Sovereignty as performance and video art: Citizenship between international relations and artistic representation

Abstract

This chapter deals with the limitations of national sovereignty and citizenship, illustrated by an analysis of performance and video works that represent experiences of illegal migration. The chapter aims to make a contribution to the scholarly literature on citizenship and centers on its global rights-based dimension. In addition, it makes a conceptual contribution to the body of work by critical scholars of international politics labeled the “aesthetic turn,” by introducing into the discussion the innovative explanatory power of Roland Barthes’ concept of “myth.” This chapter applies such theoretical and conceptual discussions to three different cases of performance and video art focused on the experiences of Eastern European migrants living and working illegally in Switzerland, Spain, and the UK.