Bodeča žica in reka Kolpa: presečišča zgodovine in sodobnosti
Barbed Wire And The River Kolpa: Intersections Of History And Modernity

Summary/Abstract: This article presents the empirical fragments pointing to how a more comprehensive set of sources can illuminate the range of interactions that materialise borders beyond their strictly administrative or theoretical understanding. The article specifically examines the transformations of Slovenia’s southern border from 2015 to the present, focusing on its properties and functions in relation to irregular migration. The analysis takes into account not only the physical border (including fences, barbed wire, and other border infrastructure) but also considers the role of the state apparatus through its established institutes of bordering (such as mixed patrols), its administrative-legal aspects (for example bilateral agreements), and the forced returns and consequential deaths at the border. The anatomy of the border in this section is analysed as a historical and political tool of the EU project by juxtaposing the official institutional discourse and the discourses involving migrants, freedom of movement initiatives, and border forensics. This approach sheds light on the complexity of contemporary transformations of Slovenia’s southern border in the context of migration, elaborating on the junction points between various political languages coming from “above” and “below” during the analysed period. By integrating the “from below” perspectives, this article calls for the consideration of a broader methodological apparatus and perspectives that could bring new border historiography insights.

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