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As already argued, the dynamics that have driven interaction in the economic/ energy dimension have stood in stark contrast to those in the political/ strategic one. Interdependence in this particular realm needs to be assessed against the backdrop of relative strength of constraints and costs involved in interaction, which have been framed by threat perceptions and rivalry. In this way, both actors’ calculations of gain and loss relative to aspects of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and vital security and economic interests, among other things, have informed their mutually referred and competitive strategies. Largely asymmetric levels of dependence characterize the relationship in the political/strategic sector, mainly as a result of a highly unbalanced distribution of capabilities between the two states. Material conditions are important, yet socially constructed perceptions may have a crucial role in the way and extent to which actors ascribe certain understandings to mutual dependence on the basis of those same material conditions. Such understandings may conceivably reveal antagonism when asymmetrical distribution of power framing mutual dependence is perceived as a threat. For instance, threat perceptions have been constructed in relation to the political and military ambitions of the Chávez regime, which in turn have paved the way for the construction of meanings that clearly classify these same ambitions as a major threat to US interests in Latin America. Specific understandings about what has been labeled Chávez’s ‘radical populism’ have been central to this process. In his 2004 testimony before Congress, General James Hill (2004) of the US Southern Command warned of Chávez’s ‘radical populism’, considering this a new kind of threat to US interests in the region. He emphasized that this socio-political phenomenon might have dangerous consequences because, by tapping into collective frustration, leaders like Chávez were able to reinforce their ‘radical positions by inflaming anti-U.S. sentiment’. Over time, Chávez’s projection of influence would become one of the most pressing concerns among US policymakers dealing with the region. The US approach towards this perceived ‘menace’ would evolve in accordance with Chávez’s increasingly radical foreign policy. The evolution of the Bush administration’s approach highlights the way in which understandings were constructed around Chávez’s actions within the wider context of chain reactions related to other perceived threats. In turn, the linkage of perceptions pointing to the various dimensions of the ‘Chávez menace’, the internalization of these perceptions, and the policies implemented in response paved the way for the gradual securitization of US policy toward Venezuela. Therefore, the respective processes of constructing threat perceptions have been a core aspect of the social process driving interaction in the political/ strategic sector. The policies both actors have implemented as a response to the perceived threat coming from the ‘Other’ are to be understood as manifestations of such processes. To the extent that they have involved a disruption of long-established practices in the context of the two countries’ relationship, those responses were exceptional in character. Chávez’s new national defense doctrine (see Garrido, 2005; Jácome, 2006; Presidencia de la República, 2004) epitomizes the scope of recent changes, as it reveals the extent to which Venezuelan authorities have internalized threat perceptions around a potential US invasion. Equally, the new doctrine reflects a particular understanding of the nature of the would-be conflict; it draws heavily on the concept of asymmetric warfare and encompasses several unconventional aspects (see Manwaring, 2005). For instance, Chávez has endeavored to create what would become the largest reserve in the hemisphere, which, along with the armed forces, would be charged with defending the country against the more powerful US enemy. Crucially, a significant proportion of this reserve would consist of civilians. To this aim, the Chávez administration has established the Milicia Nacional Bolivariana (Bolivarian National Militia), which consists of the Reserva Militar (Military Reserve) and the Milicia Territorial (Territorial Militia). These are to contribute to the protection of the country in a scenario clearly identified with a guerrilla warfare-like strategy conducted by civilians rather than a professional army.

Bonfili, 2010 [Christian Bonifili, Department of Political Science & International Studies, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires, Argentina & Centre of International Studies, University of Cambridge, “The United States and Venezuela: The Social Construction of Interdependent Rivalry” Security Dialogue 2010 41: 669 DOI: 10.1177/0967010610388209]

the dynamics that have driven interaction in the economic dimension have stood in stark contrast to those in the political/ strategic one. Interdependence in this particular realm needs to be assessed against the backdrop of relative strength of constraints and costs involved framed by threat perceptions and rivalry. both actors’ calculations of gain and loss relative to aspects of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and economic interests have informed their mutually referred and competitive strategies. Material conditions are important, yet socially constructed perceptions may have a crucial role in the way and extent to which actors ascribe certain understandings to mutual dependence Such understandings may conceivably reveal antagonism threat perceptions have been constructed in relation to the political and military ambitions which in turn have paved the way for the construction of meanings that clearly classify these same ambitions as a major threat Over time, Chávez’s projection of influence would become one of the most pressing concerns among US policymakers dealing with the region. The US approach towards this perceived ‘menace’ would evolve in accordance with Chávez’s increasingly radical foreign policy. the linkage of perceptions pointing to the various dimensions of the ‘Chávez menace’, the internalization of these perceptions, and the policies implemented in response paved the way for the gradual securitization of US policy toward Venezuela. the respective processes of constructing threat perceptions have been a core aspect of the social process driving interaction in the political/ strategic sector. they have involved a disruption of long-established practices in the context of the two countries’ relationship, the new doctrine reflects a particular understanding of the nature of the would-be conflict

The permutation cannot solve; economic interactions are entirely insulated from politicization and the material effects of the plan – questions of territory and societal perceptions permeate economic calculations in the context of Venezuela.

Borders Kritik - UTNIF 2013.html5

Texas (UTNIF)

Kritiks

2013

For many commentators, the solution to the multiple challenges of our age is disarmingly simple: get rid of boundaries entirely, whether as physical borders or limits of principle. We are all supposed to be human after all; or at least we are all more or less modern; or participants in the great capitalist world economy; or just part of a complex but ultimately singular ecology. Boundaries, they say, are an anachronism. Their tidy delineations of earthly space pale into insignificance when viewed from beyond the horizons of our planetary atmosphere. Don’t live in the past. Don’t be parochial. Don’t be chauvinistic. Be realistic. We must learn to live without them. For others, this solution is so hopelessly naive, even dangerous, as to warrant an equally simple claim that the boundaries of the modern state are here to stay. Be realistic, they also say. Boundaries are absolutely necessary for sustaining our statist achievements, even though these achievements may demand hard compromises between the necessities of security and the possibilities of liberty, or between peace at home and war abroad. In this view, the divisions and exclusions of the modern statist imagination still offer sufficient ground, literally, for thinking about our collective futures. We know what we must do because we know where we can do it, and where we can articulate responsibilities and mechanisms for doing so. The interplay of these two familiar narratives has generated many comforting clichés about the sovereign state and doctrines of political realism, on the one hand, and about globalization and the need for more normative forms of theorization, on the other. Both narratives express obvious and often stunning oversimplifications, especially in relation to what it might mean to make claims to a political reality, to a theory of history or to a sovereign authority. They are nevertheless constantly reiterated in popular rhetoric, public policy, and the scholarly literature that is the more explicit focus of my attention here. They express familiar accounts of what it means to engage with necessities and possibilities in modern political life, of what counts as realistic, aspirational or simply naive: of how we should understand our limits as political beings in space and in time, and of how we might imagine ourselves as some other kind of political being in some other space and some other time. They frame the broad possibilities articulated in debates about the legitimacy of violence in responses to violence, about claims to rights that apply to every human being, about military interventions challenging principles of self-determination, about obligations that come with citizenship, about novel forms and technologies of governance and governmentality, about the role and limits of law. Sometimes these clichés appear to be overruled by more complex and sophisticated narratives. Claims that we are caught up in processes that are both globalizing and localizing might be mooted in this respect. So, too, might claims that while boundaries may be dissipating in processes we classify as economic (like trade and financial flows), they are becoming increasingly elaborate in processes we classify as social (like the movements of certain kinds of people). Attempts to show how it is possible to “diaggregate” or “unbundle” various functions and sites of state sovereignty as an institution so as to examine contradictory tendencies among different functions and sites suggest a similar tendency. Indeed, it is difficult to see how it is possible to make any sense of political life anywhere without starting from some such observation about the contradictory dynamics observable across many boundaries. Yet such narratives only serve to highlight some of what is at stake in resisting claims about the eternal presence or impending absence of boundaries. To start to disaggregate or unbundle practices of state sovereignty is to pose questions about how far such disaggregation might be taken, or what happens in the process to distinctions between internal and external, or between power and authority. To point to contradictory trends between “the economic” and “the social” is to pose questions about complex practices through which the sovereign state has long mediated between of capital and social orders, as well as about the work that has to be done to affirm any clear-cut distinction between an economic and a social or between power and authority. To postulate contradictory dynamics of both globalization and localization, or universalization and pluralization, is to engage questions about how the boundaries of modern political life work precisely to affirm a specific (territorial) spatiotemporal articulation of the relation between global and local, or universal and particular. Such questions are undoubtedly important; indeed, they speak to much of what is at stake in claims about the need to reimagine where and what political life might be. They are nevertheless easily swamped, or kept within the boundaries of established accounts of where and what politics must be in a world of sovereign states, by clichéd narratives that affirm ever-present or imminently absent boundaries. These clichés have been especially familiar in literatures canvassing the prospects for a grand historical shift from forms of political life predicated on the existence of modern sovereign states in a system of such states to forms that are somehow more integrated, or global, or cosmopolitan: a shift from forms of international politics shaped by a system of sovereign states to a somehow more authentically world politics, 8 or the inevitable absence of such a shift in a system of sovereign states destined to remain eternally the same. 9 In fact, clichés about the presence and absence of boundaries enable what has probably become the most pervasive array of contemporary narratives about future political possibilities: those envisaging a transition from a world of fragmentation and conflict to a world of greater integration and harmony. These narratives remain influential, across all ideological and scholarly horizons, even though the world of modern politics is organized through complex relationships between principles of fragmentation and integration, between principles of unity within diversity and diversity within unity. Despite the enormous weight of literatures that seek to persuade us that our political futures depend on our capacity to abandon a world of particularities and pluralities in favour of a world of commonalities and universalities, just about the only prediction about our political futures that can be made with any degree of confidence is that such a journey is not an option. This is not because, as the other conventional story goes, we will always live in a world of sovereign states coexisting in a system of sovereign states. It is because it is so absurd to start thinking about future political possibilities as if modern political life has ever been understandable in relation to the presence or absence of a sovereign state abstracted either from the system of sovereign states or from the specific conditions under which both the sovereign state and the system of sovereign states have been enabled to establish their place in the world. This place has long been profoundly problematic, in many respects. It has been problematic not least because this place works as, among other things, a claim to be able to know what it means to be able to speak about a world in which modern political subjects can take their place as subjects, as citizens and as members of a common humanity expressed within modern subjectivities, within modern sovereign states and within the modern system of sovereign states. To express ambitions for internalization, for subjectivity, for what modern political life has envisaged variously as freedom, liberty, autonomy and self-determination, is to assume a correlative ambition for externalization and the necessity for exclusion of the world, or worlds, left outside, or left behind.

