Overview
- Considers political borders as a set of capitalist social relations
- Analyzes both border policies and oppositional narratives of “the border”
- Makes a case for an abolitionist refusal of borders
Part of the book series: Politics of Citizenship and Migration (POCM)
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This book examines both border policies and oppositional narratives of “the border,” 2011–2021, demonstrating that the term designates not merely a line of territorial control but also a set of social relations shaped by persistent, racially differentiated colonial structures and, more recently, by neoliberal modes of accumulation. These relations are shown to determine access to wealth and/or resources and to enable the management of labor, the extraction of surplus, and the accumulation of capital. Discussion in the book is informed by the history of these policies and by the critical literature on borders. Various cultural texts focusing on two border zones—the US–Mexico and the EU–Southern Mediterranean—are analyzed: specifically, two novels, two films, and two murals examined in conjunction with amusic video. A path to a borderless future is suggested: an abolitionist refusal of border rules with an insistence on the necessity of abolition.
Reviews
“Chowdhury’s finest book to date, Border Rules masterfully analyzes “the border” as a social relation situated within the uneven histories of capital accumulation, surplus populations, imperial violence, and the disciplinary capacities of the nation state. Acutely attentiveto contradictions and abolitionist openings, the book is essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary border struggles.” (Bret Benjamin, SUNY, Albany, USA)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Kanishka Chowdhury is Professor of English and Director of the American Culture and Difference Program at the University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he teaches courses in cultural studies, transnational literatures, and contemporary film. His most recent book is Human Rights Discourse in the Post-9/11 Age (2019).
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Border Rules
Book Subtitle: An Abolitionist Refusal
Authors: Kanishka Chowdhury
Series Title: Politics of Citizenship and Migration
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26216-6
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-26215-9Published: 27 April 2023
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-26218-0Published: 28 April 2024
eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-26216-6Published: 26 April 2023
Series ISSN: 2520-8896
Series E-ISSN: 2520-890X
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIII, 256
Number of Illustrations: 3 illustrations in colour
Topics: Migration, Political Science, Human Rights, Cultural Studies