The Case for Abolition: A World Without Borders

In their book Against Borders: The Case for Abolition, Gracie Mae Bradley and Luke de Noronha present a bold challenge to the existence of borders, advocating for their abolition. Their work critiques the pervasive harms imposed by borders and imagines a world where artificial lines do not restrict human freedom and flourishing.

What Are Borders and What Do They Do?

Borders are often seen as fixed geographical lines that define where one country ends and another begins. They ostensibly regulate the movement of goods, people, and ideas to maintain security and order. While wealthy individuals in the Global North experience borders as minor inconveniences, others face them as barriers to safety, opportunity, and dignity.

Political rhetoric frequently portrays migration as a threat, using metaphors like “waves” or “floods” to dehumanize migrants and justify the strengthening of border enforcement. Governments allocate substantial resources to physical barriers, surveillance technologies, and detention systems, intensifying the violence associated with border practices. Despite these efforts, borders often fail to achieve their stated goals, exposing migrants to exploitation and harm while reinforcing global inequalities.

The Harmful Legacy of Borders

Bradley and de Noronha argue that borders perpetuate inequality by dividing the world into sovereign nation-states, where citizenship determines life chances. People from wealthier countries enjoy greater freedom and opportunities than those from poorer nations, creating a system of legal and spatial segregation.

Moreover, borders impact not only migrants but also long-settled individuals and racialized citizens who are treated as outsiders. Immigration controls often create precarious conditions for undocumented individuals, restricting their access to work, housing, healthcare, and education. Even those with legal status face limitations on their rights, reinforcing hierarchies and divisions within societies.

Borders Are Everywhere

Borders are not confined to physical lines or checkpoints; they permeate everyday life. They dictate relationships with employers, landlords, and governments and influence access to public services. Borders create and sustain systems of exclusion that harm everyone, from marginalized communities to society as a whole. As Bradley and de Noronha highlight, borders do not solve global challenges but exacerbate inequality, exploitation, and harm.

Abolition as a Vision for the Future

The authors call for the abolition of borders, drawing parallels to Angela Davis’s critique of prisons. Both systems rely on state violence to control and restrict movement, and both disproportionately harm marginalized populations. Border abolition seeks to dismantle these violent practices and replace them with systems of care and collective well-being.

Bradley and de Noronha acknowledge the complexity of their vision and the long road to achieving it. They emphasize that border abolition is not about creating chaos but transforming the conditions that make borders seem necessary. This includes addressing global inequalities, ecological crises, and the root causes of migration.

Hope as a Guiding Principle

The politics of abolition, as outlined in the book, rely on hope as a discipline. Inspired by thinkers like Mariame Kaba and bell hooks, the authors argue that hope empowers action even in the face of systemic injustice. It requires us to imagine and work toward new possibilities, no matter how distant they may seem.

“Hopefulness empowers us to continue our work for justice even as the forces of injustice may gain power for a time.” — bell hooks

Creating a World Without Borders

Bradley and de Noronha do not claim to have all the answers, but they encourage readers to question the role of borders and consider alternatives. They propose steps such as ending deportations, closing detention centers, and fostering spaces of sanctuary and solidarity. These actions and a commitment to justice and equality can pave the way for a future without borders.

By reimagining the relationships between communities, nations, and individuals, Against Borders offers a hopeful vision of a world where artificial lines no longer constrain freedom of movement and human dignity. As the authors remind us, abolition is not only about tearing down systems of oppression but also about building new structures that support collective flourishing.