Bordering Lives: Resilience, (Non)Citizenship, and the Politics of...

IAS Residential Fellow Dr Jussi P. Laine delivers a seminar on their research -

This seminar examines how bordering practices shape the lives of marginalised and mobile populations, with particular attention to the Finnish-Russian border – one of the EU's most dramatically transformed borders in recent years. The construction of a barrier fence, the closure of crossing points, and intensifying securitisation have fundamentally reshaped local communities, regional identity, and everyday life in ways that extend far beyond the border zone itself. Drawing on this case alongside broader comparative material, the seminar moves beyond state-centric framings to explore how borderlanders navigate ontological insecurity, negotiate (non)citizenship, and assert belonging despite and through the categories imposed upon them. It will also reflect on what these developments reveal about the changing nature of sovereign power and the differential treatment of mobile populations in an era of geopolitical uncertainty.

Arrivals from 11:45 am for a 12:00 noon start. For those joining in-person, lunch will be served after the seminar from 1:00pm.

International House can be found here on the campus map.