Framing the Border: Securing Mobility and Representing the Nation

Abstract

Airports are spaces where mobility is experienced in a number of ways. Often described as a non-place (Augé 1995) where anonymous individuals circulate, the airport also operates as a site of national security where all passengers must be identified. International airports in New Zealand, as gateways to an island nation, offer a compelling site for analysing the ways in which movement across the border is regulated. Media representations of passenger movement through Wellington International Airport and Auckland International Airport produce particular conceptions of citizenship and national identity. This paper will discuss how media discourses surrounding Wellington and Auckland airports position passengers in particular ways in relation to the nation, focusing on the representation of passenger movements which interpellate both New Zealand citizens and foreigners alike.