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Deportation as a Means of Migration and Population Control
Ausschaffen – Deportationen als Mittel der Migrations- und Bevölkerungskontrolle
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:21:54
Abstract
In recent decades, deportations have become a means of state migration and population control used on a massive scale. Contrary to popular perception, deportation is an extremely complex process. The course discusses the "normalisation" of deportation in a global perspective with a focus on the various techniques involved.
Objective
Students a) know the main developments of the instrument of deportation in recent decades in their global contexts; b) know the different techniques used in deportations as well as their role in these developments; c) can assess the use of deportation as well as the techniques used in their social and political contexts.
Content
Deportations appear to be both a legitimate and effective solution in the state's dealings with people who cross national borders without authorisation or who are no longer allowed to stay within these borders. However, the supposedly simple act of forcibly deporting foreign nationals from national territory is an extraordinarily complex mechanism of state action. The different techniques and technologies on which deportation practices are based contribute to this complexity. The focus of the course is on the latter. The lecture looks at the technologies used in the creation of deportability, in the search and identification of persons to be deported, in their detention (immobilisation) and their deportation (mobilisation). A broad spectrum of technologies of surveillance, identification, communication, confinement, sanitary control or transport will be discussed in their modes of operation, their interaction with each other and with other factors (especially with the concept of "assemblages"). It also looks at the techniques and technologies used in resistance to state control and deportations. The question will be explored how technologies and their transformation are linked to the legal, political, cultural, and social preconditions of deportation practices and what significance they have acquired in the process. In a historical dimension, it will be asked what role technologies have played in the development of deportation regimes, especially in the postulated "deportation turn" since the 1990s, i.e. the massive increase in deportations in many countries of the world. The lecture focuses on Europe, the Middle East and Africa on the one hand and North and Central America on the other.
General Information
- Language
- German
- Levels
- BSC , DS , DR , MSC
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture | Ausschaffen – Deportationen als Mittel der Migrations- und Bevölkerungskontrolle |
|
2 h weekly |
Offered In
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Science in Perspective (In “Science in Perspective”-courses students learn to reflect on ETH’s STEM subjects from the perspective of humanities, political and social sciences. Only the courses listed below will be recognized as "Science in Perspective" courses.)
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Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Competence (SiP courses are recommended for bachelor students after their first-year examination and for all master- or doctoral students. All SiP courses are listed in Type A. Courses listed under Type B are only recommendations for enrollment for specific departments.)
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Doctorate Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (More Information at: )