Abstract

National borders are places apart, dense with laws and procedures to control human entry, but also porous enough to encourage the free flow of goods. This is where the contradictions of late capitalism and human migration meet, and where the power of the nation state to affect human lives is daily revealed through a uniquely border-shaped system of crime and justice. Borders can separate communities, and even families, but the fact of separation also creates unique opportunities for crime, violence and impunity.