Why borders?

What are borders? Many would take the term border and simply think of a physical divide between one nation and another. Perhaps however, borders are more than this, they are an imagined construct aiding many social, economic and political relations both internally and externally. Questions arise when looking at it in this way, such as who decides where the border lies, what are the reasons for these borders, and why borders are needed in the first place. Why can’t the world just be a constant flow of interconnectedness? Although these questions are impossible to answer due to their essential place in structuring our society, there are some observations that can be made in relation the process of bordering. 

Historically borders did not really exist, especially in terms of nation states. With the development of national borders now an unquestionable norm, could we say that they are in reaction to globalisation, a protectionist measure, closing off a culture that is being threatened by global integration. 

Is it perhaps ironic and contradictory that the US is ‘closing off their borders’. The whole expansion of the United States was based on the frontier thesis, where ‘free land’ was promoted and discovered, whilst ironically, in turn degrading and delegitimizing those natives who actually held this land. In this case, was the frontier and border a social construct used to rationalise the overseas expansion through literal colonies and indirect imperial influence? In any case, with the aggressive new policy against the US Mexico borderlands, is the US administration forgetting that borders actually aided their economic growth rather than limiting it? 

Are borders in the US actually being used as a tool of inducing fear in the society, enabling those in power to maintain and exploit it? By declaring that a country needs a border to protect itself, this in turn ‘others’ those on the other side creating a tension and need to be protected, that the elite take advantage of fulfilling. 

With these few ideas in mind, should we begin to see the idea of a border more of a social construct and imagined community rather than a purely physical divide. Are these underlying mechanisms that border facilitate, shaping and subverting the way of society? Should we fight against these processes or view them as a necessity in our current society?