The Other Side of the Fence

Reconceptualizing the 'Camp' and Migration Zones at the Borders of Spain

Bibliographic Data

ID2264296
AuthorsHeather L Johnson (0000-0002-8865-2075, Queen's University Belfast, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume7
Issue1
Pages75-91
Publication date2013-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Political Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-5679 • E-ISSN: 1749-5687
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/ips.12010
OpenAlexW2142257823
LanguageEN
Citations received28
References cited26

This article explores the dynamics of the space of exception at the borders of Europe in the Spanish enclave of Melilla, and the neighboring Moroccan city of Oujda. Building upon field research conducted in the spring of 2008, I ask how we can understand the political space of migration not simply as exceptional, but as shaped by the mobility of the irregular migrants moving outside of the frameworks, policies, and practices of the state. By privileging the migrant narrative and making use of Rancière's conception of politics as shaped by the demands of those who “have no part,” I suggest an alternative way of understanding the politics of exception and agency of non-citizens—that is, one of disruption and demands to open up powerful potentials for change in an otherwise rigid regime

Economic geography · Economics · Migration studies · Narrative · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Critical Theory and Political Philosophy · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Gender Studies · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Philosophy

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