Foreign Institutions

The images of migrants and refugees arriving in precarious boats on the shores of southern Europe, and of the makeshift camps that have sprung up in Lesbos, Lampedusa, Calais and elsewhere, have become familiar sights on television screens around the world. But what do we know about the border places - these liminal zones between countries and continents - that have become the focus of so much attention and anxiety today, and what do we know about the individuals who occupy these places?