Borders and the State

Catalog description

Borders have a prominent place in politics and human history. In the twentieth century, the best- known barriers were the militarized Maginot Line and the Iron Curtain. Today, the political popularity of borders persists but the nature and quality of these borders and the threats they were created to repel have changed. Modern borders are designed not to keep militaries out, but to deter a perceived invasion of “undesirables”—with terrorists and unwanted immigrants leading the list of state concerns. Nowhere is this more evident than along the geographic fault lines dividing rich and poor regions, e.g. the Mediterranean Sea and the U.S.-Mexican border region. This course will examine the dynamic interactions between the question of how to govern borders and the twenty-first century liberal state with its diluted sovereignty— due to immigration, trade and international laws and regimes.