HPUJ
BOOK REVIEW
Politics of Exhaustion: Border Violence and Struggles over Movement
Author: Leonie Ansems de Vries
Publisher: Bristol University Press, 2026
Reviewed by: Shaista & Naushaba
Review
Politics of Exhaustion: Border Violence and Struggles over Movement by Leonie Ansems de Vries offers an insightful and theoretically sophisticated contribution to the interdisciplinary fields of migration studies, political theory, and border governance. The book challenges conventional understandings of border violence by introducing the concept of governance through exhaustion, arguing that contemporary migration regimes are designed not merely to prevent movement but to systematically wear down migrants physically, psychologically, emotionally, and socially. Rather than viewing violence as isolated incidents of policing or border enforcement, the author demonstrates how states employ prolonged uncertainty, deprivation, legal insecurity, and bureaucratic delays as calculated techniques of governance. Through this innovative framework, the book reconceptualizes exhaustion as both a mechanism of political control and a site of resistance, thereby expanding existing scholarship on structural, slow, and epistemic violence. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
Drawing upon extensive ethnographic research conducted in Calais, Dunkirk, and the United Kingdom's asylum system, the book illustrates how border regimes operate through repetitive acts of demolition, displacement, denial of humanitarian assistance, restricted access to sanitation, and legal uncertainty. These practices transform everyday survival into an exhausting struggle while simultaneously preventing migrants from establishing stable communities or secure identities. The reviewer highlights the author's ability to connect empirical observations with broader theoretical traditions, integrating concepts developed by scholars such as Rob Nixon and Jasbir Puar into a comprehensive framework centred on exhaustion. This approach reveals that border governance functions not only through visible acts of coercion but also through subtle processes of attrition that gradually undermine migrants' physical and emotional resilience. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
One of the most compelling aspects of the book is its emphasis on migrants' agency despite conditions of extreme precarity. Rather than portraying refugees solely as passive victims, Ansems de Vries documents the everyday practices through which displaced people preserve dignity, identity, and hope. Activities such as informal learning, communal dining, storytelling, artistic expression, and even the creation of origami become meaningful forms of psychological resilience and political resistance. The narrative of Janahan, a Sri Lankan torture survivor who learned origami during eight years of legal uncertainty in the United Kingdom, powerfully illustrates how ordinary acts of creativity can sustain human agency in environments structured by institutional violence. The reviewer commends the author's participatory methodology, including walking interviews, collaborative storytelling, photography, and engagement with initiatives such as the Migration Museum's "Migrant Voices" programme, as innovative approaches that challenge hierarchical models of knowledge production while raising important ethical questions regarding visibility, vulnerability, and representation. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
The review further appreciates the book's interdisciplinary breadth, particularly its engagement with colonial histories, racialized governance, disability studies, environmental politics, and affect theory. By examining cases such as the Windrush scandal and the transformation of migrant settlements into environmentally restored landscapes, the author demonstrates how contemporary border regimes extend beyond physical boundaries into administrative systems, ecological management, and bureaucratic processes. The concept of "eco-coloniality" illustrates how landscapes themselves become instruments of exclusion through the deliberate erasure of migrant histories and experiences. Although the reviewer acknowledges that the book's extensive theoretical engagement may occasionally appear intellectually demanding, this breadth is ultimately regarded as one of its greatest strengths because it captures the complexity of contemporary migration governance from multiple analytical perspectives. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
Conclusion
The reviewers conclude that Politics of Exhaustion represents a significant scholarly contribution to contemporary debates on migration, borders, and political violence. By shifting attention away from spectacular acts of violence towards the gradual, everyday processes through which exhaustion is deliberately produced, Leonie Ansems de Vries offers a powerful reinterpretation of border governance that challenges conventional understandings of migration control. The book successfully combines rigorous theoretical analysis with rich ethnographic evidence, demonstrating how exhaustion functions simultaneously as a mode of governance, a condition of lived experience, and a site of political struggle. Its interdisciplinary approach broadens existing scholarship while encouraging new conversations about state power, resistance, and structural inequality.