Walker 9 [RBJ, Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Victoria, Canada, After the Globe, Before the World, p 35-37]

For many commentators, the solution to the multiple challenges of our age is disarmingly simple: get rid of boundaries entirely , this solution is so hopelessly naive, even dangerous, as to warrant an equally simple claim that the boundaries of the modern state are here to stay Be realistic, they also say. Boundaries are absolutely necessary for sustaining our statist achievements, even though these achievements may demand hard compromises between the necessities of security and the possibilities of liberty, or between peace at home and war abroad. The interplay of these two familiar narratives has generated many comforting clichés about the sovereign state and doctrines of political realism on the one hand, and about globalization and the need for more normative forms of theorization, on the other Both narratives express obvious and often stunning oversimplifications, especially in relation to what it might mean to make claims to a political reality, or to a sovereign authority They are nevertheless constantly reiterated in popular rhetoric, public policy, and the scholarly literature we are both globalizing and localizing boundaries may be dissipating in processes we classify as economic (like trade and financial flows), they are becoming increasingly elaborate in processes we classify as social (like the movements of certain kinds of people it is difficult to see how it is possible to make any sense of political life anywhere without starting from some such observation about the contradictory dynamics observable across many boundaries To start to disaggregate or unbundle practices of state sovereignty is to pose questions about how far such disaggregation might be taken, or what happens in the process to distinctions between internal and external, or between power and authority. To point to contradictory trends between “the economic” and “the social” is to pose questions about complex practices through which the sovereign state has long mediated between of capital and social orders, . Such questions are undoubtedly important; indeed, they speak to much of what is at stake in claims about the need to reimagine where and what political life might be. They are nevertheless easily swamped, or kept within the boundaries of established accounts of where and what politics must be in a world of sovereign states, by clichéd narratives that affirm ever-present or imminently absent boundaries Despite the enormous weight of literatures that seek to persuade us that our political futures depend on our capacity to abandon a world of particularities and pluralities in favour of a world of commonalities and universalities, just about the only prediction about our political futures that can be made with any degree of confidence is that such a journey is not an option It is because it is so absurd to start thinking about future political possibilities as if modern political life has ever been understandable in relation to the presence or absence of a sovereign state This place has long been profoundly problematic because this place works a claim to be able to know what it means to be able to speak about a world in which modern political subjects can take their place as subjects, as citizens and as members of a common humanity expressed within modern subjectivities, within modern sovereign states and within the modern system of sovereign states.

Questioning the border must be the starting point for political engagement

Borders Kritik - UTNIF 2013.html5

Texas (UTNIF)

Kritiks

2013

On this basis, Prozorov dismisses the forms of resistance advocated by Edkins and Pin-Fat as ‘quaintly paradoxical’.60 In their counter-response, however, Edkins and Pin-Fat argue that Prozorov's criticisms make sense only ‘when viewed from the framework of sovereign power’.61 It is precisely their intention to ‘dispense with the very principle of order’ as far as it is founded upon the sovereign ban and a division between forms of life.62 Furthermore, Edkins and Pin-Fat stipulate that they are not advocating the refusal of all dividing lines and installing limits as Prozorov claims: ‘we are specifically referring to the drawing of lines between what amounts to forms of life as “politically qualified” or as “bare life”’.63 With this proviso in mind, they argue that the form of praxis emanating from their reading of Agamben is one that ‘insists […] on the politics of decisioning and particular distinctions and demands that specifics of time, place and circumstance be attended to in each instance’.64 This exchange is interesting because it highlights an area of ambiguity in Agamben's work that is carried through to Edkins and Pin-Fat's discussion of the possibilities of a practical politics that follow on from it. On the one hand, at the heart of Edkins and Pin-Fat's argument is a normative commitment to the displacement of line drawing or practices of bordering associated with sovereign politics: ‘nothing less will do’.65 In this way the ethical and political codes they call for resonate with the spirit of Agamben's logic of the field as outlined in Chapter 4. On the other hand, Edkins and Pin-Fat make it clear in their response to Prozorov above, that it is not all but only certain distinctions they are refusing: only the ‘drawing of lines upon which sovereignty depends’.66 In this way there seems to be a depar - (p.145) ture from a logic of the field and a return to thinking in terms of borders, distinctions and separations. Therefore, the ambiguity lies in the issue of whether Agamben's call for a logic of the field implies the need for the abandonment of all forms of borders, distinctions and separations, or just some. If it is the former case then the ‘meta-distinction’ Edkins and Pin-Fat rely upon in their argument – between certain types of distinctions that are to be refused and other types of distinctions that are to be embraced – surely falls prey to the very logic they are ostensibly seeking to displace. If it is the latter then the question arises, how do we know which borders, distinctions and separations should be refused? We are then back to familiar questions located within the framework of sovereign politics: Who draws the line? Where? On what grounds? Furthermore, an additional problem arises when the relationship between a logic of the field and the concept of the generalised biopolitical border is considered against the backdrop of the inside/ outside problematic. Despite Agamben's commitment to a logic of the field, the generalised biopolitical border, understood as a form of dividing practice, does not escape or ‘go beyond’ the inside/outside dichotomy in any straightforward sense. If one of the purposes of the production of bare life is to define the politically qualified life of the polis, then the former acts as the constitutive outside of the latter. In other words, while the border between inside/outside is shown not to be fixed at the geographical outer edge of the sovereign state as the modern geopolitical imaginary implies, Agamben's diagnosis of the activity of sovereign power as the decision to produce some life as bare life (and thus other forms of life as non-bare life) is still reliant upon and reiterative of an inside/outside way of thinking. Effectively, the substitution of the concept of the generalised biopolitical border for the concept of the border of the state means that the dividing practice upon which sovereign power relies is recast: not something pre-given, static and localised at a territorial extremity but reinscribed Agamben's call for an adoption of a logic of the field in political analysis raises these thorny questions without putting forward any easy solutions. To abandon a mode of thought that is reliant upon borders, distinctions and separations is difficult – perhaps impossible – to envisage as Prozorov's comments reflect. In her essay ‘Whatever Politics’, Edkins suggests that the move to acknowledge the inevitable (p.146) chaos of a world without lines is not hopelessly utopian.67 Drawing on Jacques Derrida, she claims that, while borders attempt to produce clarity and offer stability, they are always already doomed to failure and break down on an everyday basis: ‘Attempts are continually made, in the here and now, in philosophy and in politics, to make distinctions, but these only ever partially or temporarily succeed.’68 Pursuing this line of enquiry, the following section investigates Derrida's treatment of borders further in order to elucidate what is at stake with the identification of these problems arising from Agamben's adoption of a logic of the field: first, by examining Derrida's problematisation of the concept of the border in a general sense; second, by outlining what I call his account of the politics of framing; and, third, by applying this account to the question of the relation between the concept of the border of the state and the concept of the generalised biopolitical border as rival border imaginaries in global politics.

Vaughn-Williams 9 ( Nick, IR MA @ university of Warwick IR PhD @ Aberystwyth, “Border Politics: The Limits of Sovereign Power” pg 144-46)

criticisms make sense only ‘when viewed from the framework of sovereign power’. It is precisely their intention to ‘dispense with the very principle of order’ as far as it is founded upon the sovereign ban and a division between forms of life. commitment to the displacement of line drawing or practices of bordering associated with sovereign politics: ‘nothing less will do’ In this way the ethical and political codes they call for resonate with the spirit of Agamben's logic of the field the move to acknowledge the inevitable chaos of a world without lines is not hopelessly utopian while borders attempt to produce clarity and offer stability, they are always already doomed to failure and break down on an everyday basis Attempts are continually made, in the here and now, in philosophy and in politics, to make distinctions, but these only ever partially or temporarily succeed

Their indicts and truth claims are sheltered in the framework of sovereign power- a radical break from the status quo is only seen as utopian due to their epistemic lock in.

Borders Kritik - UTNIF 2013.html5

Texas (UTNIF)

Kritiks

2013

The outlined discussion has important implications for Utopian thinking. So far, Utopian thinking coming from the West is in serious crisis. The West has produced an Utopian thinking that has not transcended the abstract universals that characterize Eurocentric thinking as part of global designs. The Left crisis in the present is partly due to the inability to imagine alternative worlds. The West is at a dead end when it comes to producing new alternatives. From socialist Utopias to the market Utopias of neoliberal thinking, the West keeps producing oppressive global designs. It is from the sub- altern side of the colonial difference that new perspectives are emerging. The Zapatistas's struggle in Chiapas, Mexico as well as stuggles in other parts of the periphery, are producing new border thinking resignifying the Western Utopias from the cosmologies of non-Western subaltern groups. For example, the slogan of un mundo donde muchos mundos co-existan ("a world where many worlds co- exist"), leads to an Utopian project of what Mignolo called, following Caribbean thinker Edouard Glissant, "diversality" as a response to the Occidentalist universality (2000). Diversality, which is not equiva- lent to pluralism, implies a critique to the global designs that attempt to impose a single, monologic Utopian solution to the world at large beyond time and space. Diversality is a universal (antiuniver-salistic) project open to the diverse responses and alternative cosmologies from the subaltern side of the colonial difference. Moreover, the Zapatista slogan oimandar obedeciendo (to rule by following), resigni- fies the notion of democracy from the cosmologies of indigenous people in Mexico. This is border thinking at its best, beyond nation- alism and colonialism, beyond Western and non- Western fundamen- talism One crucial implication of the notion of coloniality of power is that the first decolonization was incomplete. It was limited to the juridical-political independence from the European imperial states. This led to the formation of colonial independences. As a result, the world needs a second decolonization, different and more radical than the first one. A future decolonization should address heter- archies of entangled racial, ethnic, sexual, gender, and economic relations that the first decolonization left untouched. This second decolonization would necessarily imply the demise of the existing modern/colonial capitalist world-system. If Immanuel Wallerstein's assestment is correct, that is, that we are living a bifurcation, a moment of transformational TimeSpace, towards a new historical system that could be better or worse than the capitalist world-system depending on the imagining of new alternatives and the effectivity of the agencies involved, then: We need to listen to the subaltern speak from non-Eurocentric, non-metropolitan locations. The essays in this collection represent an effort to think on alternative worlds beyond Eurocentrism and to make a contribution to these debates.

Grosfoguel 2 (Ramón Grosfoguel, Associate Professor. Ethnic Studies Department , 2002, Colonial Difference, Geopolitics of Knowledge, and Global Coloniality in the Modern/ColonialCapitalist World-System, Review (Fernand Braudel Center), Vol. 25, No. 3, Utopian Thinking (2002), pp. 203-224, Accessed: 7/31/13)

Utopian thinking coming from the West is in serious crisis The West has produced an Utopian thinking that has not transcended the abstract universals that characterize Eurocentric thinking as part of global designs The West is at a dead end when it comes to producing new alternatives. the West keeps producing oppressive global designs. It is from the sub- altern side of the colonial difference that new perspectives are emerging. The Zapatistas's struggle in Chiapas are producing new border thinking resignifying the Western Utopias from the cosmologies of non-Western subaltern groups a world where many worlds co- exist leads to an Utopian project of what Mignolo called, diversality" as a response to the Occidentalist universalit monologic Utopian solution to the world at large beyond time and space. Diversality is a universal project open to the diverse responses and alternative cosmologies from the subaltern side of the colonial difference This is border thinking at its best, beyond nation- alism and colonialism, beyond Western and non- Western fundamen- talism One crucial implication of the notion of coloniality of power is that the first decolonization was incomplete. It was limited to the juridical-political independence from the European imperial state This led to the formation of colonial independences. As a result, the world needs a second decolonization, different and more radical than the first one. A future decolonization should address heter- archies of entangled racial, ethnic, sexual, gender, and economic relations that the first decolonization left untouched This second decolonization would necessarily imply the demise of the existing modern/colonial capitalist world-system towards a new historical system that could be better than the capitalist world-system depending on the imagining of new alternatives and the effectivity of the agencies involved, then: We need to listen to the subaltern speak from non-Eurocentric, non-metropolitan locations.

