The Technologies of Global Migration Governance

Technological advances have an impact on our daily lives. They have also been employed by governments to manage border security, especially at controversial border crossings. Fences, heat sensors, heat cameras, drones and other hi-tech equipment that are currently being tested collectively produce a security apparatus which imagines, profiles and prevents migration in specific ways.

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Project description

Our project asks: In what ways do technologies at the border shape practices of migration governance? We seek to understand how these technologies shape the power dynamics and interactions between border security personnel, the local population and the migrants along borders.

To do so, we will comparatively study three different borders: the Spain-Morocco border, India-Bangladesh border and South Africa-Zimbabwe border. Spanish enclaves like Ceuta and Melilla have been at the forefront of EU bordering practices for years, the Indian government has pushed its nativist agenda through demonization of Muslim migrants, while South Africa has over the years seen several instances of xenophobic violence against Africans from neighbouring countries. Ethnographic fieldwork at border crossings on the sides of Spain, India and South Africa, respectively, will allow us to develop a cross-continental comparative analysis of the regimes of technology that govern global migration today.