Abstract

Through the proliferation of restrictive border controls, differentiated and stratified rights to movement are produced, negotiated, and reimagined, increasingly on a global scale. Within this context, an extensive system of border controls has developed along the external borders of Europe, involving a network of actors, practices, and policies designed to force migrants back along ‘pathways of expulsion’. As countries invest in tighter border controls, people are forced to take routes and means of travel that endanger their lives. From island detention centres like Lampedusa and Lesvos, to ‘guesthouses’ and security fences along the northern Turkish–Greek border, border controls not only restrict the mobility of some but also escalate violence, inequality, and exclusion along the border.