Temporalities in 3D: Speeds, Intersections, and Time Sequentialities at the Portuguese Border
Abstract
This article addresses the Portuguese border control regime by looking into the relationship dynamics between inspectors and foreign citizens at the first line of inspection. Through the lens of temporality, I consider how the presence or absence of certain bureaucratic records presented by travellers functions as a control device that produces three temporal dimensions which intersect with each other during the check, as exercised by inspectors. The way in which certain documents result in different speeds of document control (microtemporalities—advances, retreats, and hesitation); subsequently, I reflect on the elasticity of time, looking at the intersection between the past, present, and future; finally, I analyse how inspectors shift their gaze from the documents to the details they are composed of, thus introducing a sequential dimension to their assessment. This article argues that the uncertainty experienced by travellers reflects the instability and inconsistency of the state, caused by the contingency that permeates their encounters at the border where time operates as a technique of power. The study is based on 11 months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2021 and 2022, centred on the daily life of the inspectors of the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service at an airport in mainland Portugal.
Keywords: anthropology of the state; external border; temporalities of migration; control devices.
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