The EU and the Utopia and Anti-utopia of Migration: A Response to Harald Bauder

Résumé

Harald Bauder takes an initiative to look differently at the possibilities of migration and open borders. He wants to suggest that “it is possible, perhaps even necessary, for geographers to rethink the current system of regulating the international movement of people” (Bauder, this issue). Harald asks how one could imagine a world without immigration controls and ends his piece with a note on utopian visions, including David Harvey’s outlook concluding “Spaces of Hope” (Harvey, 2000). It is the connection of the critique of borders with a utopian vision that I would like to focus on here, and Harvey’s vision is interesting in this respect. In his future history, he looks at gender relations, sexuality, the environment, living and housing, producing and consuming. In only a few paragraphs, the movement of people enters the picture. People can move freely and are encouraged to spend some time away from their place of birth. Harvey also imagines a mechanism to prevent a brain drain from regions. In my opinion, there is a central question about the role of migration in Harvey’s utopia. The passages that deal with migration are very brief. Migration, so it seems, is not a real issue in the utopia of “Spaces of Hope”. Why does Harald use Harvey’s vision, even if it does not have migration as its main focus? My response to Harald’s article is based on this question. Harald delivers a forceful critique of the present constellation in border politics. Migration politics are also one of the main debates characterising “alternative” or “critical” movements. But utopian visions seem not to be about border politics. If borders have no relevance in utopian visions, could it be that these debates are not at all about migration? Drawing on Harald’s elaboration, I would like to further investigate the role of borders and migration in utopian visions, and then ask about their role in the contemporary European Union (EU). Harald’s critique is strongly focussed on the state-politics and economics of migration. He points out how migration and border controls are a central element in capitalist exploitation structures. While this will emerge as one important argument, the second important argument is that the movement of people carries a potential, and forms a critical practice.