ABSTRACT
The Sicilian island of Lampedusa is a central player in the European border regime. A range of actors converge on the island to assess, quantify, control, help and defend migratory flows. However, only since the beginning of the 2000s has Lampedusa served as a symbol of the European border and become one of the main gates of entry for migrants seeking to reach Europe by sea. Drawing on a socio-historical perspective, this chapter shows how Lampedusa has been “constructed” as a border and analyses the impact of migration and the bordering process on local dynamics. It gives attention to the political economy of encampment on the island. This chapter is based on semi-structured interviews and observation conducted in Sicily.
