women and minorities. I - what is a border wall? A - Définition Globalisation tries to foster interaction and fewer movement and interdependent, we’re here at the opposite with the logic of borders. B - The Emergence of a new model The role of 9/11 made countries guarantee security to a certain extent by building fences and people tended to have a new perception of borders. It was seen as a positive thing, a sort of trust, having open borders is becoming associated with danger, and more politicians started asking for reinforcement of borders. The first type of clandestines are human traffickers, drug dealers, terrorists and organised crime. Borders were made to protect from these. There is also the problem of mass migrations especially in the US mexico borders, where a wall was made to protect from this. Protectionism meant reinforcing borders economically. Using borders as a way to address the spread of the virus and migrants. These problems were addressed by building walls. C - Different types of walls Walls are built as a result of state sovereignty as a way to decide who and what crosses the borders. As a result there are different kinds of border walls. Some are only fences and some are triple fences, sometimes they are literal walls. They’re complex infrastructures. Some are managed by the military, as north and south korea, it’s the military sector that controls the borders. In the US Mexico borders, there is border patrol or law enforcement (the police) who control the borders who do not belong to the military sector. There are walls that are built to maintain integrity and security in the territory, especially those who are in disputed areas. There are walls that are built after wars to protect from another war, to prevent more problems, like north and south cyprus. II - The mexico - US border A - A few facts There are only 47 land border crossings where you can cross legally. It is crossed by 250 million people each year and it is 3100 km long. For a long time, the borders were open and there was no visa, no control, nothing, people would cross the borders to work and come back. Canadians and Mexicans had the privilege to cross without control. At the time, the US wanted only the fittest of migrants to cross, there were very strict health inspections, migrants would be sprayed by chemicals similar to the ones nazi germany was using in concentration camps. Only recently that the discourse on immigration began to change, the perception of the US Mexico borders changed. Jimmy Carter, a democrat, was the first to make the proposal to build a wall in 1979, immigration began to be seen as a problem. Reagan disapproved of his idea at first but later expressed that the borders are out of control. He abandoned the idea because it was not popular and it would have had negative consequences if it was built. Integrationists wanted to integrate the migrants into the US legacy that was built on immigration. Exclusionists were opposed to the idea. It passed the immigration reform and control act that gave amnesty to 3 million immigrants, the same bill criminalized illegal immigration if someone didn’t cross the borders without a legal visa. Unauthorised immigration, undocumented migrants, and illegal immigrants are different. The bill made illegal immigration illegal. NAFTA was later signed, in 1992, it was implemented in 1994, it was a symbol of open borders and vanishing borders, it was less true for the US and Mexico. Under Bill Clinton a new strategy was implemented, the first fences were built between Mexico and the US and deployed more agents to control the borders. Both operations made the first… it was under Clinton this was made, but more congress that was in the hands of republicans, the rest is history. 9/11 gave a lot of countries a pretext to reinforce their borders, to fight against terrorism, a pretext to deal with immigration. D - the efficiency of the wall Why won't a wall stop immigration? Overstayers usually come in planes and are usually canadians. The Golden cage paradox, the wall stops people from going back to Mexico. No matter the wall is long, there will always be a way to overcome it. Lesson 3: Native Americans and borders - Settler colonialism These populations are the victims of settler colonialism, europeans are seen by first nations as invaders who invaded their territory, the arrival of europeans in America had a number of consequences, they dispossessed them from their land, they forced them to be in reservations, the natives were killed in wars and genocides. The europeans introduced borders to better control these nations, the natives didn’t have these notions, they established nation states in America; borders were imposed on first nation that were already living in America, canada and the US expanded their territories, Canada in the North and the borders with Mexico in the south, it changed first nations relations with space, for indigenous people, nature is first, national ressources, the establishment of borders, deeply impacted this relationship and their access to natural resources as well, they had consequences. The Akwesane community: a community that is a crip with multiple borders, it straddles three transnational jurisdictions, belonging to two countries, we can imagine how these overlapping jurisdictions can be That really complicates the life of these people. This has been stronger since 9/11, this has changed the relationship first nations have with borders and their territory, this has further impacted their daily lives. A- the state became the nation unit that organised political states, it was first in europe to give nations a country, and that exported to america by colonial powers to divide and conquer, on people that were already living there, in order to impose power and domination, that’s why we have superimposed borders, north america was far from being an empty continent, colonial borders were imposed and when these colonies gained independence, these colonial borders became international borders that were imposed on first nations, borders were a foreign concept, that were not familiar with that model of organizing space, they had borders but they didn’t have the same definition, first nations had a very specific relationship with nation, they were not tied to a specific region, they used to move depending on where and what they could hunt, in addition to that they had a fluid relationship with territories, they lived in harmony with nation all these things were in a crossroad with how european colonialists was natural resources, they had demarcation lines for first nations but they didn’t have the same as european borders. when national borders were imposed they were seen as arbitrary lines that were imposed on first nations, they were external borders,europeans came to divide the