Paul Scheffer - Freedom of the Border

1 Cover

2 Title Page Freedom of the Border Paul Scheffer Translated by Liz Waters polity

3 Copyright Page

4 Acknowledgements Notes

5 Introduction: Exploring boundaries Notes

6 Part I The value of proximity

7 Discovery of the world citizen Notes

8 Tartars in the suburbs Notes

9 The revenge of geography Notes

10 The digital shadow Notes

11 Part II An age of migration

12 The citizenship bonus Notes

13 The exodus and our conscience Notes

14 The critical limits reconsidered Notes

15 Return of the caliphate Notes

16 Part III The state of Europe

17 After the Pax Americana Notes

18 A hidden vitality Notes

19 Scenarios for the Union Notes

20 A compulsion to grand politics Notes

21 Bibliography

22 Index

23 End User License Agreement

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Paul Scheffer

Translated by Liz Waters

polity

First published in Dutch as De vorm van vrijheid . Copyright: © 2018 Paul Scheffer. Originally published with De Bezige Bij, Amsterdam

This English edition © 2021 by Polity Press

This publication has been made possible with financial support from the Dutch Foundation for Literature.

Excerpt from ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’ in C. P. CAVAFY: Collected Poems , Revised Edition translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard, edited by George Savidis, reproduced by kind permission of Princeton University Press.

Polity Press

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All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-4090-7 – hardback

ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-4091-4 – paperback

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Scheffer, Paul, author.

Title: Freedom of the border / Paul Scheffer ; translated by Liz Waters.

Other titles: Vorm van vrijheid. English

Description: Cambridge, UK ; Medford, MA : Polity Press, 2021. | Translation of: De vorm van vrijheid. | includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: "A defence of the meaning and function of borders and their necessity in the face of authoritarian attitudes to multiculturalism"-- Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020026134 (print) | LCCN 2020026135 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509540907 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509540914 (paperback) | ISBN 9781509540921 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Globalization--Philosophy. | Europe--Boundaries.

Classification: LCC D1058 S34413 2021 (print) | LCC D1058 (ebook) | DDC 320.1/2--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020026134

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020026135

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Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.

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In the summer of 2015 I was asked to write an essay for Philosophy Month, which occurs annually in the Netherlands. With images of the refugee crisis in mind, I chose ‘dealing with borders’ as my theme. The essay was published the following spring under the title ‘The Freedom of the Border’. It prompted many reactions, which set me thinking further on the subject. A long series of readings and public debates sharpened my ideas. This book is the result.