Sovereignty and Diffused Control of Mobility in the Schengen Visa Regime

Abstract

The article analyzes the construction of legitimate control of mobility as a foundational element of state
sovereignty. It discusses the case of entry visas, in particular Schengen visas, one of the most important
administrative means in the complex management of external European borders. The visa regime
expresses directly and explicitly the sovereign power of the state in relation to the movement of people. By
discussing ethnographic case studies from West Africa, the essay complicates, however, the relationship
between effective implementation and legitimization of mobility control. The administrative of visas
depends, both directly and indirectly, on the regulatory capacity of other actors, such as families. The article
therefore shows that consular practices also constitute a legitimating performance of statehood vis-à-vis
this situation of diffused control.