Varieties of Border Policies

Abstract

In the previous chapters we explored how states’ concern to sort wanted from unwanted travelers is reflected in their visa policies, their international cooperation, and in their strategies to extend control far beyond their physical borders. We found hitherto unprecedented levels of internationalization, the spatial flexibilization of borders, the facilitation of mobility through visa waiver policies, and the restrictive handling of visa issuance resulting in increased selectivity. Our analysis remained, however, at the level of identifying general trends in the context of globalization. Even though we analyzed these trends with a focus on our case study countries the United States, Austria and Finland, we have not yet explored in depth the specific gestalt and organization of their national borders. We will do so here. In so doing, we concentrate on policies at the level of border management and explore whether and how their specific form has been shaped by their relations with their respective neighbors. We would expect that the shape of concrete borders varies along a continuum of “closed” and heavily enforced to “open” borders with low or no control. This variation depends on the relationship of a state with its respective neighboring countries. Here, two aspects of borders’ structuration take center stage: on the one hand, the more general question as to the level of “openness versus closure” and on the other hand, border management, that is, the actual organization of the border.