La frontière comme ressource : vers une redéfinition du concept

The concept of borders as a resource is generally understood as the ability of border populations to cross borders in order to benefit from the differences they create. In a global context of border securization, and taking into account the way in which certain economic and political actors profit from their closure, this article proposes to reconsider the concept of border as a resource according to two dimensions: on the one hand, by broadening its meaning to a wider set of practices and discourses that aim at mobilizing different border opportunities; on the other hand, by deepening our understanding of the logics that underpin the production of borders as resources and their social, political and ethical implications. The broadening of the concept is based on the mobilization of the notion of opportunity structure. The deepening of the concept relates to the dynamics that underpin the valorization and reproduction of resources from a relational perspective. Redefined in this way, the conceptualization of borders as a resource makes it possible to critically illuminate the different forms of border exploitation and the questions that arise as to their changing role and meaning.