Cornell University Press has just published *Border Games: Policing
the U.S.-Mexican Line* by Peter Andreas.
The border between the United States and Mexico is the busiest in the
world, the longest and most dramatic meeting point between law
enforcement and law evasion. Border control has changed in recent
years from a low-maintenance and politically marginal activity to a
high-intensity campaign with a focus on drugs and migrant labor. The
unprecedented buildup of border policing has taken place in an era
otherwise defined by the opening of the border, most notable through
NAFTA. This contrast creates a borderless economy with a barricaded
border.
In recent news, Mexico's President Elect, Vincente Fox, has outlined
his vision to open the U.S.-Mexico border. Peter Andreas addresses
the question of what in the past decade explains the sharp increase
of border policing? Andreas, recently interviewed on the "NewsHour
with Jim Leher"
(http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/latin_america/july-dec00/mexico_8-25.html),
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 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.
Please take a look at the book description on our web site at
http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornellpress/cup3_catalog.taf?_function=detail&Title_ID=3422
Best wishes,
Aubrey
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Aubrey L. Hicks
Promotions & Sales Assistant, Cornell University Press
512 East State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
voice: 607-277-2338, ext. 256
fax:607-277-2397
Please visit our Web site at http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu
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