Introduction to Border Topologies

Abstract

The 'Border Topologies' themed section draws a series of texts that explore what design and artistic research could contribute to an understanding of border conditions in a context of rising inequalities, conflict and climate change. The common aim of the articles is to interrogate contemporary borders through the practices that produce them by focusing on how the border appears and reappears at different scales, in unexpected places and configurations. In doing so some of the articles collected here insist upon a planetary scale that questions the geopolitical as an organising construct.

Introduction to A Research Agenda for Border Studies

“…One major ontological view on borders and how/ where they exist, for example, is the topological perspective in which borders are diffused throughout networked space as practices, discourses, technologies, etc. (Awan 2016;Mezzadra and Neilson 2012). Here, borders can serve the purpose of everyday ordering and sorting (e.g.…”

Vilification, vigilantism and violence

“…Through social media, messages can spread at rapid speed, authors have the option to remain anonymous and the cyberspace remains largely unregulated. 10 Yet there has been little research on online hate speech, incitement to violence and vigilantism, despite consistent criticism of social media companies such as Google and Facebook for failing to respond to online hate crime and extremism 11 and the problems this extremism poses for police and prosecutors. 12 3…”