Border Games: Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide (Cornell Studies in Political Economy) [Paperback]

Peter Andreas (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cornell Studies in Political Economy | Publication Date: May 2009

The U.S.-Mexico border is the busiest in the world, the longest and most dramatic meeting point of a rich and poor country, and the site of intense confrontation between law enforcement and law evasion. Border control has changed in recent years from a low-maintenance and politically marginal activity to an intensive campaign focusing on drugs and migrant labor. Yet the unprecedented buildup of border policing has taken place in an era otherwise defined by the opening of the border, most notably through NAFTA. This contrast creates a borderless economy with a barricaded border.

Peter Andreas argues that the sharp escalation in law enforcement provides a political mechanism for coping with the unintended consequences of past policy choices. Law enforcement is enthusiastically embraced as a remedy for the very problems state practices have helped to create. The high-profile display of force, Andreas emphasizes, has ultimately been less about deterring illegal crossings and more about re-crafting the image of the border and symbolically reaffirming the state's territorial authority.

Extending the analysis to the borders of the European Union, Andreas identifies different forms of law enforcement escalation that reflect distinct historical legacies and regional contexts. Andreas challenges the notion that borders are irrelevant in an age of globalization and stresses that, rather than eroding, some critical borders are being reinforced and remade.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In recent years, the United States and Mexico significantly liberalized trade regulations via the NAFTA treaty while also increasing the policing of the border area to stop the smuggling of people, drugs, and illegal goods. Andreas (Drug War Politics: The Price of Denial) argues that this contradiction serves less to prevent smuggling than to provide a stage for both America and Mexico to reaffirm national identities by demonstrating the ability to protect borders. Individuals in both countries use smuggling and illegal immigration for political gain, while neither nation does much to diminish the demand for drugs or the low-cost labor of illegal aliens. The author provides an excellent overview of the topic of smuggling and makes interesting comparisons between U.S.-Mexico border control and policing in Eastern and Southern Europe. This well-written work adds to the social and cultural focus provided in David Spener and Kathleen Staudt's The U.S.-Mexico Border: Transcending Divisions, Contesting Identities (Lynne Rienne Pub.,1998). Recommended for larger public and academic libraries.DStephen L. Hupp, Urbana Univ., OH
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

At a time when economic globalization is seen opening borders throughout the world, the boundary enforcement has intensified along the longest border between a rich and poor country, the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Andreas, a political science professor, maintains that the U.S.-Mexico border is no more threatened now than in the past but that more attention has been focused on border enforcement because of changes in economic and social forces in the U.S. Fear of job loss to immigrants and increased demand on social services for illegal immigrants, from health care to education, as well as concerns about illegal drug trafficking are behind the rising border tensions. But the changing U.S. political climate, with more emphasis on law and order, is a major factor. Andreas offers a broad overview of smuggling immigrants and drugs into the U.S. from Mexico and intensified enforcement efforts. He also examines how border enforcement impacts trade relations with Mexico. On a broader scale, Andreas looks at international trends in smuggling and border enforcement in Europe. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr; 2 edition (May 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801475406
• ISBN-13: 978-0801475405
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but outdated - don't be fooled by the second edition, December 9, 2010

By 

joey - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Border Games: Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide (Cornell Studies in Political Economy) (Paperback)

This is a very good book in many regards, BUT there has been no effort to update any of the material other than a so so chapter added to the end. The book is full of statements like, "It is expected that in 2001 there will be..." If you want a good analytical discussion of the border in the 1990's this is your book. If you are looking for something current, try something else.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good book, May 2, 2010

By 

Planeador "planeador" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Border Games: Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide (Cornell Studies in Political Economy) (Paperback)

The book was written a few years ago, but its arguments remain current. A last chapter was written in this new edition to incorporate the post 9-11 world. If you are interested in learning factual and not political arguments about the reality of our borders, grab this book and study it.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great read, October 5, 2009

By 

Angelika N. Dimopoulos "Jel reads" (San Diego, California USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Border Games: Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide (Cornell Studies in Political Economy) (Paperback)

This book really gives a different view to the policing on the Mexican Border and how the United States has evoked many of the events that lead to the consequences we are now dealing with. The author has many resources and is very credited.