1. The Lampedusa Border. Setting the plot around security and humanitarianism | La frontière Lampedusa. Mises en intrigue du sécuritaire et de l’humanitaire
- Author:
- Paolo Cuttitta
- Publication Date:
- 09-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Institution:
- Cultures & Conflits
- Abstract:
- This paper presents the island of Lampedusa as the theatre stage on which the “border play” of immigration control is performed. The paper first introduces the performers and spectators of the play, outlining their roles and places with respect to the architecture of the theatre space as well as the dramaturgy of the play. Next, the paper analyses the five acts of the play, notably examining the time period in which each of them transpires and the most marking or spectacular events. Each act is analysed with regard to its dominant narratives. The war against irregular migration is waged and justified in resorting to two different narratives: one being security, and the other humanitarian. On the Lampedusa stage, while both narratives take turns commanding the scene, they both are in fact always present. The two rhetorics are intertwined with one another, and together they contribute to constituting and strengthening the policies and practices of migration and border control.
- Topic:
- Security, Humanitarian Aid, Immigration, Border Control, and Borders
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Italy, and Lampedusa