Methodological Reflections on the Contradictions of Technology and Rights

This paper develops the theme of the panel as the study of contradictions in European bordering practices. In recent years, the internal and external borders in Europe have become increasingly complex assemblages, where the policing and securitization of home affairs intersect with economic interests and humanitarian imperatives. No longer confined to linear territorial divides, borders are increasingly thought of as ubiquitous devices (Balibar 2002) for the surveillance and control of mobile populations. This way of conceptualizing the border as a site of tension has become increasingly common in anthropology, political geography and political sociology and it exerts its influence also in other disciplines. At the same time, it presents distinct methodological challenges, particularly in field research. How to capture in situ the elastic nature of contemporary boundaries of the EU? How to account for their often violent effects? How to address the complex intersections of contradictory interests and imperatives while negotiating problems of access, continuity and research ethics? Drawing on our own fieldwork (in Brussels and Strasbourg, and in Greece respectively) we examine the relationships of alliance and opposition which form in the field when researchers conduct their work among migrants and their advocates on the one hand, and  border guards and Frontex officials on the other. Ultimately, we argue for research generating knowledge conscious of its own partiality, and animated by the alliances which helped to produce it.