It’s Western Eurocentric thinking is Utopian

Borders Kritik - UTNIF 2013.html5

Texas (UTNIF)

Kritiks

2013

The question commonly asked is: how do you perform border thinking and¶ how do you enact the de-colonial shift? What is the method? Interestingly¶ enough, the question is most often asked by predominantly white and North¶ Atlantic scholars and intellectuals. It is impossible to imagine Dubois asking that¶ question because he prompted it with his own thinking, dwelling in what he¶ called double consciousness. The question is interesting because it acts like a¶ boomerang and returns to the person who asked the question. Why is he or she¶ asking that question? Where is he or she dwelling, in a single consciousness? Why¶ was it an African-American like Dubois and not a German like Habermas who¶ came up with a concept such as double consciousness? Furthermore, double¶ consciousness would not admit the thesis that promotes the ‘inclusion of the¶ other’ (Habermas, 1998). Double consciousness and the inclusion of the other¶ confront each other across the colonial difference. The question is not being¶ asked because modern epistemology (theologically and ego-logically based), separated¶ the geo- and corporal location of the thinker. The hubris of the zero point¶ – by eliminating perspectives – prevents the possibility of asking: how can I¶ inhabit at once both the zero point and that place which the zero point negates?¶ Asking that question, ‘feeling’ that modern epistemology is totalitarian (that¶ negates all other alternatives to the zero point), is the first step to border thinking.¶ And it is also a dwelling that is no longer the House of the Spirit – i.e. the¶ dwelling of modern European philosophy and science.

Mignolo & Tlostanova 2006 [Walter D. & Madina V., Duke University & People’s Friendship Univ, Moscow, “Theorizing from the Borders Shifting to Geo- and Body-Politics of Knowledge”, European Journal of Social Theory 9(2): 205–221]

how do you perform border thinking and how do you enact the de-colonial shift? What is the method? the question is most often asked by predominantly white and North Atlantic scholars and intellectuals. It is impossible to imagine Dubois asking that question because he prompted it with his own thinking The question acts like a boomerang and returns to the person who asked the question. Why is he or she asking that question? Where is he or she dwelling, in a single consciousness? The hubris of the zero point – by eliminating perspectives – prevents the possibility of asking: how can I inhabit at once both the zero point and that place which the zero point negates? is the first step to border thinking.

The demand for specificity is a western way of knowing used to derail decolonial movements

Borders Kritik - UTNIF 2013.html5

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Kritiks

2013

Am I diluting the political problems and practices that the theory itself was attempting to address? I do not think so. We cannot, in my opinion, think of the “border” as an object of study from a “territorial” epistemology, not infected by the border. A dilution would be to think that a different political effectiveness could be achieved by changing the content and not the terms of the conversation. Changing the content only would, of course, allow for certain victories, say, in Proposition 127 or other similar social conflicts. This is the level of reform, which of course shall remain open. But my argument moves, simultaneously, toward a complementary end: that of transformation, of changing the terms, and not only the content, of the conversation. The political and the ethical are at this point in need of a new epistemology, epistemologies that come from the borders and from the perspectives of subaltern coloniality. And one final note: the border epistemologies I amclaiming are not intended to “replace” the existing ones. It won’t happen like that even if we want it to. Existing macro-narratives are well entrenched. What I amclaiming is the space for an epistemology that comes from the border and aims toward political and ethical transformations.

Mignolo 1 [Walter, with L. Elena Delgado and Rolando J. Robero “Local Histories and Global Designs: An Interview with Walter Mignolo” Discourse, 22.3, Fall 2000, pp. 7–33]

We cannot, , think of the “border” as an object of study from a “territorial” epistemology, not infected by the border. A dilution would be to think that a different political effectiveness could be achieved by changing the content and not the terms of the conversation. Changing the content only would, allow for certain victories This is the level of reform, which of course shall remain open. But my argument moves toward a complementary end: that of transformation, of changing the terms, and not only the content, of the conversation. The political and the ethical are at this point in need of a new epistemology, epistemologies that come from the borders and from the perspectives of subaltern coloniality border epistemologies I amclaiming are not intended to “replace” the existing ones. It won’t happen like that even if we want it to. Existing macro-narratives are well entrenched. What I amclaiming is the space for an epistemology that comes from the border

Our epistemic focus is key to changing the parameters of political engagement not cede them

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Kritiks

2013

We can first observe that borders help fulfil epistemological conditions. Borders produce particular conditions for understanding ‘reality’. We who¶ are inside the border are also expected to possess greater knowledge of insiders than of outsiders, which in turn reduces uncertainties regarding our common knowledge on the inside. The border is frequently a bulwark sustaining commonly agreed measures of reality (such as national-currency measures for inflation or relative welfare). The border slices the world up into different pieces of reality that we cannot know equally well. That increases as well the plausibility of any assertion regarding the circumstances, gains or losses within our border. Hence, other things being equal, borders help promote the idea that there are fewer uncertainties in communications between insiders by comparison with communications with those on the outside. This leads to an assumption that we will be able to agree on the terms used to evaluate changes and preferences – even the order of priorities, which is a pre-condition of political decisions. Put in a nutshell, the border provides conditions for greater certainty and agreement for those within it. Thompson also makes explicit an ontological claim for the border/boundary which is implicit in post-structuralism’s prioritisation of dif- ferences as against commonalities: namely, that ‘...borders exist “before” entities ...’ – that is to say, borders are ontologically prior to specific enti- ties. Borders help constitute the way we conceive the world. This can be demonstrated, inter alia, on the basis of the epistemological claims above. For those epistemological consequences of boundaries provide key onto- logical pre-conditions for the continuity of the given social particular as an integrated entity; and hence also for its identity.14 The ‘fact’ of the border helps produce shared understandings of the identities of particulars, both internal and external to the particular itself. This includes understandings of internal variations and sub-categories (constituencies, classes ... ) between insiders/members of the given social particular. The self-identities of mem- bers and sub-categories are grounded in, and thus far validated, by seeing those particulars in relation to each other.15 Likewise, the boundary sustains any determination of the collectivity (the ‘nation’, or whatever it may be) whose interests may be the basis for decisions and actions on its behalf. This, as Rokkan noted,16 is especially significant in democratic collectivities, where a large self-aware demos is postulated as the ground for decisions that need to accord in some way with the preference of an indeterminable category, the ordinary mass of the people. The above ontological effects of borders yield yet further consequences. For borders provide pre-conditions for determinations of the situation of insiders relative to outsiders: claims regarding presumed and/or potential different conditions (be it better or worse) for insiders than for outsiders.17 The same could be said of any impression of greater/lesser (or poten- tially greater/lesser) welfare than outsiders. Only with these kinds of claims and impressions in place, can an additional, politically important category of knowledge have meaning: assertions about potential improvements or¶ deteriorations in conditions for the inside.18 If the existence of the subjects who experience comparative well-being were not given, we would not find meaning in headlines such as ‘Danish schools worst on PISA tests’.19 A fortiori threats which it may be necessary to protect against.

Parker and Addler-Nissen, Department of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, 2012 [Noel and Rebecca, “Picking and Choosing the ‘Sovereign’ Border: A Theory of Changing State Bordering Practices”, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2012.660582]

We can first observe that borders help fulfil epistemological conditions. Borders produce particular conditions for understanding ‘reality’. We who¶ are inside the border are also expected to possess greater knowledge of insiders than of outsiders, which in turn reduces uncertainties regarding our common knowledge on the inside. The border is frequently a bulwark sustaining commonly agreed measures of reality The border slices the world up into different pieces of reality that we cannot know equally well. That increases as well the plausibility of any assertion regarding the circumstances, gains or losses within our border. Hence, other things being equal, borders help promote the idea that there are fewer uncertainties in communications between insiders by comparison with communications with those on the outside. This leads to an assumption that we will be able to agree on the terms used to evaluate changes and preferences – even the order of priorities, which is a pre-condition of political decisions. an ontological claim for the border/boundary which is implicit in post-structuralism’s prioritisation of dif- ferences as against commonalities: namely, that ‘...borders exist “before” entities ...’ – that is to say, borders are ontologically prior to specific enti- ties. Borders help constitute the way we conceive the world For those epistemological consequences of boundaries provide key onto- logical pre-conditions for the continuity of the given social particular as an integrated entity; and hence also for its identity Likewise, the boundary sustains any determination of the collectivity whose interests may be the basis for decisions and actions on its behalf. This is especially significant in democratic collectivities, where a large self-aware demos is postulated as the ground for decisions that need to accord in some way with the preference of an indeterminable category, the ordinary mass of the people. The ontological effects of borders yield yet further consequences. For borders provide pre-conditions for determinations of the situation of insiders relative to outsiders: claims regarding presumed and/or potential different conditions for insiders than for outsiders The same could be said of any impression of greater/lesser ) welfare than outsiders Only with these kinds of claims and impressions in place, can an additional, politically important category of knowledge have meaning: assertions about potential improvements or¶ deteriorations in conditions for the inside

These exclusionary borders help reinforce this epistemology inherent in the us/them dichotomy that leads to the otherization of anyone that is on the “outside”

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Perhaps even more importantly, however, borders, including their sites at airports, serve vital economic functions. A third point, therefore, is that though borders are about classifying identities, they are also about sorting and sifting goods and people to enhance or maintain unequal cross-border exchanges.65 They are not simply about a security-identity nexus as both dominant stories about borders tend to allege. Cheap labor on one side facilitates cheaper products for more affluent consumers on the other. Though the idea of a global economy has become widely accepted, in fact much economic activity is still overwhelmingly within national borders and most firms are still effectively reliant on national models of business structure and spatial organization.66 There are very few truly global companies and they are mostly Swiss (or from other small countries). More particularly, borders still stand guard over massive differences in standards of living that, though shrinking somewhat as within nation differences have grown in recent years, are still largely defined precisely at national borders. The US-Mexico border* ‘the tortilla curtain’*is emblematic in this regard. The extreme income gradient that it marks invites people to cross it whatever the barriers they encounter on the way. Alain Badiou makes the overall point eloquently as follows: The fall of the Berlin wall was supposed to signal the advent of the single world of freedom and democracy. Twenty years later, it is clear that the world’s wall has simply shifted: instead of separating East and West it now divides the rich capitalist North from the poor and devastated South. New walls are being constructed all over the world: between Palestinians and Israelis, between Mexico and the United States, between Africa and the Spanish enclaves, between the pleasures of wealth and the desires of the poor, whether they be peasants in villages or urban dwellers in favelas, banlieues, estates, hostels, squats and shantytowns. The price of the supposedly unified world of capital is the brutal division of human existence into regions separated by police dogs, bureaucratic controls, naval patrols, barbed wire and expulsions.67 Fourthly, and finally, policing borders still has a powerful normative justification in the defense of that territorial sovereignty which serves to underpin both liberal and democratic claims to (Lockean) popular rule. Now such claims may frequently be empirically fictive, particularly in the case of imperial and large nation-states, but the logic of the argument is that, absent effective worldwide government, the highest authority available is that of existing states .68 How such states police their borders, of course, should be subject to transparent and open regulation. But why it is popularly legitimate to engage in policing functions in the way they are carried out cannot simply be put down to mass docility in the face of an omnipotent (because it is omniscient) state apparatus. National populations do worry about their borders because their democracy (or other, familiar, politics) depends on it. The border is a continuing marker of a national (or supranational) political order even as people, in Europe at least, can now cross it for lunch.69 The problem here is that democratic theory and practice is not yet up to dealing with the complexities of a world in which territories and flows must necessarily co-exist. If one can argue, as does Arash Abizadeh, that ‘the demos of democratic theory is in principle unbounded’, this still begs the question of who is ‘foreigner’ and who is ‘citizen’ in a world that is still practically divided by borders.70 As Sofia Na¨ sstrom puts the problem succinctly: ‘it is one thing to argue that globalization has opened the door to a problem within modern political thought, quite another to argue that globalization is the origin of this problem’. 71 Until political community is redefined in some way as not being coextensive with nation-state, we will be stuck with much of business as usual. Currently then, given the strong arguments about what borders do and the problems that they also entail, a more productive ethic than thinking either just with or just against them would be to re-frame the discussion in terms of the impacts that borders have; what they do both for and to people. From this perspective, we can both recognize the necessary roles of borders and the barriers to improved welfare that they create. In the first place, however, this requires re-framing thinking about borders away from the emphasis on national citizenship towards a model of what Dora Kostakopoulou calls ‘civic registration’. 72 Under this model, the only condition for residence would be demonstrated willingness to live according to democratic rule plus some set requirements for residency and the absence of a serious criminal record. Such a citizenship model requires a reconceptualization of territorial space as a ‘dwelling space’ for residents and, thus, a move away from the nationalist narratives which cultivate ‘the belief that territory is a form of property to be owned by a particular national group, either because the latter has established a ‘‘first occupancy’’ claim or because it regards this territory as a formative part of its identity’. 73 In a world in which wars and systematic violations of human rights push millions to seek asylum across borders every year, this rethinking is imperative.74 In the second place, and by way of example, from this viewpoint it is reasonable ‘to prefer global redistributive justice to open borders. To put it bluntly, it is better to shift resources to people rather than permitting people to shift themselves towards resources’. 75 Currently much migration from country-to-country is the result of the desire to improve economic well-being and enhance the life-chances of offspring. Yet, people often prefer to stay put, for familial, social, and political reasons, if they can. There seems no good basis, therefore, to eulogize and institutionalize movement as inherently preferable to staying put. If adequate mechanisms were developed to stimulate development in situ, many people who currently move would not. Not only people in destination countries associate their identities with territory. Using the standard of a decent life, therefore, can lead beyond the present impasse between the two dominant views of borders towards a perspective that re-frames borders as having both negative and positive effects and that focuses on how people can both benefit from borders and avoid their most harmful effects. In political vision as in everyday practice, therefore, borders remain as ambiguously relevant as ever, even as we work to enhance their positive and limit their negative effects.

