Against Borders: The Case for Abolition

Description

This short book outlines the case for border abolition as the only viable response to the nightmarish realities of our present. It develops a thoroughgoing critique of contemporary border regimes, while identifying critical openings for alternative futures. Ours is the age of borders and walls. The government of mobility has become the central problem of the 21st century, as states develop new and terrifying ways to fix and manage unequal populations in space and in law. The violence of borders is everywhere visible: in the brutality of the UK's hostile environment, clarified in chilling detail by the Windrush scandal; in the so-called refugee crisis at Europe's borders; and in the violent caging and separation of migrant children and families in the U.S. Today's borders and walls are both cause and effect of the converging constellation of fascist movements across Europe, the U.S. and Australia, in which we see the cultural and political re-mainstreaming of overt forms of racism and white supremacy. In response to both left nationalisms and liberal campaigns for nicer immigration regimes, Against Borders argues for border abolition, building on black feminist writing and activism on prison abolition. Working towards a world without borders is not simply about unmaking the institutions of immigration control. We need new ways of living together and relating to one another, far from the racialised, nationalised and territorialised identities that structure contemporary political imaginaries.

Gracie Mae Bradley is acting Policy Director at Liberty. She was was a founding member of the grassroots Against Borders for Children campaign. She has written for the Guardian, the Independent, OpenDemocracy, VICE, and more. Luke de Noronha is an academic and writer working at the University of Manchester. He is the author of Deporting Black Britons. He has written for the Guardian, VICE, Red Pepper, and more. He was also the producer of the podcast Deportation Discs.

Against Borders demonstrates the clarifying power of applying abolitionist politics to the issue of borders. In doing so, it achieves a rare unity of theory and practice, combining profound analysis with pointers to radical action. -- Arun Kundnani The arguments in this elegant and powerful book are entirely reasonable and pragmatic and yet utterly revolutionary, proposing an abolitionist political imagination and a horizon of liberation. -- Michael Hardt A book that invites us to dream of a reconfigured world where the borders between nation states no longer control and define us. -- Stella Dadzie A refreshing, well-argued and moving proposal for 'non-reformist reforms' that would demolish one of the cruellest components of the capitalist state, written with a non-sectarian openness and a utopian imagination -- Owen Hatherley An accessible, detailed examination of how borders function. A must read for anyone who wants to get to grips with the case for border abolition. -- Maya Goodfellow, author of Hostile Environment An incisive exploration of how borders operate in the 21st century. -- Emily Kenway * openDemocracy * Against Borders: The Case for Abolition is a compelling and much-needed primer on abolishing borders. By de-bunking common myths, presenting historical analysis, and guiding readers through contemporary social movements, Gracie Mae Bradley and Luke de Noronha passionately and accessibly lay out the vision and necessity for a world without borders. -- Harsha Walia, author Border and Rule & Undoing Border Imperialism