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

Abstract

The past several decades has 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.

Displacement, time and resistance: The role of waiting in facilitating occupations led by internally displaced persons in Colombia

“…While the existing literature on waiting has increasingly emphasised that waiting is not simply an ‘empty interlude’ (Rotter, 2016) – but instead a process involving agency (Brun, 2016) that can moreover be productive (Mountz, 2011; Rotter, 2016), or even resisted (Ilcan, 2020) – less has been said about the role of waiting in directly facilitating resistance. The narratives I have drawn on in this article highlight the need to take seriously, and further theorise, the relationship between time and resistance.…”

“…Additionally, waiting time can be productive because those waiting can transform it ‘into a valuable resource’, using it to gain additional skills or knowledge (Rotter, 2016: 94). In some cases, those waiting can strategically use waiting time in ways that challenge dominating power relations (Ilcan, 2020: 11; Mountz, 2011). Writing on migrants held in offshore detention centres, Mountz (2011: 383), for instance, has explored how detainees do not simply wait, but also use their time to ‘organize, network, speak out and use technology to garner attention and collaborate with activists on mainland territory’.…”

“…It has also documented how long waiting periods are often a time fraught with marginality (Griffiths, 2014; Haas, 2017). Increasingly, this literature has also emphasised the agency that waiting can comprise (Bissell, 2007; Brun, 2015; Rotter, 2016), as well as the strategies employed by displaced populations to resist unwanted waiting (Ilcan, 2020; Mountz, 2011). However, less has been said about the role of waiting itself in enabling resistance.…”

Intensity and uncertainty: Performing border conflicts at the US–Mexico borderlands

“…Ismael had heard that several asylum seekers had gone to Acuña in the state of Coahuila across from Del Rio in Texas. A rumour had reached those remaining in the shelter that all the ones who had travelled to Acuña successfully made it "to the other side" (al otro lado) and this information spread rapidly in the shelter, as is often the case in these "waiting territories" (Candiz & Bélanger, 2018;Vidal & Musset, 2016;Ilcan 2020). Knowing that others were successful gave hope to other migrants, such as Ismael, to try their luck at that border.…”

El derecho a la libertad: el pragmatismo radical de la resistencia carcelaria en conflictos prolongados

“…Esto no descarta que algunos presos hayan visto la resistencia carcelaria como una táctica más que como una estrategia, incorporándola en movimientos globales más amplios de revolución o descolonización (Ilcan, 2022). Pero la mayoría de los ex-presos entrevistados describieron sus acciones principalmente como resistencia a las autoridades penitenciarias o estatales dentro de su contexto de conflicto específico.…”