Agnew 2008 (John, Agnew is currently Distinguished Professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). From 1975 until 1995 he was a professor at Syracuse University in New York. Dr. Agnew teaches courses on political geography, the history of geography, European cities, and the Mediterranean World., “Borders on the mind: re-framing border thinking,” Ethics and Global Politics, pg 11-13, http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/geog/downloads/856/258.pdf)

borders are about classifying identities, they are also about sorting and sifting goods and people to enhance or maintain unequal cross-border exchanges. Cheap labor on one side facilitates cheaper products for more affluent consumers on the other. borders still stand guard over massive differences in standards of living that, though shrinking somewhat as within nation differences have grown in recent years, are still largely defined precisely at national borders. The fall of the Berlin wall was supposed to signal the advent of the single world of freedom and democracy. it is clear that the world’s wall has simply shifted: instead of separating East and West it now divides the rich capitalist North from the poor and devastated South. New walls are being constructed all over the world The price of the supposedly unified world of capital is the brutal division of human existence into regions separated by police dogs, bureaucratic controls, naval patrols, barbed wire and expulsions. policing borders still has a powerful normative justification in the defense of that territorial sovereignty which serves to underpin both liberal and democratic claims to popular rule. such claims may frequently be empirically fictive, particularly in the case of imperial and large nation-states, but the logic of the argument is that, absent effective worldwide government, the highest authority available is that of existing states The problem here is that democratic theory and practice is not yet up to dealing with the complexities of a world in which territories and flows must necessarily co-exist. If one can argue that ‘the demos of democratic theory is in principle unbounded’, this still begs the question of who is ‘foreigner’ and who is ‘citizen’ in a world that is still practically divided by borders. Until political community is redefined in some way as not being coextensive with nation-state, we will be stuck with much of business as usual. a more productive ethic than thinking either just with or just against them would be to re-frame the discussion in terms of the impacts that borders have; what they do both for and to people. From this perspective, we can both recognize the necessary roles of borders and the barriers to improved welfare that they create. In the first place, however, this requires re-framing thinking about borders away from the emphasis on national citizenship towards a model of civic registration’ Such a citizenship model requires a reconceptualization of territorial space as a ‘dwelling space’ for residents and, thus, a move away from the nationalist narratives which cultivate ‘the belief that territory is a form of property to be owned by a particular national group, either because the latter has established a ‘‘first occupancy’’ claim or because it regards this territory as a formative part of its identity’. In a world in which wars and systematic violations of human rights push millions to seek asylum across borders every year, this rethinking is imperative. this viewpoint it is reasonable ‘to prefer global redistributive justice to open borders. it is better to shift resources to people rather than permitting people to shift themselves towards resources’.

Even if it’s true that we must approach borders with pragmatic policy, changing our orientation towards the border is a key prerequisite

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Another binary division that I have already alluded to and which permeates a wide range of texts is that of the West/non-West distinction. This couplet has been deployed in a way that grounds a primary identity for the West, as the self, and a secondary identity for the non-Western other. Traditionally, ‘the West’ has been constructed as a model and measure of social progress for the world as a whole. It has been and remains much more a driving idea than a fact of geography. For example, in the late 1970s, one member of the Argentinian junta asserted that ‘the West today is a state of the soul, no longer tied to geography’, while for another, ‘the West is for us a process of development more than a geographical location’ (Graziano 1992: 123 and 271). From a very different political position, the Indian writer Ashis Nandy (1992: xi), in his text on the psychology of colonialism, linked notions of the West with modern colonialism and its impact in the Third World, and also noted that the modern West was as much a psychological category as a geographical or temporal entity – ‘the West is now everywhere,’ he wrote, ‘within the West and outside; in structures and in minds’ (ibid.). What this line of argument points to is the suggestion that Third World societies have been colonized by a Western imagination that frames and represents their meaning as part of a project of rule, and examples of such a framing can be found in both modernization and neo-liberal discourses, as will be indicated in chapters 3 and 4. Geographically, the West, the First World and the North are customarily associated with the countries of Western Europe, North America and Australia and New Zealand, with Japan being classified as both First World and of the North, but clearly more of the East than of the West. What is important to note here is that these binary divisions, particularly First World/Third World and West/non-West, are charged categories (see Bell 1994, for example). They are replete with sedimented meanings, while in contrast the North–South distinction, I would argue, is less burdened with those deeply rooted associations of Occidental or First World primacy. Given the fact that all these categories can be justifiably put into question, while at the same time continuing to retain a broad usage, it can be useful to borrow a term from Derrida (1976), whereby these terms are seen as ‘under erasure’. In other words, they can be approached as if there is a line running through them, cancelling them out in their old form, but still allowing them to be read. With such a partial erasure, we can be encouraged to continue to reproblematize their meaning, validity, applicability, etc. while keeping an open space for the possibility of new categories.

Slater, 2004 [David Slater, Emeritus Professor of Political Geography, & Associate Fellow of the Institute for the Study of the Americas at the University of London, Geopolitics and the Postcolonial: Rethinking North-South Relations, Blackwell Publishing Ltd]

Another binary division which permeates a wide range of texts is that of the West/non-West distinction. This couplet has been deployed in a way that grounds a primary identity for the West and a secondary identity for the non-Western other. ‘the West’ has been constructed as a model and measure of social progress It has been and remains much more a driving idea than a fact of geography. ‘the West today is a state of the soul, no longer tied to geography’, ‘the West is for us a process of development more than a geographical location’ that the modern West was as much a psychological category as a geographical or temporal entity – ‘the West is now everywhere,’ , ‘within the West and outside; in structures and in minds’ Third World societies have been colonized by a Western imagination that frames and represents their meaning as part of a project of rule such a framing can be found in both modernization and neo-liberal discourses these binary divisions are charged categories They are replete with sedimented meanings these terms are seen as ‘under erasure’. they can be approached as if there is a line running through them, cancelling them out in their old form, but still allowing them to be read. we can be encouraged to continue to reproblematize their meaning, validity, applicability, etc. while keeping an open space for the possibility of new categories.

Geopolitical binaries are not physical; rather, they serve as psychological structuring mechanisms – the alternate must problematize conventional categorization to open new spaces for classification.

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Derrida’s engagement with Benjamin’s Critique of Violence opens up a series of insights into the connection between the borders, territory, law triad on the one hand, and violence on the other. Force of Law permits a reading of borders between states as spatial instantiations of the e´pokhe` or moments when the authority of a new law establishes itself. On this reading, borders between states can be said to represent traces of the violent foundations of the juridical– political order they supposedly delimit: scars in the territorial landscape that act as reminders of ‘‘the sufferings, the crimes, the tortures’’ that rarely fail to accompany the founding of states as distinct entities. To do as Walker suggests and treat state borders as ‘‘sites of struggle’’ is to politicize the way we think about them: not only as merely ‘‘socially constructed’’ phenomena but the outcome of violent encounters. Moreover, to remember the e´pokhe`, the ‘‘anxiety-ridden moment of suspense [or] interval of spacing in which… revolutions take place,’’ is also to remember the ‘‘deconstructibility’’ of the foundations upon which juridical–political orders rest (Derrida 1992:20). In short, it is to remember Walker’s axiom that ‘‘once upon a time things were not as they are now’’ (Walker 1993:179). The memory of the e´pokhe` is potentially revolutionary: state borders may serve to uphold the status quo but, paradoxically, they are equally a reminder of the ability to challenge authority, enact change and act politically. After all, following the BenjaminDerrida line of argument, the border of the state can be considered a product of the violent attempts to establish authority in the lack thereof. Hence, there is a locus of possibility at the heart of the concept of the border of the state. To recognize this locus of possibility is to remember the possibility of politics, and therefore, the potential for alternative forms of political arrangements.

Vaughan-Williams 8 (Nick Vaughan-Williams, ph.d Assistant Professor of International Security , 2008, Borders, Territory, Law, University of Exeter, International Political Sociology (2008) 2, 322–338, Accessed: 7/27/13,)

Force of Law permits a reading of borders between states as spatial instantiations of the e´pokhe` or moments when the authority of a new law establishes itself. borders between states can be said to represent traces of the violent foundations of the juridical– political order they supposedly delimit scars in the territorial landscape that act as reminders of ‘‘the sufferings, the crimes, the tortures’’ the founding of states as distinct entities sites of struggle’’ is to politicize the way we think about them: not only as merely ‘‘socially constructed’’ phenomena but the outcome of violent encounters anxiety-ridden moment of suspense [or] interval of spacing in which… revolutions take place,’’ is also to remember the ‘‘deconstructibility’’ of the foundations upon which juridical–political orders rest The memory of the e´pokhe` is potentially revolutionary: state borders may serve to uphold the status quo but, paradoxically, they are equally a reminder of the ability to challenge authority, enact change and act politically . Hence, there is a locus of possibility at the heart of the concept of the border of the state. To recognize this locus of possibility is to remember the possibility of politics, and therefore, the potential for alternative forms of political arrangements

Borders represents the status quo but also as reminders of the ability to challenge authority and the possibility of a revolution

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Partially in response to these inherent biases and the difficulties in defining¶ and locating objective natural borders, professional geographers soon concluded¶ that all borders were arbitrary, subjective, and the result of human decisions,¶ not forces of nature. "All political boundaries are man-made, that is,¶ artificial; obviously, they are not phenomena of nature," Richard Hartshorne¶ argued. "Consequently, man, not nature, determines their location; we must¶ eliminate, therefore, any distinction between 'natural' and 'artificial' political¶ boundaries."15 As a result, most border research during the 1930s and 1940s¶ focused on empirical descriptions of border locations, before-and-after case¶ studies of border realignments, and new systems of border classification.16¶ While no standard system of classification or methodology emerged, scholars¶ widely agreed that the natural-artificial distinction was pointless.¶ While much of the general public continued to think of borders as either¶ natural or artificial, geographers during the 1950s began to reject attempts to¶ develop systems of classification or generalization as useless since each border¶ was regarded as unique. As one scholar noted: "Geographers have spent too¶ much time in devising classifications and generalizations about boundaries¶ and frontiers which have led to little or no progress."17 Partially as a result,¶ geographers focused on descriptive, nontheoretical case studies aimed at¶ understanding the practical impact of individual borders on international¶ phenomena such as trade and migration.

