Dr. Martin Geiger, who recently returned to Carleton University as a Government of Canada Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, was interviewed by the Federation for Humanities and Social Sciences on his research, entitled “Smart new border world: Information technologies and security industries in the management of human cross-border mobility in North America and Europe.”
In his interview, Dr. Geiger indicated that states are turning to tech industries for ways to separate “wanted” and “unwanted” mobility flows using information technologies. While new technologies, such as biometric passports, are promoted as making border crossing easier and more efficient, they also create detailed, easy to track trails of information on individuals. These trails, which are stored in central databases, make it much easier for states to share information and cooperate in controlling and restricting migration.
This marriage between states and industry has important implications for sovereignty and citizenship. While these new technologies can be invasive of citizens’ privacy, participation in their adoption is rewarded with quick access lines at border crossings. For this reason, Dr. Geiger argues that we need to better understand how these technologies are affecting people and to what extent they are effective at increasing security and making border crossing more efficient, so that we, as a society, can make informed decisions about them.
To read all of Dr Martin Geiger’s interview, please visit the Federation for Humanities and Social Sciences.