Border Games
Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide
Cornell University Press
Published on 20. July 2000
Book
Hardback
158 pages
978-0-8014-3796-0 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Description
The border between the US and Mexico is the busiest in the world, the longest and most dramatic meeting point between a rich and poor country, and the site of intense confrontation between law enforcement and law evasion. Border control has evolved from a low-maintenance and politically marginal activity to a high-intensity campaign with a focus on drugs and migrant labour. The unprecedented build-up of border policing has taken place in an era otherwise defined by the opening up of the border, most notably through NAFTA. This contrast creates a borderless economy with a barricaded border. Peter Andreas argues that the sharp escalation in law enforcement provides a political mechanism for coping with the unintended consequences of past policy choices. Law enforcement is enthusiastically embraced as a remedy for the very problems state practices have helped to create. The high-profile display of force, Andreas emphasizes, has ultimately been less about deterring illegal crossings and more about recrafting the image of the border and symbolically reaffirming the States' territorial authority.
Extending his analysis to the borders of the European Union, Andreas identifies the different forms of law enforcement escalation that reflect distinct historical legacies and regional contexts. Andreas challenges the notion that borders are irrelevant in an age of globalization and stresses that, rather than eroding, some critical borders are being reinforced and remade.
Extending his analysis to the borders of the European Union, Andreas identifies the different forms of law enforcement escalation that reflect distinct historical legacies and regional contexts. Andreas challenges the notion that borders are irrelevant in an age of globalization and stresses that, rather than eroding, some critical borders are being reinforced and remade.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Ithaca
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
map, 2 b&w photographs
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 155 mm
Weight
399 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8014-3796-0 (9780801437960)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions

Book
05/2009
2nd Edition
Cornell University Press
€123.73
Article exhausted; check for reprint