WIMAYA: Interdisciplinary Journal of International Affairs
Vol. 6 No. 02 (2025)

Bordering Beyond Borders: A Governmentality Analysis of Australia’s Operation Sovereign Borders and Israel’s Externalisation of Asylum Policy

Alramadhan, Titan (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
29 Dec 2025

Abstract

This paper analyses how Australia and Israel transform deterrence into an ethical means of moral control; it investigates how these nations are using the concept of "care" in order to rationalise their strict border management practices. Through its analysis of Australia's Operation Sovereign Borders and Israel's externalisation policies, this paper demonstrates how the act of coercion can be disguised as compassionate action, and exclusionary actions are portrayed as protective actions. This paper utilises the theoretical framework of Foucauldian governmentality to illustrate how the Australian and Israeli governments utilise moral reasoning to govern asylum seekers; they merge authority with empathy, and both appear to be one and the same. Furthermore, this paper illustrates that while deterrence may work through physical force, it also works by the notion that controlling movement is an ethically responsible obligation. Both instances demonstrate how morality is used as a mechanism of power and how humanitarian language serves as an exclusionary device. Thus, by demonstrating how such practices occur, this paper aids in explaining how the discourse of care has become a core aspect of the global governance of mobility.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

wimaya

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Economics, Econometrics & Finance Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice Social Sciences

Description

WIMAYA is an international scholarly journal devoted to international affairs. Published twice a year by the International Relations Department, Pembangunan Nasional Veteran East Java University, the journal aims to promote the importance of interdisciplinary approach to analyze various ...