Unequal Access to Foreign Spaces: How States Use Visa Restrictions to Regulate Mobility in a Globalised World

Transactions of the British Institute of Geographers, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 72-84, 2006

36 Pages Posted: 17 Apr 2005 Last revised: 16 Jun 2010

See all articles by Eric Neumayer

Eric Neumayer

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Date Written: November 1, 2005

Abstract

Nation-states employ visa restrictions to manage the complex trade-off between facilitating the entrance to their territory by passport holders from certain countries for economic and political reasons and deterring individuals from other countries for reasons of perceived security and immigration-control. The resulting system is one of highly unequal access to foreign spaces, reinforcing existing inequalities. Trans-national mobility is encouraged for passport holders from privileged nations, particularly rich Western countries, at the expense of severe restrictions for others. Visa restrictions manifest states' unfaltering willingness to monitor, regulate and control entrance to their territory in a globalised world.

Keywords: globalisation, visa restrictions, passport, borderless world, nation-state, travel

Suggested Citation

Neumayer, Eric, Unequal Access to Foreign Spaces: How States Use Visa Restrictions to Regulate Mobility in a Globalised World (November 1, 2005). Transactions of the British Institute of Geographers, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 72-84, 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=695122 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.695122

Eric Neumayer (Contact Author)

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) ( email )

Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://https://ericneumayer.wordpress.com/

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