Border Politics in a Global Era: Comparative Perspectives

Part I entitled “Conceptual Framework and Historical Backgrounds” sets the stage for this book. Topics such as history, maps and “othering” processes and imagined communities are discussed. The author highlights the key questions that are addressed in the book such as: Do border studies share a common core? What can be said about the daily practices of people living in border regions? What can be said about the coping strategies of border people with the state apparatus? How do states deal with their borderlands, frontiers and border people? What can be learned through a synthesis of border studies regarding recent developments at the regional or global level? Is it possible to identify models toward more cooperative borderlands? Can popular culture (realistic movies, documentaries) help leading to mutual understanding? Later on the conceptual foundations are presented. The emphasis here is on global inequalities and local borderlands. Existing measurements are challenged because of the limitations of state-centric units for data analysis. Inequalities and institutions are brought to the forefront of the conceptualization. The Border Inequalities Database, a database that was set up by the author in collaboration with research assistant Jakub Zajakala, gathering public figures from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (see p. 36 ff. for further explanation), is presented to the reader.

Part II deals with “Regional Case Studies”. These derive from the North and South. The contribution on the Americas is on US-Mexico borderlands. The author focuses on the history as well as the everyday life in these borderlands. The chapter on postcolonial South Asia deals with the Partition. India´s contemporary Bengal Borderlands are examined in detail to shed light on the continuity of this division. In chapter six the integrated borderlands of the European Union are examined. Even though the integration process is evaluated quite positively, obstacles such as a lack of civic input and “mental obstacles”, as well as the upcoming Euroskepticism and challenges in dealing with EU's external borders. In chapter seven multiple ways of maritime borders are examined. The focus is on the Southeast Asia and Australia.

Part III is dedicated to “Public Policy Issues”. Major policy issues that were introduced in the previous part are compared in this section. Multiple kinds of security such as the national border control, human security amid poverty, environmental security and sustainability, as well as some people´s need for protection from the state itself are explored. In chapter nine the author addresses bureaucratic and historical matters. She raises the critique that “the world and its states are ill-equipped to welcome and integrate refugees in accordance with international standards, resolutions, and laws” (p 148). Theorists focusing on biopolitics are considered and gendered experiences are illustrated. Chapter ten discusses formal and informal cross-border business and trade in the South Asian and US-Mexico borderlands.

Part IV is on “Bridging the Borderlands”. Having “normative dimensions of the analysis in mind” (p. 197), the author provides some examples of action and change. Chapter eleven offers a selection of borderlands in films. These are considered as well-suited supplemental educational resources. With a focus on global regimes, institutions at the governmental and the nongovernmental levels, as well as individuals, chapter eleven discusses strategies for change in economics, governance and state policies. The book ends with concluding remarks and reflections on border politics in a global era.

Contents

• Part I Conceptual Framework and Historical Backgrounds
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Geography, Maps, and the ‘Other’ in History
  • 3. Global Inequalities and Local Borderlands: Conceptual Foundations
• Part II Regional Case Studies
  • 4. The Americas: Interdependent US-Mexico Borderlands
  • 5. From Borderlessness to the Partition Scars and Border Fences: Post-Colonial South Asia
  • 6. European Integration (Under Threat): Mobility in a Superstructure
  • 7. Maritime and River Borders
• Part III Public Policy Issues
  • 8. Securities: Environment, Safety, and Survival
  • 9. Citizenship, Migration, and the Movement of People across Borders
  • 10. Freer and Fairer Trade in Borderlands
• Part IV Bridging the Borderlands
  • 11. Borderlands in Films
  • 12. Toward Solutions: NGOs and Policy Change, Global to Regional
  • 13. Conclusions and Reflections on Border Politics in a Global Era