Description
Book SynopsisIn this third edition of Border Games, Peter Andreas charts the rise and transformation in policing the flow of drugs and migrants across the US-Mexico border. Recent border crackdowns and wall-building campaigns, he argues, are not unprecedented. Rather, they are the outcome of an escalatory dynamic already in motionbut now played out on a far bigger stage, with higher stakes, and in new security and political contexts.
Focusing on the power of symbolic politics and policy feedback effects, Andreas traces the logic behind such buildup. Border policing is an attractive political mechanism for handling the often unintended consequences of past policy choices, signaling a commitment to territorial integrity and projecting an image of territorial authority. Yet its negative aftermath is not only frequently glossed over; it also fuels further escalation. With new chapters on the border policies of the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations, Border
Trade Review
An engaging and readable book. This slim volume is recommended for all levels.
* Choice *
Andreas's insightful and rigorous study is an important contribution to the literature on globalization and transnational illicit trade.
* American Political Science Review *
This outstanding book is a much-needed addition to the literature on the policing of international boundaries. Because it is so well written and concise, it fits beautifully into political geography curricula at the undergraduate as well as at the graduate level.
* The Professional Geographer *
