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Autonomy of Migration and the Radical Imagination: Exploring Alternative Imaginaries within a Biometric Border
1School of Journalism, Media and Culture (JOMEC), PhD Candidate as Part of the DATAJUSTICE Project, Data Justice Lab, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Geopolitics
|January 25, 2022
Summary
Migrants in Athens use "big" and "small" fingerprint imaginaries to navigate the Eurodac system, challenging biometric border controls. This resistance highlights migrant autonomy and self-creation within restrictive asylum policies.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Migration Studies
- Political Science
Background:
- Biometric border controls, including the Eurodac database and fingerprinting, are increasingly used in Europe to manage migration.
- The Dublin Regulation aims to control secondary movement, leading to politicized practices at borders.
- Existing research often overlooks the agency and subjective experiences of migrants in navigating these systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how migrants in Athens negotiate the Eurodac system and biometric data collection.
- To analyze the role of alternative imaginaries in shaping migrants' interactions with asylum services and their decisions regarding secondary movement.
- To deepen the understanding of Autonomy of Migration (AoM) theories by examining migrant self-creation and resistance.
Main Methods:
- Empirical research conducted with migrants in Athens.
- Application of Autonomy of Migration (AoM) theories.
- Analysis of social imaginaries and the radical imagination, drawing on Castoriadis' work.
Main Results:
- Migrants develop and utilize alternative imaginaries, such as 'big' and 'small' fingerprints, to understand and interact with biometric systems.
- These imaginaries influence negotiations with asylum services and decisions about secondary movement.
- Points of friction emerge where migrant imaginaries challenge the dominant socio-technical imaginary of biometric control.
Conclusions:
- Migrant alternative imaginaries are a crucial site of resistance against biometric border controls.
- Autonomy, understood as self-creation and moments of uncontrollability, is fostered through the radical imagination.
- These practices challenge the perceived truth and control embodied by biometrics, highlighting the subjective dimension of migration.
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