The borderization of waiting: Negotiating borders and migration in the 2011 Syrian civil conflict

Abstract

The past several decades have witnessed diverse techniques of border control and migrant experiences and negotiations of border controls. This article focusses on the spatio-temporal dimensions of border control that underscore the deceleration of migration movements and stimulate certain kinds of agency, processes that bring attention to what is referred to as the borderization of waiting. Drawing on and contributing to critical migration and border studies, the analysis first draws attention to city street protests in Syria that demanded political change, which in turn created powerful responses including the expansion of protests against the state, the circulation of fear by the state, and the movements of people out of Syria. It then demonstrates how the borderization of waiting during the 2011 Syrian civil conflict occurs at many different points along migrant journeys and encompasses not only precarity but also fear, insecurity, invisibility, and presence. This form of waiting encourages ‘agency-in-displacement,’ which involves strategizing journeys and negotiating inter-state military checkpoints, state territorial borders, and holding zones in order for people on the move to access safety and protection. The analysis draws on policy, program, and scholarly documents, and on a selection of fifty-five in-depth, interviews with Syrians, now resettled in Canada, about their experiences and negotiations of border controls during their departures from the civil conflict.