Dein 10 [Alexander Diener, Assistant Professor of Geography, University of Kansas, “Borderlines and Borderlands,” page 4] [Gender paraphrased, though not completely inaccurate to say man-made since our argument is also that masculine domination is what produces borders]

"All political boundaries are man-made, that is, artificial; obviously, they are not phenomena of nature," Consequently, man, not nature, determines their location; we must eliminate, therefore, any distinction between 'natural' and 'artificial' political boundaries." While no standard system of classification or methodology emerged, scholars widely agreed that the natural-artificial distinction was pointless. geographers during the 1950s began to reject attempts to develop systems of classification or generalization as useless since each border was regarded as unique. As one scholar noted: "Geographers have spent too much time in devising classifications and generalizations about boundaries and frontiers which have led to little or no progress."

Boundaries and borders are human made and not natural

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While the apparent oddity of the international borders along the Strait of¶ Gibraltar may appear without precedent, anyone who peruses a world atlas¶ will soon notice other borders or portions of borders with seemingly odd or¶ discontiguous shapes. Indeed, these borders are often the subject of conflicting¶ territorial claims and international tension. The continued division of the¶ islands of Cyprus and Ireland, the Nagorno-Karabakh region disputed by Armenia¶ and Azerbaijan, and Angola's Cabinda exclave are just a few examples.¶ Yet people rarely reflect on the historical development or contemporary significance¶ of international borders, regardless of their shape. For many people,¶ the lines that divide the world's landmasses possess an air of unquestionable¶ sanctity, as though they were based on some higher logic.¶ This is simply not the case. Indeed, professional geographers have long¶ discounted the notion of "natural" borders. All borders, whether they appear¶ oddly contrived and artificial, as in some of the examples mentioned above, or¶ appear to be based on objective criteria, such as rivers or lines of latitude, are¶ and have always been constructions of humanjbeings. As such, any border's¶ delineation is subjective, contrived, negotiated, and contested. While this is¶ true of virtually any scale of place, from the personal, to the municipal, to the¶ provincial, to the international, the modern political map of the world has¶ been largely shaped by disputes over land and the division of resources between¶ states (i.e., countries). Even today, more than a hundred active border¶ disputes (not counting disputed islands) exist among the 194 independent¶ states worldwide. This means that of the roughly 301 contiguous international¶ land borders, some 33 percent are sites of contestation.

Dein 10 [Alexander Diener, Assistant Professor of Geography, University of Kansas, “Borderlines and Borderlands,” page 3]

anyone who peruses a world atlas will soon notice other borders or portions of borders with seemingly odd or discontiguous shapes. Indeed, these borders are often the subject of conflicting territorial claims and international tension. The continued division of the islands of Cyprus and Ireland, the Nagorno-Karabakh region disputed by Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Angola's Cabinda exclave are just a few examples. . For many people, the lines that divide the world's landmasses possess an air of unquestionable sanctity, as though they were based on some higher logic. This is simply not the case. Indeed, professional geographers have long discounted the notion of "natural" borders. All borders, whether they appear oddly contrived and artificial, as in some of the examples mentioned above, or appear to be based on objective criteria, such as rivers or lines of latitude, are and have always been constructions of humanjbeings. the modern political map of the world has been largely shaped by disputes over land and the division of resources between states (i.e., countries). Even today, more than a hundred active border disputes (not counting disputed islands) exist among the 194 independent states worldwide. This means that of the roughly 301 contiguous international land borders, some 33 percent are sites of contestation

Borders are not natural, but a result of violent approrpriation

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The expansion of trade and economic interdependence over the past 50 years, coupled with ¶ the absence of major wars, might give the impression that humanity has now crossed a ¶ threshold which relegates insecurity and its possible effects on openness to the dustbin of history. That might eventually turn out to be true, ¶ but in the meantime, insecurity and contention ¶ among states are alive in many parts of the ¶ world. From the Spratly Islands in the South ¶ China sea that seven countries contest, to Kashmir, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Middle ¶ East, or the Congo, countries expend a significant percentage of their national incomes on ¶ arming. The resultant insecurity and arming do ¶ not just subtract from their welfare directly, but ¶ also, as we have shown, can have significant ¶ indirect effects through the trade posture that ¶ the affected countries adopt.

Skaperdas and Syropolis 1 [Stergios, Ph.D. in Economics from Johns Hopkins University, Prof. of Economics, Director of Institute for Mathematical Behavior Sciences, UC Irvine; Constantinos, Ph.D. in Economics from Yale, Trustee Professor of International Economics, Drexel University; “Guns, Butter, and Openness: On the Relationship Between Security and Trade,” The American Economic Review 91(2)]//JG

expansion of trade and economic interdependence over the past 50 years, coupled with ¶ the absence of major wars, might give the impression that humanity has now crossed a ¶ threshold which relegates insecurity and its possible effects on openness to the dustbin of history insecurity and contention ¶ among states are alive in many parts of the ¶ world Spratly Islands Kashmir Central Asia the Caucasus the Middle ¶ East the Congo insecurity and arming do ¶ not just subtract from their welfare directly, but ¶ also, as we have shown, can have significant ¶ indirect effects through the trade posture that ¶ the affected countries adopt

Interdependence isn’t enough to stop war and takes years to develop

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Reflecting the persistence of the "borderless" world claims, one obvious¶ point of departure has been to ask whether international borders are indeed¶ becoming more permeable, becoming more rigid, or staying the same. Or, put¶ another way, to what extent are borders "opening" versus "closing"? At present,¶ the answers are ambiguous and at times contradictory. While barriers to¶ international trade have generally declined, for example, security concerns following¶ the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have led to increased border¶ enforcement measures in the United States and many other countries. Indeed,¶ in a certain sense, the same border may be in the process of becoming more¶ open to the flow of trade goods, investment, or information via the Internet¶ but simultaneously less open to the flow of people. Indeed, David Newman¶ noted globalization's influence on international borders "is as geographically¶ and socially differentiated as most other social phenomena—in some places,¶ it results in the opening of borders and the associated creation of transition¶ zone borderlands, while in others, the borderland remains a frontier in which¶ mutual suspicions, mistrust of the other and a desire to maintain group or¶ national exclusivity remain in place.AT realism

Dein 10 [Alexander Diener, Assistant Professor of Geography, University of Kansas, “Borderlines and Borderlands,” page 10]

to what extent are borders "opening" versus "closing"? following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have led to increased border enforcement measures in the United States and many other countries. Indeed, in a certain sense, the same border may be in the process of becoming more open to the flow of trade goods, investment, or information via the Internet but simultaneously less open to the flow of people. , it results in the opening of borders and the associated creation of transition zone borderlands, while in others, the borderland remains a frontier in which mutual suspicions, mistrust of the other and a desire to maintain group or national exclusivity remain in place.

American Borders are not opening. An increase in economic engagement is coupled with an increase in security on the border especially after 9/11.

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If contemporary political life is in difficulty in large part because of the multidimensional inadequacies of the sovereign state and system of sovereign states, as, in very broad terms, I certainly think is the case, then any more creative political imagination must resist not only the forms of diversity and fragmentation expressed by the sovereign state and system of sovereign states, but also the forms of universality and integration that already enable the forms of diversity and fragmentation that are usually said to be so problematic. Put more heretically, and in terms of the thoroughly misleading categories that have structured theories of international relations since midtwentieth-century writers such as E.H. Carr and Hans J. Morgenthau enabled profound political and theoretical antagonisms to be converted into sloppily dualistic choices between caricatured extremes, 11 doctrines of political realism may be a problem, but the doctrines of political idealism that have produced doctrines of political realism are even more of a problem. Put rather less heretically, all too many valiant and well meaning attempts to think otherwise about contemporary political possibilities have been lured into dualistic choices between realisms and idealisms, politics and ethics, necessities and freedoms or differences and universalities of the kind that force an impossible politics of choice between one and the other, while simultaneously mobilizing a theory of history that will take us from one to the other. Such dualisms mask much more important problems. As one might readily gather from any of the canonical theorists who are nevertheless so often and so flagrantly cited as authoritative sources of unchallengeable caricature in claims about the international, modern politics is a politics of freedom within and under necessity, a politics that expresses ethical principles, and ethical principles that express political commitments: a politics of antagonisms between claims to differentiation and universalization that cannot simply be cut into two. Relations rule, contradictions prevail. Seductive narratives that rest on an affirmation of dualistic choices can only end in grand illusions and eventual disappointments. 12 Consequently, if it is necessary to reimagine where and what political life might now become, it is first of all necessary to appreciate the discursive force of claims about a universalizing philosophy of history that have both affirmed the necessity of a politics of modern subjects enacted within sovereign states enabled by a system of sovereign states while insisting on a proper trajectory of escape that might finally avoid all the dangers and insecurities of life within the sovereign state and system of sovereign states.

Walker 9 [RBJ, Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Victoria, Canada, After the Globe, Before the World,p 40]

If contemporary political life is in difficulty in large part because of the multidimensional inadequacies of the sovereign state and system of sovereign states, as, in very broad terms, I certainly think is the case, then any more creative political imagination must resist not only the forms of diversity and fragmentation expressed by the sovereign state and system of sovereign states, but also the forms of universality and integration that already enable the forms of diversity and fragmentation that are usually said to be so problematic Carr and Hans J. Morgenthau enabled profound political and theoretical antagonisms to be converted into sloppily dualistic choices between caricatured extremes, 11 doctrines of political realism may be a problem, but the doctrines of political idealism that have produced doctrines of political realism are even more of a problem. all too many valiant and well meaning attempts to think otherwise about contemporary political possibilities have been lured into dualistic choices between realisms and idealisms, politics and ethics, necessities and freedoms or differences and universalities of the kind that force an impossible politics of choice between one and the other, while simultaneously mobilizing a theory of history that will take us from one to the other. Such dualisms mask much more important problems , if it is necessary to reimagine where and what political life might now become, it is first of all necessary to appreciate the discursive force of claims about a universalizing philosophy of history that have affirmed the necessity of sovereign states while insisting on a proper trajectory of escape that might finally avoid all the dangers and insecurities of life within the sovereign state and system of sovereign states

