BORDER GOVERNANCE ON THE WAVES OF THE AEGEAN SEA: ACTORS, DISCOURSES AND PRACTICES

Abstract

The article provides an extensive empirical analysis of sovereign practices and border governance monitoring and controlling the clandestine migration in the Aegean Sea. By utilizing the notion of “wet ontology” that refers to the distinctive materiality of the sea shaping the nature of the modus operandi, the study analyzes the web of discourses, actual practices and technologies constituting the political space of the Aegean Sea. The article argues that the contextualized “wet ontology” of the Aegean Sea lays the ground for the production of certain governing tool for armed forces to legitimize their military actions of interceptions as a rescue mission. The strategy of intercepting in guise of rescue as a moderated violence is produced and materialized in different manners in Turkey and Greece. In the article, firstly the contextualized “wet ontology” of the Aegean Sea will distinctive be elaborated together with its spatial and juridical configuration that lead to particular power projections. Then, these particular power projections and interception techniques will be empirically discussed within the contexts of Turkey and Greece. The empirical data of the study is based on an ethnographic research design conducted in 2015-2018 in Greece (Lesbos) and Turkey.
Purpose: This article presents an empirical analysis of border practices regarding the unauthorized migration in the Aegean Sea. Utilizing the concept of “wet ontology”, which refers to the materiality and political geography of the sea border, the study analyzes the web discourses and actual daily border practices/technologies that construct the political space of the Aegean Sea.
Method: The empirical data of the study is based on an ethnographic research design. In-depth interviews and participant observation were conducted with coast guards, EU border agency Frontex, and search and rescue NGOs in Greece (Lesvos) and Turkey (Küçükkuyu, Dikili, Çeşme and Bodrum) in 2015-2018.
Findings: In the lights of the findings of the study, the wet ontology, which gains meaning in the geographical context of the Aegean Sea, shapes the policies and narratives of the border actors, and paves the way for the production of a specific governing apparatus to legitimize multiple military interception techniques inherent in the rescue mission. Constructed as a moderate violence, interception practices are integrated with the rescue mission and thus justified.
Originality: The study comparatively examines border actors, discourses and practices through the examples of Turkey and Greece. In the article, firstly, the geographical structure of the Aegean Sea with its spatial and legal configuration is detailed. Then, within this configuration, the daily border practices and discourses of the two states are examined. The study aims to make an significant contribution to the literature in terms of being the first ethnographic research on border governance in the Aegean Sea. 

Keywords

• Border governance
• Aegean Sea
• irregular migration
• rescue
• migration
• wet ontology

Ege Denizi’nin Dalgalarında Sınır Yönetimi: Aktörler, Söylemler ve Pratikler

Abstract

Bu araştırma, Ege Denizi’ndeki düzensiz göçe ilişkin sınır yönetimi uygulamalarının kapsamlı bir ampirik analizini sunmaktadır. Çalışma, deniz sınırının ayırt edici materyalliğine atıfta bulunan “ıslak ontoloji” kavramını kullanarak, Ege Denizi’nin siyasal alanını oluşturan söylemler ağını, fiili pratikleri ve teknolojileri analiz etmektedir. Ege Denizi’nin kendine has siyasi coğrafyası, mekânsal ve hukuki konfigürasyonu bağlamında revize edilen “ıslak ontoloji” kavramı, sınır aktörlerinin durdurma tekniklerini hangi yöntem ve aygıtlar aracılığı ile kurtarma faaliyetine içkin hale getirerek meşrulaştırdıklarını incelemektedir.
Amaç: Bu makale, Ege Denizi’ndeki düzensiz göçe ilişkin sınır pratiklerinin ampirik bir analizini sunmaktadır. Çalışma, deniz sınırının ayırt edici materyalliğine ve siyasi coğrafyasına atıfta bulunan “ıslak ontoloji” kavramını kullanarak, Ege Denizi’nin siyasal alanını oluşturan söylemler ağını, fiili günlük sınır pratiklerini ve kullanılan teknolojileri analiz etmektedir.
Yöntem: Çalışmanın ampirik verileri etnografik bir araştırma tasarımına dayanır. 2015-2018 yıllarında Yunanistan (Midilli adası) ve Türkiye’de (Küçükkuyu, Dikili, Çeşme, Bodrum), sahil güvenlik ekipleri, AB sınır güvenliği (Frontex) personeli ve arama kurtarma sivil toplum örgütleri ile derinlemesine görüşmeler ve katılımcı gözlemci analizi yapılmıştır. Araştırmacı, etnografik araştırma tasarımına içkin olarak, bahsedilen yıllar arasında Midilli adasında bulunan sivil toplum örgütleri bünyesinde arama ve kurtarma faaliyeti yürütmüştür.
Bulgular: Çalışmanın bulguları nezdinde, Ege Denizi’nin coğrafi bağlamı içerisinde anlam kazanan ıslak ontolojisi, sınır aktörlerinin politikalarını ve anlatılarını şekillendirerek çoklu askeri durdurma tekniklerinin kurtarma görevine içkin olarak meşrulaştırılması için belirli bir yönetim aygıtının üretilmesine zemin hazırlar. Ilımlı ve orantısal bir şiddet olarak kurgulanan durdurma ve geri itme uygulamaları, kurtarma görevi ile bütünleştirilir ve bu sayede meşrulaştırılır.
Özgünlük: Çalışma, sınır aktörlerini, söylemlerini ve uygulamalarını Türkiye ve Yunanistan örnekleri üzerinden karşılaştırmalı olarak incelemektedir. Makalede, ilk olarak Ege Denizi’nin coğrafi yapısı, uzamsal ve hukuki konfigürasyonu ile detaylandırılmaktadır. Ardından, bu konfigürasyon içerisinde iki egemen devletin gündelik sınır pratikleri ve söylemleri incelenmektedir. Çalışma, Ege Denizi’ndeki sınır yönetimi üzerine yapılmış ilk etnografik araştırma olması açısından literatüre önemli bir katkı sağlamaktadır.  

Keywords

• Sınır yönetimi
• Ege Denizi
• düzensiz göç
• kurtarma
• ıslak ontoloji

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