Border Security and Terrorism

Knowing How Borders WorkWhen conversation turns to borders at a policy conference or cocktail party, participants usually consider the subject only in relation to a more specific issue.  “What we really need is comprehensive reform and a guest worker program,” declares one interlocutor, implying the border discussion revolves only around immigration issues.  “We should just legalize marijuana and tax the profits,” says another, suggesting the fight against narcotics-fueled crime should drive border policy.  These topics fill reams of papers and monographs, and as important social and geopolitical problems they certainly merit debate. But a singular focus on these challenges obscures a useful understanding of how borders in the 21st century operate every day.  Knowing how borders work helps policymakers understand how governments manage international supply chains, maintain the global commons, and secure efficient flows of people and goods across time and…