Realism is a naïve understanding of the world

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Thus far, I have dwelled on the performative aspect of an ethical regard. As understood by Levinas, the ethical is the enactment of a response to the summons of alterity beyond or prior to any institutionalized normativity; for Derrida it is an attempt to minimize the violence of that prior normativity. For both, the responsibility to alterity precedes all conceptions, however persistent and irreducible they may be. At a minimum, what is required to heed this summons of the Other is a distancing from the prolepses through which Others are already inscribed—for example, the cartographies and discourses through which J. S. Mill constructed North American peoples as asocial and nonnational. The required distance comes in part through modes of writing that are open to encounter with difference. The ethical apprehension or regard of alterity outside of institutionalized inscriptions, as practiced by Levinas and Derrida, for example, is achieved with performances intrinsic to their writing practices. Because the obverse of the ethical regard, a violent one, consists in appropriating alterity to an already inscribed set of conceptualizations, ethical practices, realized as writing performances, require a degree of unreading, unmapping, and rewriting. This requirement of undoing was evident in Levinas's struggle to extract an ethics from a philosophical tradition in which it had been suppressed. He had not only to struggle within the language of philosophy by redirecting many of its dominant tropes (twisting and turning that which already twists and turns) but also to confront a philosophy suffused with Greek conceptualizations with an even more venerable tradition, Jewish thought as he understands it. Inasmuch as "Jewish thought" is also available to contemporaries in a form that is mediated by the Greek philosophical tradition, however, Levinas's talmudic readings involve an unreading of a long tradition of Greek-influenced commentary." To the extent that Levinas has failed to heed his own ethical injunctions, it has been a result of insensitivity to the complex self-Other inter-relations repressed in the construction of the stories that have assembled such entities as "Jews" and "Jewish thought." For example, Ammiel Al-calay has shown how contemporary "Jewish discourse" represses its historic Arab influences and notes how the Hebrew language itself—and consequently much contemporary Hebrew literature—has arisen from a dissociative impulse in which a shared Jewish-Arab cultural tradition has been erased. Recalling what he refers to as a "Levantine culture," Alcalay discloses a historical narrative of Arab-Jewish hybridity expressed in Arab and Jewish literatures prior to the establishment of the State of Israel.92 Restoration of Levantine cultural sensibilities, according to Alcalay, would attenuate the radical othering that characterizes the identity practices of contemporary Israeli Jews and Palestinians. Instead of narrations of Israeli and Palestinian nationalism, Arab and Jew could be Other to each other within a tradition of interactive identity creation instead of a geopolitically based antagonism. They could tell themselves a story in which they recognize a positive association based on shared traditions. Alcalay's rereading of the Arab-Israeli relationship remaps cultural difference and comports well with the general strategy of Levinas, whose enactments of the ethical have demanded a strenuous unreading, a resistance, expressed ultimately as a form of writing, to the institutionalized "said" of philosophy. Therefore, despite its blind spots, the Levinasian model should be heeded. Focusing on its fundamental resistance to essentialized and forgetful readings of identities and spaces, Derrida, in his reading of Levinas, has emphasized that an ethics cannot be explicated precisely because the institutionalized said, resident in discourse, reproduces a violence toward alterity; it can only be enacted through "the perpetual undoing of the said."93 Significantly, Derrida prefers the imagery of writing to "saying," suggesting that it is perhaps a better mode for "escaping empirical urgencies" and that "the writer more effectively renounces violence."94 Recognizing the limits of Levinas's struggle, Derrida challenges the confinements of the already said and attempts to think what has been unthinkable. Accordingly, his deconstructive writing points toward a re-mainder, that which is excluded or unrecognized in the established system of intelligibility. Its ethical force therefore consists in its challenge to prevailing conditions of possibility for recognition. Inasmuch as any system of thought will always produce its remainder, any final recovery of what is remaindered is impossible. Yet an ethics, embodied in Derrida's deconstructive practice, recognizes the necessity of pursuing that remainder nevertheless.95 It accepts both the impossibility and the necessity to pursue it at the same time. Derrida's practice therefore recognizes that the responsibility to alterity amounts to a permanent excursion; it takes the form of writing practices that disrupt the totalities within which identity spaces and domains are shaped and confined.

Shapiro, Professor of Political Science at Hawai’i, 1997 [Michael J., Violent Cartographies: Mapping Cultures of War, p. 197-199]

the ethical is the enactment of a response to the summons of alterity beyond or prior to any institutionalized normativity it is an attempt to minimize the violence of that prior normativity. the responsibility to alterity precedes all conceptions At a minimum, what is required to heed this summons of the Other is a distancing from the prolepses through which Others are already inscribed Because the obverse of the ethical regard, a violent one, consists in appropriating alterity to an already inscribed set of conceptualizations, ethical practices, require a degree of unreading, unmapping, and rewriting To the extent that Levinas has failed to heed his own ethical injunctions, it has been a result of insensitivity to the complex self-Other inter-relations repressed in the construction of the stories that have assembled such entities as and "Jewish thought Al-calay has shown how contemporary "Jewish discourse" represses its historic Arab influences Recalling what he refers to as a "Levantine culture," Alcalay discloses a historical narrative of Arab-Jewish hybridity Instead of narrations of Israeli and Palestinian nationalism, Arab and Jew could be Other to each other within a tradition of interactive identity creation instead of a geopolitically based antagonism. They could tell themselves a story in which they recognize a positive association based on shared traditions. rereading Arab-Israeli relationship remaps cultural difference and comports well with the general strategy of Levinas, whose enactments of the ethical have demanded a strenuous unreading, a resistance, expressed ultimately as a form of writing, to the institutionalized "said" of philosophy. Focusing on its fundamental resistance to essentialized and forgetful readings of identities and spaces, Derrida has emphasized that an ethics cannot be explicated precisely because the institutionalized said reproduces a violence toward alterity; it can only be enacted through "the perpetual undoing of the said." Its ethical force therefore consists in its challenge to prevailing conditions of possibility for recognition.

Difference does not have to revolve around enmity—we can engage otherness and difference as mutually productive practices

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To put the matter within the discourse of order, which emerged in the discussion of Anggor cosmology, sensitivity to the ontological dimensions of warfare should lead one to expect complementarity between the orders of the self and those discerned in the world. Those who regard any aspect of disorder within the self as intolerable—those who demand a totally coherent and unified body—must necessarily engage in a denial of the forces of disorder within the order of the self. Insofar as this is the case, external disorder, practices in the world that do not comport with the system of order within which one resides, will be particularly threatening. When one recognizes in addition that the collectivity or nation serves as a symbolic extension—the individual body connects to the national body—the same structural logic linking self and other at the level of in-dividual selves also applies to the link between the domestic and foreign orders. Denial of disorder within the order for the collective body as a whole should lead to an intolerance of an external order that fails to validate, by imitation, the domestic order. Thus a nonimitative order will be interpreted as disorder and, accordingly, as a threat. Moreover, the "threat" is dissimulated because of the misrecognition involved in the very constitution of the self, a failure to recognize dimensions of incoherence and otherness within the self. Accordingly, the threat is interpreted as a danger to the survival of the order rather than an affront to the order's interpretive coherence. Having established a basis for the suspicion that the modern nation-state, like the prestate society, contains an ontological impetus to warfare and that in modernity this often takes the form of extraordinary demands for coherence within the orders of the self and the nation, the next move is to deepen that suspicion by pursuing a recent case. Accordingly, in the next chapter I pursue the ontological theme with special attention to the selection and targeting of dangerous objects during the Gulf War.

Shapiro, Professor of Political Science at Hawai’i, 1997 [Michael J., Violent Cartographies: Mapping Cultures of War, p. 72]

sensitivity to the ontological dimensions of warfare should lead one to expect complementarity between the orders of the self and those discerned in the world. Those who regard any aspect of disorder within the self as intolerable must necessarily engage in a denial of the forces of disorder within the order of the self. Insofar as this is the case, external disorder, practices in the world that do not comport with the system of order within which one resides, will be particularly threatening in addition that the collectivity or nation serves as a symbolic extension—the individual body connects to the national body—the same structural logic linking self and other at the level of in-dividual selves also applies to the link between the domestic and foreign orders. Denial of disorder within the order for the collective body as a whole should lead to an intolerance of an external order that fails to validate, by imitation, the domestic order. Thus a nonimitative order will be interpreted as disorder and, accordingly, as a threat. Moreover, the "threat" is dissimulated because of the misrecognition involved in the very constitution of the self, a failure to recognize dimensions of incoherence and otherness within the self. Accordingly, the threat is interpreted as a danger to the survival of the order rather than an affront to the order's interpretive coherence. the modern nation-state contains an ontological impetus to warfare and that in modernity this often takes the form of extraordinary demands for coherence within the orders of the self and the nation, the next move is to deepen that suspicion by pursuing a recent case. Accordingly, in the next chapter I pursue the ontological theme with special attention to the selection and targeting of dangerous objects during the Gulf War.

The attempt at internal order through a well-defined sovereign makes war inevitable—enemies who cannot be made stable must be eliminated

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In The Concept of the Political Schmitt argued, given that 'the concept of the state presupposes the political', that there was a need to understand `the nature of the political' in a 'simple and elementary' way. This should be through 'the specific political distinction . . . between friend and enemy': The distinction between friend and enemy denotes the utmost degree of intensity of union or separation, of an association of disassociation . . . the political enemy need not be morally evil or aesthetically ugly; he need not appear as an economic competitor, and it may even be advantageous to engage with him in business transactions. But he is, nevertheless, the other, the stranger; and it is sufficient for his nature that he is, in a specially intense way, existentially something different and alien, so that in an extreme case conflicts with him are possible.? (emphasis added) Like Hobbes before him, Schmitt conceived a figure of the enemy – a threatening Other – that is constitutive of the state as 'the specific entity of a people'.8 Without it society is not political and a people cannot be said to exist: Only the actual participants can correctly recognise, understand and judge the concrete situation and settle the extreme case of conflict . . . to judge whether the adversary intends to negate his opponent's way of life and therefore must be repulsed or fought in order to preserve one's own form of existence.9 (emphasis added) It is clear that such a conception of the political has a tendency to surround the entirety of political life with an aura of emergency and threat to one's very existence. Problems such as terrorism, flows of asylum seekers or weapons of mass destruction, are thus easily magnified into ones that must be viewed through the prisms of identity, existential antagonism and combat. While Schmitt claimed to be opposed to militarism (like many realists he advocated the avoidance of war) he stated that the political was only existent 'when a fighting collectivity of people confronts a similar collectivity'. Hence the potential for war was an existential condition: the entire life of a human being is a struggle and every human being is symbolically a combatant. The friend, enemy and combat concepts receive their real meaning precisely because they refer to the real possibility of physical killing. War follows from enmity. War is the existential negation of the enemy.1° In his 2004 State of the Union speech, Bush went out of his way to defend his administration's conceptualisation of the response to terrorism as 'war' and the use of extraordinary legal powers and unilateral military force to meet the threat: 'after the chaos and carnage of September the 11th', he argued, 'it is not enough to serve our enemies with legal papers. The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States, and war is what they got.'" He also lectured Congress on the need to renew the Patriot Act, 'key provisions [of which] are set to expire next year. The terrorist threat will not expire on that schedule'.12 Yet many provisions of that Act and other administrative measures were deeply controversial, especially the Executive Order that authorised the 'indefinite detention' and trial by 'military commissions' of the 'battlefield detainees' held in camps at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. As if sprung whole from Schmitt's theory, the Order stated that: it is not practicable to apply in military commissions under this order the principles of law and the rules of evidence generally recognized in the trial of criminal cases in the United States district courts. . . . Having fully considered the magnitude of the potential deaths, injuries, and property destruction that would result from potential acts of terrorism against the United States, and the probability that such acts will occur, I have determined that an extraordinary emergency exists for national defense purposes, that this emergency constitutes an urgent and compelling government interest, and that issuance of this order is necessary to meet the emergency.I3 An important detail about this extraordinary measure was that it only applied to non-citizens of the United States; citizens suspected of terrorism must be prosecuted under US criminal codes. Such orders invoke what Schmitt called the 'state of exception' wherein the existing legal order is suspended and 'unlimited authority' seized by the sovereign to meet a `danger to the existence of the state'. This, he argues, is the essence of sovereignty: 'Sovereign is he who decides on the exception.' 14 What is especially distinctive is not only the idealistic alignment of extra-judicial powers of life and death with sovereignty, freed from the dominance of the constitution and the rule of law, but the enactment of an uncertain threshold between law and the human in which the human can disappear as a matter of executive power and whim 'in the interest of the state, public safety and order'.15 Giorgio Agamben argues that 'what is new about President Bush's order is that it radically erases any legal status of the individual, thus producing a legally unnameable and unclassifiable being'.16 Similarly, Judith Butler suggests that we are witnessing the emergence of 'normative conceptions of the human that produce, through an exclusionary process, a host of "unliveable lives" whose legal and political status is suspended'; lives 'viewed and judged so that they are less than human, or as having departed from the recognisable human community'.17 Agamben, drawing on the work of Hannah Arendt and Michel Foucault, has done most to describe and denounce the violent and impoverished conceptualisation of life implicit in such a politics. He saw in the convergence of a Schmittian theory of sovereignty and what Foucault termed `biopolitics' a diabolical system of political and administrative power that reduced human existence to 'bare life' (Homo sacer) that 'may be killed and yet not sacrificed' – Homo sacer being 'an obscure figure of archaic Roman law in which human life is included in the juridical order solely in the form of its exclusion (that is, of its capacity to be killed)'.18 He sees such a simultaneously exceptional and biopolitical power at work in `the Camp', which took on its most horrific form in the Holocaust but is also in operation at the US prisons in Cuba and Abu Ghraib, and, as Suvendrini Perera19 has shown, at immigration detention centres like Woomera and Baxter in remote South Australia, where sovereign power is unchecked and life is taken hold of outside the existing legal order (or at least within a radically unstable and arbitrary one). The camp, Agamaben argues, is 'the biopolitical paradigm of the modern' and the state of exception is becoming normalised and universalised: it 'tends increasingly to appear as the dominant paradigm of government in contemporary politics'.20 Agamben thus issues a profound warning for anyone concerned with interrogating modern conceptions of security – which, after all, posit the sovereign nation-state as the collective to be secured and abrogate to government powers to protect the 'life' of this collective. Yet life is not valued equally and its 'protection' comes with a simultaneous seizing of life by power: . . . in the age of biopolitics this power [to decide which life can be killed] becomes emancipated from the state of exception and transformed into the power to decide the point at which life ceases to be politically relevant. When life becomes the supreme political value, not only is the problem of life's nonvalue thereby posed as Schmitt suggests, but further, it is as if the ultimate ground of sovereign power were at stake in this decision. In modern biopolitics, sovereign is he who decides on the value or nonvalue of life as such.21 In a world where life and existence are defined biopolitically, and government takes on the responsibility to secure, enable, regulate and order life, Agamben argues (after Foucault) that it is as if: 'every decisive political event were double-sided: the spaces, the liberties, and the rights won by individuals in their conflicts with central powers always simultaneously prepared a tacit but increasing inscription of individuals' lives within the state order, thus offering a new more dreadful foundation for the sovereign power from which they wanted to free themselves.'22 In this light, the 'active defense of the American people' comes to sound sinister indeed, for Americans and their Others alike.

