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SUMMARY:THEORISING BORDERS IN AN ERA OF GLOBALIZATION AND SECURITIZATION  
 - David Newman\,  Dean and Professor of Political Geography\,  Department 
 of Politics and Government  Ben-Gurion University\, Israel
DTSTART:20151125T153000Z
DTEND:20151125T173000Z
UID:TALK62402@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Ann Waterman
DESCRIPTION:Ten years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and we were celebr
 ating the end of borders as barriers. Ten years later\, eight years after 
 the events of 9/11\, and we were bemoaning the return of Walls and Fences 
 in a world which has become caught up with the discourse of securitization
  and the threat which is perceived as emanating from anything and anyone w
 hich crosses the border from the unknown "there" to the more familiar "her
 e". And as we approach the twenty fifth anniversary\, we find ourselves in
  a world which is rapidly reconstructioning fences and borders in response
  to global terror and mass refugee migration. \nThe study of borders durin
 g the past two decades has witnessed a renaissance on the one hand\, while
  having to negotiate its way between two parallel\, but contrasting\, bord
 er discourses – namely the opening of borders brought on by globalizatio
 n\, and the closing and re-sealing of borders brought on by securitization
 . The study of borders has focused mainly on individual case studies\,  hi
 ghlighting either the positive experience of crossing borders which have b
 een opened  and the discovery of what lies on the "other" side\, or the ha
 rdship which is impacted by the construction of new walls and fences\, thu
 s making it more difficult to reach across and move beyond the rigidly com
 partmentalized spaces or territories of the home group. \nThese parallel d
 iscourses raise critical questions of power relations. Who determines the 
 nature of the border and who defines the management and control procedures
  which take place at the border.  Ethical issues concerning the treatment 
 of people attempting to cross the border\, especially those lacking the ne
 cessary "crossing" documents contrast greatly with principles of human rig
 hts expressed by the same power elites\, at least in their public statemen
 ts. The relocation of borders away from the territorial edges of the State
  to locations in the core of the homeland territory\, notably airport chec
 king procedures\, demonstrate the importance of power\, rather than locati
 on. Even the demarcation and delimitation of borders – a process which i
 s as much social\, cultural and vertical as it is spatial – is determine
 d by the same power elites for whom the opening of borders is convenient f
 or the implementation of economic policies\, and the closing of borders is
  convenient for securitization\, playing into public discourses which tend
  to prefer the notion of securitization and safety at home over and beyond
  all other discourses of human rights\, global economies and the wider pub
 lic good. \nThis paper will attempt to outline the major questions facing 
 both border scholars and practitioners in the coming decade\, as the paral
 lel narratives will compete with each other for hegemony in the determinat
 ion of public policy. Who will determine the characteristics of our future
  borders? Will they be visible or invisible borders\, and will they create
   a sense of safety or\, alternately\, a new sense of fear and threat from
  the "other"\, due to a new invisibility? What new narratives\, if any\, w
 ill emerge to contest the existing hegemonic discourse\, and will our worl
 d look more or less compartmentalized as we move into an era in which glob
 alization is taken for granted\, but equally the socially constructed sens
 e of threat has returned to dominate the discourses of homeland security.\
 n\n
LOCATION: GS4\,  Faculty of Education\, 184 Hills Road\, Cambridge\, CB2 8
 PQ
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