This contributed volume analyzes in depth how a border area is constantly reshaped as migration policies harden, and what kind of social, political and economic impacts are produced at local and international level. The study is focused on Ventimiglia, an Italian town located 6 km away from the French-Italian border on the gulf of Genoa with a long story of commerce, custom and smuggling activities related to its proximity to the frontier. While several projects have analyzed other symbolic places of the EU migration crisis such as Lampedusa, Calais and Lesvos, there is a severe empirical gap regarding Ventimiglia, a border town at the very geographic core of the Schengen area. This case study may provide emblematic insights into what European migratory movements are currently revealing in terms of the lack of shared responsibility between EU Member States, the EU common asylum system and respect for human rights, with increasing claims for national sovereignty by some Member States.

Autorentext

Livio Amigoni is a PhD Candidate in the Social Sciences at the University Genoa, Italy.

Silvia Aru is an Assistant Professor of Political and Economic Geography at the Politecnico di Torino, Italy.

Ivan Bonnin is a PhD Candidate in European Studies at Roma Tre University, Italy.

Gabriele Proglio is an Assistant Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, Italy.

Cecilia Vergnano is Marie Slodowska-Curie Research Fellow at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Sciences Research, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Inhalt
IntroductionPart I: Historical reading of Ventimiglia as a border townChapter 2: The path of hope. Illegal border crossing in the last century (1861-2019), Gabriele Proglio2.1. Introduction2.2. Stories of border crossings2.3. Stories, subjectivities, and the archive2.4. ReferencesChapter 3: The Franco-Italian border at Menton-Ventimiglia: a perennial place of conflict, brotherhood, and media coverage, Sandro Rinauro3.1. Introduction 3.2. Between national and Niçois identities, events at the border up to 18603.3. The delicate integration of the county of Nice with France and the protracted identity dispute3.4. Intensifying cross-border communications and military litigation at the border3.5. The migratory flow amid hostility and hospitality 3.6. Border mediatisation: from the strengthening of national identity to the exorcising of conflict3.7. ReferencesChapter 4: The Maritime Alps migration chains: from traditional transalpine mobility to international migration, Marina Marengo4.1. Introduction4.2. MaConGranPenaLeReCaGiù: matters of Alpine semantics4.3. The Maritime Alps: archetype of frontier lands4.4. Traditional Economic Activities: a model focused on mobility and circular migration4.5. From Circular Mobility to Internal and International Migration4.6. Conclusions: questions of thresholds, doors, and ubiquitous liminality4.7. ReferencesPart II: Borderland infrastructuresChapter 5: The infrastructure environment of the Ventimiglia borderland and underground border crossings, Ivan Bonnin 5.1. Introduction5.2. Non-human agency5.3. The infrastructure environment channels migratory flow5.4. Infrastructural opportunities for underground border crossings5.5. Conclusion5.6. References Chapter 6: The moral economy of a transit camp. Life and control on the Italian-French border, Marta Menghi 6.1. Introduction 6.2 A laboratory6.3. Circular government6.4. Dealing with life6.5. Conclusion6.6. ReferencesChapter 7: The irregular border. Theory and praxis the border of Ventimiglia in the Schengen age, Giacomo Donadio 7.1. Introduction 7.2. The reintroduction of border control in the Schengen Borders Code (SBC) 4 and French legislation on identity checks7.3. Bilateral agreements on police cooperation and the readmission of irregulars7.4. The refus d'entrée (refusal of entry)7.5. Conclusions7.6. References Part III: Social actors on the groundChapter 8: Smugglers and smuggled migrants: amid Sudanese passeurs in the border regime of Ventimiglia, Livio Amigoni, Chiara Molinero, Cecilia Vergnano 8.1. Introduction8.2. Methodology8.3. Theories on smuggling8.4. Controls and border-crossing strategies in Ventimiglia8.5. The heterogeneous cosmos of passeur8.6. Price and reputation in the smuggling business8.7. Shabab on the river. Among Sudanese smugglers and the surrounding community8.8. The Sudanese Conscience8.9. Contentious visions on freedom of movement8.10. Conclusions8.11. ReferencesChapter 9: Migrants at stake. Agency and autonomy in Ventimiglia, Silvia Aru 9.1. Introduction 9.2. Close to the border control: tactics and counter-conducts9.3. A geography of good and bad countries: journeys to Ventimiglia and beyond9.4. Control of spaces / action of bodies:9.5. 'Do you want to return home?' 9.6. Conclusions9.7. References Chapter 10: Opportunities and obstacles in (un)polit...