Burke, Senior Lecturer in the School of Politics and Int. Relations at the Univ of New South Wales, Sydney, in ‘7 [Anthony, Beyond Security, Ethics and Violence, 6-9]

Schmitt argued that 'the concept of the state presupposes the political', This should be through 'the specific political distinction . . . between friend and enemy': he is the other, the stranger; and it is sufficient for his nature that he is, in a specially intense way, existentially something different and alien, so that in an extreme case conflicts with him are possible.? Schmitt conceived a figure of the enemy – a threatening Other – that is constitutive of the state as 'the specific entity of a people'.8 Without it society is not political and a people cannot be said to exist such a conception of the political has a tendency to surround the entirety of political life with an aura of emergency and threat to one's very existence. Problems such as terrorism, flows of asylum seekers or weapons of mass destruction, are thus easily magnified into ones that must be viewed through the prisms of identity, existential antagonism and combat. While Schmitt claimed to be opposed to militarism (like many realists he stated that the political was only existent 'when a fighting collectivity of people confronts a similar collectivity'. Hence the potential for war was an existential condition: the entire life of a human being is a struggle and every human being is symbolically a combatant Bush went out of his way to defend his administration's conceptualisation of the response to terrorism as 'war' and the use of extraordinary legal powers and unilateral military force to meet the threat: the Executive Order that authorised the 'indefinite detention' and trial by 'military commissions' of the 'battlefield detainees' held in camps at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. As if sprung whole from Schmitt's theory, the Order stated that: An important detail about this extraordinary measure was that it only applied to non-citizens of the United States; citizens suspected of terrorism must be prosecuted under US criminal codes. Such orders invoke what Schmitt called the 'state of exception' wherein the existing legal order is suspended and 'unlimited authority' seized by the sovereign to meet a `danger to the existence of the state'. 'Sovereign is he who decides on the exception.' What is especially distinctive is not only the idealistic alignment of extra-judicial powers of life and death with sovereignty, freed from the dominance of the constitution and the rule of law, but the enactment of an uncertain threshold between law and the human in which the human can disappear as a matter of executive power and whim 'in the interest of the state, public safety and order'.1 Butler suggests that we are witnessing the emergence of 'normative conceptions of the human that produce, through an exclusionary process, a host of "unliveable lives" whose legal and political status is suspended'; lives 'viewed and judged so that they are less than human, or as having departed from the recognisable human community'.17 Agamben has done most to describe and denounce the violent and impoverished conceptualisation of life implicit in such a politics. He saw in the convergence of a Schmittian theory of sovereignty and biopolitics' a diabolical system of political and administrative power that reduced human existence to 'bare life' that 'may be killed and yet not sacrificed' – He sees such a simultaneously exceptional and biopolitical power at work in `the Camp', which took on its most horrific form in the Holocaust but is also in operation at the US prisons in Cuba and Abu Ghraib The camp is 'the biopolitical paradigm of the modern' and the state of exception is becoming normalised and universalised Agamben thus issues a profound warning for anyone concerned with interrogating modern conceptions of security – which, after all, posit the sovereign nation-state as the collective to be secured and abrogate to government powers to protect the 'life' of this collective. Yet in the age of biopolitics this power [to decide which life can be killed] becomes emancipated from the state of exception and transformed into the power to decide the point at which life ceases to be politically relevant. When life becomes the supreme political value, not only is the problem of life's nonvalue thereby posed as Schmitt suggests, but further, it is as if the ultimate ground of sovereign power were at stake in this decision. In modern biopolitics, sovereign is he who decides on the value or nonvalue of life as such 'every decisive political event were double-sided: the spaces, the liberties, and the rights won by individuals in their conflicts with central powers always simultaneously prepared a tacit but increasing inscription of individuals' lives within the state order, thus offering a new more dreadful foundation for the sovereign power from which they wanted to free themselves.'22 In this light, the 'active defense of the American people' comes to sound sinister indeed, for Americans and their Others alike.

Schmitt’s conception of the political as coterminous with the nation-state combines with biopolitics in a way that allows the sovereign to decide on whose lives are worth saving and whose should be sacrificed. This is the logic of the camp.

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Derrida is notoriously hesitant to define deconstruction because any attempt at such a definition would be ironic. In his ‘Letter to a Japanese Friend’, Derrida writes: ‘What deconstruction is not? Everything of course! What is deconstruction? Nothing of course!’70 More accessible accounts of the basic moves of deconstructive thought can be found in Positions [1981] and Limited Inc. [1988]. Derrida insists that (p.147) a deconstructive strategy or way of reading always involves a double and simultaneous movement: Deconstruction cannot be restricted or immediately pass to a neutralization: it must, through a double gesture, double science, a double writing – put into practice a reversal of the classical opposition and a general displacement of the system. It is on that condition alone that deconstruction will provide the means of intervening in the field of oppositions it criticizes and that is also a field of non-discursive forces.71

Vaughn-Williams 9 ( Nick, IR MA @ university of Warwick IR PhD @ Aberystwyth, “Border Politics: The Limits of Sovereign Power” pg 146-47)

Derrida is notoriously hesitant to define deconstruction because any attempt at such a definition would be ironic. What deconstruction is not? Everything of course! What is deconstruction Nothing of course!’70 deconstructive strategy or way of reading always involves a double and simultaneous movement: Deconstruction cannot be restricted or immediately pass to a neutralization: it must, through a double gesture, double science, a double writing put into practice a reversal of the classical opposition and a general displacement of the system It is on that condition alone that deconstruction will provide the means of intervening in the field of oppositions it criticizes and that is also a field of non-discursive forces.

Deconstruction cannot be confined to one method or the movement will fail

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The notion of frontiers and borderlands as used in the geographic literature has a great deal of relevance for our increasingly complex lives and social interactions. Just as the scholars of territorial borders are increasingly examining the notion of transitional spaces¶ which cross the boundary and take in areas and people on both sides of the formal line of divide, so too our belonging to cosmopolitan social and cultural groups is increasingly becoming hybrid, in a sort of frontier/ transition world between, and across, the more rigid lines that separated us in the past. Borderlands do exist around borders, but they vary in their intensity and the extent to which they equally affect people on both sides of the border. The discussion concerning the nature of borders as bridges and points of interaction (as contrasted to their tradi- tional role of barriers) is of relevance in the sense that borders can become transformed into the frontiers (in the most positive sense of the term) where people or groups who have traditionally kept themselves distant from each other, make the first attempts at contact and interaction, creating a mix- ture of cultures and hybridity of identities (O’Dowd and Corrigan, 1995; Newman, 2003b). Not all such frontiers necessarily occur along the territorial border dividing States. Their sociospatial location may equally be found in the middle of the metropoli- tan centre (New York, London, etc) where cultural and ethnic residential ghettos enforce the notion of border on the one hand, but where daily mixing on the streets, in the subways, in workplaces and in apartment blocks creates the frontiers of cross-border and transboundary interaction on the other.¶ The classic border literature distinguished between the border or boundary on the one hand, and the political frontier or the border- land on the other (House, 1980; Rumley and Minghi, 1991). The latter constituted the region or area in relative close proximity to the border within which the dynamics of change and daily life practices were affected by the very presence of the border (Martinez, 1994a; 1994b). This would vary between closed and open borders, and it would also vary on each side of the line of separation. The impact of the border as a line which both reflects, and enhances, differ- ence is the key parameter to understanding¶ change and diversity within the ‘borderland’ (Pratt and Brown, 2000).¶ Traditional ideas of borderland and fron- tier are related to notions of ‘transition zone’. In the EU the borderland has constituted the place for the emergence of transboundary border regions, where social, economic and cultural activities have come together across the border. This has been encouraged by the EU as a means of breaking down the tradi- tional barriers of national suspicion between the peoples on each side of the border, creat- ing the conditions for the eventual opening or removal of the border altogether. In many cases, the borderlands take on the charac- teristics of transition regions, enabling a gradual movement from one cultural norm to another, as contrasted with the rigid line understanding of the border as a distinct cut-off point. Within the transition zone, cultural, linguistic and social hybridity can emerge, resulting in the formation of a sub-cultural buffer zone within which move- ment from one side to the other eases up considerably – the person in transit from one place or group to another undergoes a process of acclimatization and acculturation as he/she moves through the zone of transition, so that the shock of meeting the ‘other’ is not as great as he/she feared. In some cases it can bring about the formation of transnational, transboundary, spaces with the emergence of new hybrid regional identities (Dobell and Neufeld, 1994; Cold-Rauvkilde et al., 2004; Smith, 2004; Chen, 2005). At a recent seminar on ‘border discourses’ which took place at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem, we heard two border-related papers from doctoral students. One was from a sociologist writing about the impact of globalization on the creation of high-tech complexes; the other was from a dancer turned anthropologist who has worked on the DCO areas which were created as joint Israel-Palestinian security exclaves in the period after the Oslo Agreements and operated until the outbreak of the second Intifada in 1990. Seemingly very different¶ presentations, the two papers were surpris- ingly similar in their use – conscious and unconscious – of notions of border. In partic- ular, they both focused on the way that new spaces are created and the way in which groups working or operating within these ‘spaces of transition’ negotiate their way through and across the new borders and lines which have been created at the very heart of these new spaces.

