The Political Economy of Border Politics in Europe and the United States

Fueled by public concerns about immigration, border control has emerged as a test of the ability of the state to enforce the law and maintain control over challenges to the identity of the nation itself.  On the other hand, fueled by concerns about expanding international trade, border control has emerged as a test of the ability of the state to promote and facilitate the movement of goods and services across international frontiers. Although rising concerns about the border and border policies seem to be converging, I argue that similar policy outcomes have a different political priority in Europe and the United States, and are being driven by different kinds concerns and different political processes.

Thus, much of the discussion of the public policy reflects this ongoing tension between the need for more open borders for trade and the movement of goods and services; and the need for stronger, even militarized border controls for people.  If more open borders imply a retreat of the state, stronger and more militarized borders imply a stronger and even a more arbitrary state.

In this paper I explore this tension between open and closed borders on both sides of the Atlantic.  I argue that each in each case policy is driven by a different process of interest group politics, often filterd through a different pattern of territorial (federal) politics.