If democracy means that one particular group of individuals gives itself the right to decide on the way and the rules by which it lives, then what has already been determined is that there is a border. Democracy means democracy for those within the border, to the exclusion of those lying beyond the border. To extend the vote to all those outside our border, for instance, would in effect give them control over us, thereby extinguishing democracy. More generally, if democracy depends upon the existence of a group, of the integrity of that group, then from the moment the border is instituted, those within its borders must be able to decide when and how the border may be crossed. Border control and border protection are not a threat to democracy, then, but its very precondition. At least, that is, to democracy insofar as it has been understood in our time. If a democracy loses the capacity to control and to protect its borders, the capacity for remaining democratic is undermined.