ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the complex dynamics of intra-Schengen mobility control, focusing on how political, legal, and societal forces shape border control practices. It contextualises the Schengen Area by exploring key images and narratives that uphold its existence. This chapter highlights the inherent tension within Schengen, where the freedom of movement inside is juxtaposed against fortified external borders, leading to the paradoxical reality of internal surveillance and control. This chapter also delves into the concept of ‘border reconstruction projects’, wherein borders are not just geographical but cultural, rhetorical, and political spaces of power relations, involving various actors. By analysing the construction of cultural borders and securitisation of mobility, this chapter addresses how migration has become entangled with national security, identity, and economic concerns. Additionally, it prepares the groundwork for later discussions on the Schengen Borders Code (SBC) as a legal tool for both the reinforcement and dismantling of borders, framing the actions of border officials within this conflicted and paradoxical framework of control and mobility.
