Startseite Geschichte Geophilosophy of the Border: Beyond Immunitarian Politics
Kapitel
Lizenziert
Nicht lizenziert Erfordert eine Authentifizierung

Geophilosophy of the Border: Beyond Immunitarian Politics

  • Caterina Resta
Veröffentlichen auch Sie bei De Gruyter Brill

Abstract

Globalisation is currently at a pivotal moment. Following a period of expansion characterised by the dissolution of boundaries due to the spread of markets on a global scale, we are now witnessing a significant reversal. The structural phenomenon of migration significantly influences the rise of ‘immunitarian’ politics globally. This term describes emerging nationalist policies motivated by fears of foreign contamination, which are seen as threats to cultural identity and economic stability. ‘Sovereignism’ regards the return to the nation-state and its inviolable borders as the only form of protection against the invasion of the new ‘barbarians.’ Apart from the regressive character of the sovereignist views, which see the border merely as a defensive barrier rather than a crossable boundary, it is essential to examine the very nature of borders and sovereignty, not just politically but in broader terms. In particular, we should analyse the nexus linking the border to the conceptual cluster sovereignty-ipseity-identity-membership-territory, which, since the modern era, underlies what Jacques Derrida called ‘topolitics.’ Only by deconstructing this nexus will it be possible to imagine a different way of thinking about borders and citizenship beyond the immunitarian politics of nation-states and new forms of planetary cohabitation.

Abstract

Globalisation is currently at a pivotal moment. Following a period of expansion characterised by the dissolution of boundaries due to the spread of markets on a global scale, we are now witnessing a significant reversal. The structural phenomenon of migration significantly influences the rise of ‘immunitarian’ politics globally. This term describes emerging nationalist policies motivated by fears of foreign contamination, which are seen as threats to cultural identity and economic stability. ‘Sovereignism’ regards the return to the nation-state and its inviolable borders as the only form of protection against the invasion of the new ‘barbarians.’ Apart from the regressive character of the sovereignist views, which see the border merely as a defensive barrier rather than a crossable boundary, it is essential to examine the very nature of borders and sovereignty, not just politically but in broader terms. In particular, we should analyse the nexus linking the border to the conceptual cluster sovereignty-ipseity-identity-membership-territory, which, since the modern era, underlies what Jacques Derrida called ‘topolitics.’ Only by deconstructing this nexus will it be possible to imagine a different way of thinking about borders and citizenship beyond the immunitarian politics of nation-states and new forms of planetary cohabitation.

Heruntergeladen am 30.11.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111448473-003/html?lang=de
Button zum nach oben scrollen