Reclaiming Control over Europe’s Technological Borders

Abstract

Migration policy and border control in Europe and its member states increasingly take place in a surveillance regime that is focused on control. The surveillance regime consists of the intertwining of migration, integration and security policies on the one hand with a technological apparatus for the control of the movements of people on the other (Haggerty and Ericson 2000; Lyon 2009). Surveillance of citizens, migrants and illegal aliens is not only executed by the state but also by private companies and medical professionals working for the state. Next to that, the surveillance regime is not only regulated externally but travellers internalize security in voluntary behaviour. As a consequence, surveillance is not only exercised by control ‘from above’ (Big Brother) but also ‘from aside’ (Little Sister) and ‘from within’ (Voice Inside).