About the Book
Borders represent an intriguing paradox as globalization continues to leap barriers at a vigorous pace, merging economies and cultures through world trade, economic integration, the mass media, the Internet, and increasingly mobile populations. At the same time, the political boundaries separating peoples remain pervasive and problematic. Borders and Border Politics in a Globalizing World offers a carefully selected group of readings to enhance student understanding of the complexities of border regions. The reader brings together key writings on the histories of borders, their social development, their politics, and the daily life that characterizes them. The authors place their analyses of these issues in an international context, stressing how borders influence, and how they are influenced by, global processes. The selections provide a window on our current understanding of human interactions at and along national and interethnic boundaries, interactions that will characterize borders and border politics for decades to come. Drawing on a worldwide set of case studies, this text divides border issues into seven thematic categories: borders as barriers; borders, migrants, and refugees; borders and partitioned groups; borders, perceptions and culture; borders and the environment; borders, goods, and services; and maritime and space borders. An excellent text for courses on boundaries, ethnicity, and international relations, this collection of cutting-edge information and analysis on borders and border politics in the context of ongoing globalization will shed light both upon international and subnational boundaries and upon the unfolding processes of globalization.
Table of Contents:
Part 1 Borders as Barriers
Chapter 2 Hadrian's Wall
Chapter 3 The Great Wall of China
Chapter 4 The Berlin Wall
Part 5 Borders, Migrants, and Refugees
Chapter 6 Sahuayo, Mexico, and Its U.S. Colonies
Chapter 7 Migration from Lesotho, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe to South Africa
Part 8 Borders and Partitioned Groups
Chapter 9 West African Boundary Making
Chapter 10 The Jívaro People between Peru and Ecuador
Chapter 11 Boundaries as Social Practice and Discourse: The Finnish-Russian Border
Part 12 Borders, Perceptions, and Culture
Chapter 13 The Attitudes of Youth toward the Other Side: The Finnish-Swedish and Finnish-Russian Borders
Chapter 14 Meaning and Significance of the Canadian-American Border
Chapter 15 Northern Ireland
Chapter 16 The Fault Line between Israelis and Palestinians
Part 17 Borders and the Environment
Chapter 18 Environment, Development, and Security in Border Regions: Perspectives from Europe and North America
Chapter 19 Disaster on the Danube
Chapter 20 Border Regions and Transborder Conservation in Central America
Part 21 Borders, Goods, and Services
Chapter 22 The U.S.-Mexican Border as Locator of Innovation and Vice
Chapter 23 Cross-Border Shopping: Canada and the United States
Part 24 Maritime and Space Borders
Chapter 25 Maritime Agreements and Oil Exploration in the Gulf of Thailand
Chapter 26 New Borders: The Sea and Outer Space
About the Author :
Paul Ganster is professor of history and director of the Institute for Regional Studies at San Diego State University. David E. Lorey was director of the U.S.–Latin American Relations Program at the Hewlett Foundation from 1997 to 2003.
Review :
Edited by two distinguished scholars with first-hand knowledge of countless border regions around the planet, this text fills a classroom need in border studies. Well-chosen and interesting selections give readers sharp glimpses of borderlands across distant geographical spaces and from ancient times to the present. Obviously the editors took great care in assembling their material, highlighting timely subjects and issues, providing superb introductions to each article, and gracing the text with excellent, original photographs taken by Paul Ganster himself.
International borders today are contested by forces for openness under globalization and domestic pressures that seek closure. In this context, this edited volume engages seven important issues facing contemporary border regions: borders as barriers; culture; migrants and refugees; partitioned groups; goods and services; the environment; and maritime space borders. Four attributes make this book notable. First, it is comprehensive, both in the composition of international scholars and the case studies they investigate. Second, it is multidisciplinary, combining perspectives from history, sociology, political science, environmental studies, and other fields. Third, it incorporates features such as a glossary, maps, and chapter introductions that will make it useful in classroom settings. Finally, the chapters are generally well done, written by some of the finest scholars in and outside what can be termed "border studies"; they include Anssi Paasi, Thomas Friedman, Michael Ignatieff, and Malcolm Anderson. This will be a useful compilation in the field. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers.
In the introduction, the editors make clear that the volume is for both university students and the general public as a starting point for considering a variety of issues about borders. The work is well suited for this purpose…. Without exception, the essays are cogent and well - written.
Without exception the essays are cogent and well written.
This volume engages seven important issues facing contemporary border regions: borders as barriers; culture; migrants and refugees; partitioned groups; goods and services; the environment; and maritime and space borders. Four attributes make this book notable. It is comprehensive... it is multidisciplinary... it incorporates features that will make it useful in classroom settings, [and] the chapters are written by some of the finest scholars in and outside of what can be termed "border studies." Recommended.
