About Invisible Borders: the Tech and Violence of Fortress Europe
The technology and defence industry is deeply embedded in the EU's border policy, benefiting from increasingly hostile approaches to migration. As governments invest billions in border surveillance technologies, the consequences are felt most acutely by people seeking safety and a dignified life. This podcast emerges from a two-year project led by the Border Violence Monitoring Network, in collaboration with I Have Rights, Collective Aid, Mission Wings, and other Network members. The research examines how expanding surveillance infrastructures are experienced by people on the move — at borders and along migration routes. Alongside an accompanying dossier, the podcast explores the lived realities behind Europe’s border technologies and the human cost of a rapidly expanding surveillance regime.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
In this final episode of our podcast series, we try to connect the dots and make sense of what we heard in the previous episodes. To better understand the causes and consequences of surveillance, we look at a closely related phenomenon: the criminalisation of movement and solidarity.
We speak with BVMN’s Legal and Criminalisation Coordinator, as well as our partner organisations Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice and Human Rights Observers, to explore the links between surveillance and criminalisation and to reflect on possibilities for resistance.
Sound Design: Brian Mcnamara Sound (https://brianmcnamara.work/about)
Graphic Design: Marlene Janke and Dan Schoolar
For the full list of episodes, transcripts and additional resources, visit https://invisible-borders.jimdosite.com/ (https://invisible-borders.jimdosite.com/)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
4 Feb 2026
Surveillance for Identification
In this episode, we look at the opaque use of biometric surveillance technologies in North Macedonia and Serbia, two key countries along the so-called Balkan Route. States are increasingly using biometric data, such as fingerprints and iris scans, to identify and categorise people on the move under the guise of enhancing security. However, these practices raise serious concerns about potential human rights violations and the surveillance of vulnerable populations.
Sound Design: Brian Mcnamara Sound (https://brianmcnamara.work/about)
Graphic Design: Marlene Janke and Dan Schoolar
For the full list of episodes, transcripts and additional resources, visit https://invisible-borders.jimdosite.com/ (https://invisible-borders.jimdosite.com/)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
28 Jan 2026
Surveillance for Control
Surveillance isn’t just about monitoring and controlling movement—it also continues once people on the move reach EU countries. What systems are in place? How do they impact the lives of those affected? And what is the broader logic behind this extensive surveillance network?
In this episode, we explore these questions through research conducted in Greece. Following the story of the fictional character Rami, we trace his journey from Samos to mainland Greece, revealing how surveillance shapes life in reception and detention facilities.
Sound Design: Brian Mcnamara Sound (https://brianmcnamara.work/about)
Graphic Design: Marlene Janke and Dan Schoolar
For the full list of episodes, transcripts and additional resources, visit https://invisible-borders.jimdosite.com/ (https://invisible-borders.jimdosite.com/)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
28 Jan 2026
Surveillance for Detection (Part 2)
Part 2 of surveillance for detection - how are technologies used along physical border lines?
In this episode we begin by looking at the role of the IOM as a stakeholder in tech assisted border violence, understanding their complicity & hypocrisy, and ask; what is the legacy of EU horizon projects in the Balkans?
We identify some of the companies who are profiting from the militarisation of borders, how a border industrial complex has developed in Europe, and how this intersects with facilitators of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
By looking at the practicalities of border management practices on the ground alongside the landscapes of borders themselves - we try to understand both what deterrence looks like as a crucial factor within border management, and the role of surveillance technologies within this.
Sound Design: Brian Mcnamara Sound (https://brianmcnamara.work/about)
Graphic Design: Marlene Janke and Dan Schoolar
For the full list of episodes, transcripts and additional resources, visit https://invisible-borders.jimdosite.com/ (https://invisible-borders.jimdosite.com/)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
23 Jan 2026
Surveillance for Detection (Part 1)
Part 1 of surveillance for detection - how are technologies used along physical border lines?
Using the territories of Bulgaria & Serbia as case studies, we look at the interwoven roles of surveillance technologies and European border management practices at both the EU’s external border and non-EU borders of ‘third countries’.
In this episode we try to answer the question of how and which technologies get to borders? How much is being spent? And who is spending the money?
By analysing patterns of externalising border management, alongside how technologies are being used and tested on vulnerable populations - we see how this fits into a wider imperial understanding of European border management practices.
Sound Design: Brian Mcnamara Sound (https://brianmcnamara.work/about)
Graphic Design: Marlene Janke and Dan Schoolar
For the full list of episodes, transcripts and additional resources, visit https://invisible-borders.jimdosite.com/ (https://invisible-borders.jimdosite.com/)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
14 Jan 2026
Hostile Politics
In this episode we will look at the current policies governing border surveillance and what risks and protections they bear. We will discuss how the policies have changed over time and how they have enabled the expansion of border surveillance by EU member states, candidate countries, and EU agencies. What policies are currently on the table? And what kind of regulation exists that can protect the fundamental rights of people directly affected?
Sound Design: Brian Mcnamara Sound (https://brianmcnamara.work/about)
Graphic Design: Marlene Janke and Dan Schoolar
For the full list of episodes, transcripts and additional resources, visit https://invisible-borders.jimdosite.com/ (https://invisible-borders.jimdosite.com/)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
14 Jan 2026
Welcome to Invisible Borders
In this premiere episode of Invisible Borders, we take a step back to explore the bigger picture: how Europe’s borders and surveillance technologies work together to maintain systems of power.
We focus on the Balkan Route to reveal how, funded by the EU, migration is increasingly framed as a security issue and transformed into a market for tech companies. Along the way, we unpack concepts like techno-solutionism, postcolonial legacies of surveillance, and the political economies driving the border surveillance industry.
Sound Design: Brian Mcnamara Sound (https://brianmcnamara.work/about)
Graphic Design: Marlene Janke and Dan Schoolar
For the full list of episodes, transcripts and additional resources, visit https://invisible-borders.jimdosite.com/ (https://invisible-borders.jimdosite.com/)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
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