From immigration raids to the Brexit border in the Irish Sea, hard measures do the opposite of what politicians say they will
The idea of the border has come to dominate British politics – yet it seems as if everywhere, borders aren’t doing what politicians say they should. In England, a potentially dangerous variant of Covid-19 has taken root, despite the traffic-light system of international travel restrictions. In Northern Ireland, a representative of loyalist paramilitaries raises the prospect of violence if the post-Brexit customs border in the Irish Sea is not removed. In Glasgow, an immigration raid prompts a community to occupy the streets in protest against the very border policy that the government claims is there to keep them safe.
What these examples have in common is that they are all cases in which politicians have presented borders as a tool for greater control – over public health, say, or national sovereignty, or immigration. Yet their efforts seem to have the opposite effect. Why does this keep happening?
