HSR 46.3 - Special Issue – Borders as Places of Control. Fixing, Shifting, and Reinventing State Borders. (Fabian Gülzau, Steffen Mau & Kristina Korte)
Borders have proved to be resilient institutions, as states have adapted and reinvented border controls in several ways. First, states have responded to new challenges by hardening their territorial boundaries through border fortifications. Second, governments have shifted border control to third countries by using tools such as visa policies or readmission agreements. Third, nation states have designed “smart borders” through biometric passports, shared databases, and digital surveillance technologies. Lastly, de-facto borders show that clearly delimited boundaries can be attractive to countries, even in regions with limited statehood. Our special issue traces these transformations and reveals how states are digitizing, reinforcing, and externalizing border controls in response to new challenges.