land, without taking into consideration the people, and they were not consulted when the borders were imposed, B - Exogenous borders The treaty of Paris, they made the US Canada Borders, when the treaty was made, it was not accurate at all, the treaty’s words were vague, the starting point of borders, there was a huge gap, it was vaguely formulated, it led to uncertainty, highlands were the basis of the borders in the treaty but nobody knew where those highlands were, and without taking into consideration the populations that were living there, this had two major consequences on first nations : - some meeting places were divided, they became the international borders, it inserted a new logic into indigenous people, the east west logic, it had consequences, it had mobility challenges with some groups being forced to relocate and some others being forced to settle in other places. there were new identities being forced on first nations, - the indigenous identity came to existence after colonialism, - citizenship: at the end first nations were tied to being citizens to one of the three countries, they became foreign in their own territory, they were the first in the land and they became foreign in their land and being forced to adapt, these foreign tribes were rejected by other countries like us and canada, they had battles to get recognition, two tribes were rejected by the us as being foreign, to consider communities as foreign and using borders to reject these tribes outside, borders were used to dominate, to repress their culture and impose on them certain identities. C - the example of akwesasne The people do not recognise the canada us borders as a real institution, when you are in the reservation, the borders are invisible, because the people consider themselves as one, they tore down the landmarks that were used to divide the borders as a sign of resistance, the borders complicate the life of local residents. Lesson 5: Queer borders - Marginalization Members of the LGBTQ community are a minority and they were marginalized because of borders. - Exclusion and discrimination They suffer from Exclusion and discrimination that manifests itself through borders and immigration systems. - Institutionalized violence Same sex relations were considered a crime and an immoral practice, this institutionalized violence is still present today in the united state, and other countries in the world. The relationship between borders and queer people especially in the context of north america, people are escaping places to be protected from violence, so they seek asylum. the border can represent a shelter, u try to escape oppression but the borders themselves can be oppressive, and how violence can be present even if the borders are meant to protect. II - a brief historical overview of queer borders 1. From exclusion Immigration Act of 1891, homosexuals were not welcomed as immigrants because they were considered sexual.. they were excluded from the immigration system. McCarran-Walter Act 1952, during the cold war, he considered homosexuals as psychotics. The red scare and the lavender scare, homosexuals’ loyalty was questioned because they were considered dangerous. Canada’s Immigration Act of 1952, homosexuals were banned from entering Canada. Immigrants could not be openly gay if they were immigrating, they had to hide when they were to enter, the border patrol would ask so many questions and try to detect homosexuals. Even when things evolved a bit, homosexuals were attacked during the HIV epidemic. There was a rejection of HIV positive patients and heterosexuals were considered as deviants, it was a way to categorize homosexuals as … people. For a long time homosexuals were not well perceived in the US, they were considered as unacceptable practice and deviants and a form of mental illness. 2. …to Acceptance - Gay liberation movement: 1969: with the so called the stonewall riots that took place in… at the time police brutality was common, they would ride gay bars and take gay people to jail and violence against them, at first they were accepting of this brutality but later they started a movement against this brutality 1973: the US psychiatry association no longer considered homosexuality as a mental illness 1970s: Illinois was one of the first US states to decriminalize homosexuality. Almost all states except a lot of them remained deeply against homosexuality, until 2003 in some states homosexuality was still a crime. - Immigration 1979: In the backdrop, the immigration system moved into more acceptance, and this happened in two stages, they were queer immigration being accepted but there was a lot of violence and discrimination. it wasn’t until : 1990: that homosexuals could travel and cross borders without discrimination, the asylum system that granted asylum to LGBTQ+ 3. LGBTQ+ Asylum - the UN convention relation to the status of refugees, they were considered a “particular social group” It is estimated that 1.3 million immigrants consider themselves as part of the LGBT community, it is unclear if they immigrated because of their sexuality. Trans-caravans: immigrants started immigrating together to show that they were escaping a situation, traveling together allows people to present a uniform front against people that can target them. Borders became more and more tolerant of gay people and the US government accepting these people as refugees. III - the violence of borders 1. LGBTQ asylum seekers Four aspects: - providing the legitimacy of their claim - proving the authenticity/ credibility of their identity - Officers have to determine if they’re credible - the violence of migration itself and the resettlement process that… Borders can be violent to that extent when people have to prove credible and authentic facts of violence 2. The “biometric border” - heightened security  - Gendered dimension of the border - Difference, a risk - generating a “security response”, borders stop people at the borders because they were drag queens going after a show because they were confirming to their identity in their ID documentation. 3. Internal Queer Borders People were escaping to the US to seek asylum for being gay, but in the US, a number of states adopted some laws in the recent years that are anti-LGBTQ. Conclusion: It’s an interaction in between borders and the LGBTQ+ community, there is a complex intersection between.;. borders also provide a shelter for people escaping acts of violence, what we have here is a nationalist border, the so-called state gaze that… The issue of intersectionality, you can be at the same time, a migrant, a latino, a woman and a part of the LGBTQ+ community, the borders implify these issues. There is a great deal of resistance. 2h et demi pour l’examen, présentation 20 minutes par groupe, l’enregistrement ou le script,