Seminar “From Corridor to Tampon Zone: The Rebordering of the Balkans”

You are invited to the seminar “From Corridor to Tampon Zone: The Rebordering of the Balkans”, which will be on Thursday, June 5, 18:00, Gosposka hall, GIAM ZRC SAZU (Gosposka ulica 16, 1000 Ljubljana).

Ten years after the ‘long summer of migration’, the European border regime in South-Eastern Europe has gradually been restored, while migratory movements continue in clandestinity and deep marginalization. Since the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Balkans has been progressively integrated into the European border regime at varying speeds and intensities across different countries. After March 2016, the region’s role as a ‘tampon zone’ between the ‘core Europe’ and the ‘outside’ has intensified. Pushbacks have become normalized, walls, fences, and other ‘technical barriers’ proliferate. Humanitarian approaches are subordinated to security priorities, while solidarity is increasingly criminalised. Thousands along the Route are left without basic services or legal protection. Even upon reaching the EU, people on the move face difficulties and persistent insecurity. At the same time, solidarity initiatives continue to challenge the militarisation of borders and rising right-wing populism. In collaboration with people on the move, they form an alternative current of resistance and care. This seminar explores these dynamics through the lens of critical, decolonial epistemologies and practices, viewing the border as a contested and shifting space shaped by both violence and resistance.

Speakers:

Neža Kogovšek Šalamon (The Peace Institute), Žiga Divjak (Theater director), Uršula Lipovec Čebron, (Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana), Aigul Hakimova (Kulturno Društvo Gmajna & Infokolpa)

Moderated by: Mojca Pajnik and Barbara Beznec

The seminar is organized as part of the annual DATAMIG meeting (Data Matters: Sociotechnical Challenges of European Migration and Border Control), taking place on June 5 and 6 at the Faculty of Social Sciences.