The Politics of Borders
Sovereignty, Security, and the Citizen after 9/11

Borders are changing in response to terrorism and immigration. This book shows why this matters, especially for sovereignty, individual liberty, and citizenship.

Matthew Longo (Author)

9781107171787, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 December 2017

264 pages, 3 b/w illus.
23.5 x 15.6 x 1.9 cm, 0.49 kg

'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. … 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 US and Canada as well as between the US and Mexico, and proposing that neighbouring 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.' Publishers Weekly

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.

Introduction
1. Borders: thick and thin
Part I. The Perimeter: 2. The wall and its shadow: security in the borderlands
3. Co-bordering: one border, two sovereigns?
4. A global question: co-bordering, cosmopolitanism, and the spectre of empire
Part II. The Ports of Entry: 5. The tiniest constable: big data, security, and the politics of identification
6. Sovereignty, security, and the politics of trust
7. Into the digital dark: data, the global firewall, and the future of security.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], Regional government policies [JPRB], Political science & theory [JPA]