Grace Blakeley
An Expensive Gimmick
Grace Blakeley
The rallying cry of the Brexit referendum, “take back control,” will likely be remembered as one of the most effective political slogans in history. It was an emotive refrain, vague enough to allow very different groups to project their visions for a post-Brexit world onto the Leave campaign. For some, “take back control” was a simple demand that the British state control its borders. For others, it meant constraining the...
A Failure of Imagination | On Borders and the Nation-State
Grace Blakeley
In 1990, there were fifteen international border walls, according to the political geographer Reece Jones. Today, that figure has more than quintupled — and it doesn’t account for the vast surveillance apparatuses that track and criminalize migration even in the absence of brick-and-mortar (and chain-link, and steel) barriers. By 2025, the global border-security market is expected to generate more than $65 billion in revenue. These structures and systems haven’t stopped...
