Navigating uncertainty: Identity,vigilance,and everyday security across border communities in Morocco and Tunisia

Abstract

Over recent years, Morocco and Tunisia have intensified efforts to fortify their respective border areas with Algeria, driven by the need for enhanced migration control and the fight against illicit trafficking and cross-border terrorism. These developments have significantly impacted communities living in border regions, disrupting long-standing economic and sociocultural structures. This article investigates how these border dynamics affect the daily lives of residents along the Morocco-Algeria and Algeria-Tunisia borders. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and more than 95 in-depth qualitative interviews, I explore how the border regimes in place affect the identity and security of ‘borderlanders.’ Additionally, I examine how the border population navigates the presence and enforcement of the state border, as well as the forms of resistance they develop. The findings show that, for border populations, a ‘secure life’ is closely tied to the permeability of the border and the opportunities it affords. Fortification efforts aimed at enhancing national security heighten feelings of isolation and uncertainty within border communities, as they restrict everyday mobility and arbitrarily fragment social life. In response to these challenges, border communities develop vigilant strategies, everyday geopolitical imaginaries, and a sense of belonging that challenges state-driven border policies and practices.