Description
States of Ignorance provides a comprehensive analysis of how Western European governments attempt to regulate irregular migration through administrative and institutional mechanisms. The authors investigate the paradox of state control: despite sophisticated border management systems and enforcement agencies, states often maintain incomplete knowledge about undocumented populations within their territories.
Boswell and Chabal explore how this strategic ambiguity shapes immigration policy and practice across multiple European contexts. The book examines the gap between official policies and ground-level realities, revealing how states tolerate irregular migration while maintaining the appearance of control. Drawing on empirical research and case studies, it challenges conventional understandings of state sovereignty and demonstrates how governance operates through partial knowledge and deliberate institutional blindness.
This work is essential for understanding contemporary European immigration politics and the complex mechanisms through which modern states manage populations deemed unwanted or uncontrollable.
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