
Border Games
The Politics of Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide
Peter Andreas(Author)
Cornell University Press
3rd Edition
Published on 15. October 2022
Book
Hardback
210 pages
978-1-5017-6577-3 (ISBN)
Description
In this third edition of Border Games, Peter Andreas charts the rise and transformation in policing the flow of drugs and migrants across the US-Mexico border. Recent border crackdowns and wall-building campaigns, he argues, are not unprecedented. Rather, they are the outcome of an escalatory dynamic already in motion-but now played out on a far bigger stage, with higher stakes, and in new security and political contexts.
Focusing on the power of symbolic politics and policy feedback effects, Andreas traces the logic behind such buildup. Border policing is an attractive political mechanism for handling the often unintended consequences of past policy choices, signaling a commitment to territorial integrity and projecting an image of territorial authority. Yet its negative aftermath is not only frequently glossed over; it also fuels further escalation. With new chapters on the border policies of the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations, Border Games continues to help readers grasp how the busiest border in the world is also one of the most fortified, and why it plays such a complicated and contentious role in both domestic politics and US-Mexico relations.
Focusing on the power of symbolic politics and policy feedback effects, Andreas traces the logic behind such buildup. Border policing is an attractive political mechanism for handling the often unintended consequences of past policy choices, signaling a commitment to territorial integrity and projecting an image of territorial authority. Yet its negative aftermath is not only frequently glossed over; it also fuels further escalation. With new chapters on the border policies of the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations, Border Games continues to help readers grasp how the busiest border in the world is also one of the most fortified, and why it plays such a complicated and contentious role in both domestic politics and US-Mexico relations.
Reviews / Votes
An engaging and readable book. This slim volume is recommended for all levels.(Choice) Andreas's insightful and rigorous study is an important contribution to the literature on globalization and transnational illicit trade.
(American Political Science Review) This outstanding book is a much-needed addition to the literature on the policing of international boundaries. Because it is so well written and concise, it fits beautifully into political geography curricula at the undergraduate as well as at the graduate level.
(The Professional Geographer)
More details
Edition
third edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Ithaca
United States
Edition type
New edition
Product notice
Paper over boards
Illustrations
1 map - 1 Maps
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
907 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5017-6577-3 (9781501765773)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2022
3rd Edition
Cornell University Press
€21.49
Available for download
Previous edition

Book
05/2009
2nd Edition
Cornell University Press
€77.99
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Peter Andreas is John Hay Professor of International Studies and Political Science at Brown University.