The Politics of Borders
Sovereignty, Security, and the Citizen after 9/11
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- $31.99
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- $31.99
Publisher Description
Borders sit at the center of global politics. Yet they are too often understood as thin lines, as they appear on maps, rather than as political institutions in their own right. This book takes a detailed look at the evolution of border security in the United States after 9/11. Far from the walls and fences that dominate the news, it reveals borders to be thick, multi-faceted and binational institutions that have evolved greatly in recent decades. The book contributes to debates within political science on sovereignty, citizenship, cosmopolitanism, human rights and global justice. In particular, the new politics of borders reveal a sovereignty that is not waning, but changing, expanding beyond the state carapace and engaging certain logics of empire.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Longo, an assistant political science professor at Leiden University, delivers a comprehensive study of the politics surrounding borders and border patrols, focusing on the technological advancement of and conceptual changes to security measures since 9/11. Writing about how data-sharing and biometric methods are used to surveil citizens at border crossings, he asserts that "data has finally collapsed the boundary between state and subject to the point where the subject is internally invaded." The book's in-depth analysis involves a blend of political theory including analyses of the work of Michel Foucault and Hannah Arendt and interviews with border security workers across the U.S. The book also examines modern border patrol strategies around the globe, including in South Africa and the European Union. Longo's tone is urgent throughout, as when he writes, "This is not simply a question of citizenship and sovereignty, but at core, the future of human rights protection in a data-centric world." Longo outlines possible solutions as well as current problems, stressing the growing necessity of "cross-border cooperation" between the U.S. and Canada as well as between the U.S. and Mexico, and proposing that neighboring countries create "collaborative zones" to accommodate migrants and refugees seeking safety. Longo's debut, complex and impressive in its scope, signals the emergence of an important political theorist.
