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The Myth of Resistance: Rethinking the "Informal" Economy in a Mediterranean Border Enclave

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  • Laia Soto Bermant

Abstract

Against claims that, with globalization, state borders are becoming increasingly obsolete, a growing number of scholars have called for a return to the consideration of borders as the symbols of the power of the state, and of the state, in turn, as the principal agent in the configuration of territorial boundaries. The study of border regions, in this view, should be conceived as an investigation into the ways in which state power is enforced, resisted, contested or negotiated. With this question in view, cross-border smuggling and other "informal" economic activities typical of border areas are construed as movements of resistance and subversion. This essay examines the "informal" economy that exists across the Spanish-Moroccan border of Melilla and argues that the state/resistance approach precludes a nuanced understanding of the complex dynamics at play across borders, and prevents us from asking questions about the meaning of cross-border exchanges, connections and transactions.

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  • Laia Soto Bermant, 2015. "The Myth of Resistance: Rethinking the "Informal" Economy in a Mediterranean Border Enclave," Journal of Borderlands Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 263-278, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rjbsxx:v:30:y:2015:i:2:p:263-278
    DOI: 10.1080/08865655.2015.1046993
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    1. Mark Hampton, 1996. "The Offshore Interface," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-25131-5, March.
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