Newman 2006, [David, Newman, Department of Politics and Government, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheba, Israel, "Progress in Human Geography 30: The lines that continue to separate us: borders in our ‘borderless’ world", pp. 143–161]

Just as the scholars of territorial borders are increasingly examining the notion of transitional spaces which cross the boundary and take in areas and people on both sides of the formal line of divide, so too our belonging to cosmopolitan social and cultural groups is increasingly becoming hybrid, in a sort of frontier/ transition world between, and across, the more rigid lines that separated us in the past. borders can become transformed into the frontiers (in the most positive sense of the term) where people or groups who have traditionally kept themselves distant from each other, make the first attempts at contact and interaction, creating a mix- ture of cultures and hybridity of identities Traditional ideas of borderland and fron- tier are related to notions of ‘transition zone’. In the EU the borderland has constituted the place for the emergence of transboundary border regions, where social, economic and cultural activities have come together across the border. This has been encouraged by the EU as a means of breaking down the tradi- tional barriers of national suspicion between the peoples on each side of the border, creat- ing the conditions for the eventual opening or removal of the border altogether. In many cases, the borderlands take on the charac- teristics of transition regions, enabling a gradual movement from one cultural norm to another, as contrasted with the rigid line understanding of the border as a distinct cut-off point. the person in transit from one place or group to another undergoes a process of acclimatization and acculturation as he/she moves through the zone of transition, so that the shock of meeting the ‘other’ is not as great as he/she feared Seemingly very different presentations, the two papers were surpris- ingly similar in their use – conscious and unconscious – of notions of border. In partic- ular, they both focused on the way that new spaces are created and the way in which groups working or operating within these ‘spaces of transition’ negotiate their way through and across the new borders and lines which have been created at the very heart of these new spaces.

Borderlands are utilized as "transition zones" for the acclimatization of one culture into another. Rather than a strict dividing line, borders represent regions of negotiation and a mixture of different identities.

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Kritiks

2013

In a more recent text, and building on post-colonial and feminist theory, Vuola (2003) renews her call for taking seriously the heterogeneity and multiplicity ofthe subject of liberation (theology and philosophy), namely “the poor” –and, one may add, the subaltern, in the MC project. In other words,she is calling for a politics of representation of the poor and the subaltern that fully acknowledges this multiplicity; in the case of women, this means addressing themes that have been absent from the discussion, such as violence against women, reproductive rights and sexuality, and giving complete visibility to the agency of women. In other words, the subject of the colonial difference is not an undifferentiated, gender-neutral subject (or differentiated only in terms of race and class); there are differences in the way subaltern groups are objects of power and subjects of agency. To acknowledge this might change, to paraphrase, not only the contents but also the terms of the conversation. That women are othe rin relation to men –and certainly treated assuch by phallogocentric social and human sciences—certainly should have consequences for a perspective centered precisely on exteriority and difference. What Vuola points at is the fact that whereas the discourse of the (mostly male still) MC group is illuminating and radical in so many ways, and as such taken seriously by feminists, it largely excludes women and women’s theoretical and political concerns. There seems to be a conflict here between discourse and practice as far as women is concerned. Finally, the feminist deconstruction of religious fundamentalism,something that is not well known in eitherfeministsocialscience orthe MC project, is also of relevance to the engendering ofthe MC project. As a broad political movement, transnational feminism(s) is developing new approaches to formulating intercultural criteria for human rights, especially women'srights, and for analyzing the truth claims on which these are based (Vuola 2002). New works on transnational feminism deal with race, gender and culture issues in ways that resonate with the concerns of the MC project (see, e.g, Shohat, ed. 1998; Bahavani, Foran and Kurian, eds. 2003). .

Escobar 2 [Arturo, department of anthropology at university of north Carolina chapel hill, ““Worlds and Knowledges Otherwise”: The Latin American modernity/coloniality Research Program”, http://apse.or.cr/webapse/pedago/enint/escobar03.pdf]

Vuola renews her call for taking seriously the heterogeneity and multiplicity ofthe subject of liberation namely “the poor” –and, one may add, the subaltern she is calling for a politics of representation of the poor and the subaltern that fully acknowledges this multiplicity; in the case of women, this means addressing themes that have been absent from the discussion, such as violence against women, reproductive rights and sexuality, and giving complete visibility to the agency of women the subject of the colonial difference is not an undifferentiated, gender-neutral subject or differentiated only in terms of race and class there are differences in the way subaltern groups are objects of power and subjects of agency That women are othe rin relation to men certainly should have consequences for a perspective centered precisely on exteriority and difference. There seems to be a conflict here between discourse and practice as far as women is concerned. As a broad political movement, transnational feminism(s) is developing new approaches to formulating intercultural criteria for human rights, especially women'srights, and for analyzing the truth claims on which these are based New works on transnational feminism deal with race, gender and culture issues in ways that resonate

The alt makes gender invisible - only the perm solves

Borders Kritik - UTNIF 2013.html5

Texas (UTNIF)

Kritiks

2013

Here the context of MSF’s “ethic of refusal” comes most sharply into focus.¶ The group’s insistence on a politics of witnessing combined with its abstention¶ from taking a directly political role stems from an unwillingness to accept the extended state of emergency within which it generally operates. Simply to denounce¶ situations would achieve no immediate humanitarian ends and to endorse political¶ agendas would potentially sacrifice the present needs of a population for the hope¶ of future conditions. But to maintain formal neutrality at all times without protest¶ would mimic the classic limitations of the Red Cross movement that the founders¶ of MSF originally rejected. Confronted with such a range of unsatisfying options¶ while still being committed to humanitarian values, MSF’s ideological strategy¶ is to claim a position of “refusal” in the form of action taken with an outspoken,¶ troubled conscience.

Redfield 5 [Peter, Ph.D. Anthropology at UC Berkeley, professor of Anthropology at UNC Chapel Hill, “Doctors, Borders, and Life in Crisis,” Cultural Anthropology 20(3)] ***MSF = Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders)

MSF’s “ethic of refusal” comes into focus insistence on a politics of witnessing combined with its abstention¶ from taking a directly political role stems from an unwillingness to accept the extended state of emergency within which it generally operates to maintain formal neutrality at all times without protest¶ would mimic the classic limitations of the movement that the founders¶ of MSF originally rejected , MSF’s ideological strategy¶ is to claim a position of “refusal” in the form of action taken with an outspoken,¶ troubled conscience.

ALT FAILS – even an active refusal cedes the political

Borders Kritik - UTNIF 2013.html5

Texas (UTNIF)

Kritiks

2013

A second theme in how borders serve political identity is a broadly social democratic emphasis on how social solidarity within national borders furthers goals such as diminished poverty, increased equality of opportunity, and given the absence of effective global-level institutions, macroeconomic regulation and stabilization. To Paul Hirst, for example, as sources of power are increasingly ‘pluralistic’, the state becomes even more important in providing a locus for political solidarity.28 In particular, he writes, ‘Macroeconomic policy continues to be crucial in promoting prosperity, at the international level by ensuring stability, and at the national and regional levels by balancing co-operation and competition. Governments are not just municipalities in a global market-place’

Agnew 2008 (John, Agnew is currently Distinguished Professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). From 1975 until 1995 he was a professor at Syracuse University in New York. Dr. Agnew teaches courses on political geography, the history of geography, European cities, and the Mediterranean World., “Borders on the mind: re-framing border thinking,” Ethics and Global Politics, pg 5, http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/geog/downloads/856/258.pdf)

A theme in how borders serve political identity is a broadly social democratic emphasis on how social solidarity within national borders furthers goals such as diminished poverty, increased equality of opportunity, and given the absence of effective global-level institutions, macroeconomic regulation and stabilization. the state becomes even more important in providing a locus for political solidarity Macroeconomic policy continues to be crucial in promoting prosperity, at the international level by ensuring stability, and at the national and regional levels by balancing co-operation and competition. Governments are not just municipalities in a global market-place’

Borders are key to social solidarity that solves poverty, equality, and are key to macroeconomic regulation

Borders Kritik - UTNIF 2013.html5

Texas (UTNIF)

Kritiks

2013

Nevertheless, when taken collectively, these complaints perhaps overstate the case and over the past 5 years or so in particular there have been some notable attempts at acknowledging and offering theoretically reflective accounts of the concept of the border of the state. Jackson, for example, has built upon the work of Hedley Bull and emphasized the normative role that state borders play in international life: ‘‘the sanctity and stability of inherited boundaries is a fundamental building block of international society and a principle behind which the vast majority of sovereign states rally’’ (Jackson 2000:333). On his view, borders between states not only delimit the spheres of national interests, security, and law but also shape rights and duties such as those relating to non-intervention (Jackson 2000:319). As such, borders are said to perform a key normative role by distinguishing between insider groups (members of international institutions such as the UN) and outsider groups (those who enjoy no legal existence as independent states) (Jackson 2000:333). A similar line of argument is pursued by Williams who also draws on Bull to argue that borders between states perform an important ethical function in world politics (Williams 2002:739). For Williams, state borders are ‘‘ubiquitous’’ and ‘‘embedded’’ in IR because they are a necessary facet of human existence: ‘‘The durability and depth of sedimentation of territorial borders as fences suggest that division, and division on a territorial basis, speaks to a deep-seated need of human identity and also in human ethics’’ (Williams 2003:39; emphasis added). On this view, borders between states are said to act as ‘‘fences between neighbours’’ in such a way that ‘‘tolerates diversity’’ instead of stifling difference (Williams 2003:39). Without borders, Williams claims, the international juridical–political system would not be able to ensure ‘‘state independence, limits on violence, sanctity of agreement or the stability of possession’’ (Williams 2002:739–740). Hence, he argues, ‘‘to remove, or even to re-conceptualize, territorial borders would mean the end of IR… requiring a shift in the conduct of politics on the planet that is unimaginable’’ (Williams 2003:27). However, Williams’ argument might be challenged on two grounds: first, that borders between states are not necessarily limits on but rather markers and even upholders of violence in political life; and, second, in any case, as we have already seen in the case of legal arguments deployed by the UN in defence of the Human Rights of detainees in Guanta´namo, planetary shifts in the conduct of politics occasioned by (or reflected in) the disaggregation of territorial limits and limits of law appear to be already well under way.

Vaughan-Williams 8 (Nick Vaughan-Williams, ph.d Assistant Professor of International Security , 2008, Borders, Territory, Law, University of Exeter, International Political Sociology (2008) 2, 322–338, Accessed: 7/27/13,)

there have been some notable attempts at acknowledging and offering theoretically reflective accounts of the concept of the border of the state Jackson has emphasized the normative role that state borders play in international life: ‘‘the sanctity and stability of inherited boundaries is a fundamental building block of international society and a principle behind which the vast majority of sovereign states rally’’ borders between states not only delimit the spheres of national interests, security, and law but also shape rights and duties such as those relating to non-intervention ). A similar line of argument is pursued by Williams who also draws on Bull to argue that borders between states perform an important ethical function in world politics state borders are ‘‘ubiquitous’’ and ‘‘embedded’’ they are a necessary facet of human existence The durability and depth of sedimentation of territorial borders as fences suggest that division, and division on a territorial basis, speaks to a deep-seated need of human identity and also in human ethics borders between states are said to act as ‘‘fences between neighbours’’ in such a way that ‘‘tolerates diversity’’ instead of stifling difference Without borders the international juridical–political system would not be able to ensure ‘‘state independence, limits on violence, sanctity of agreement or the stability of possession’’ ‘‘to remove, or even to re-conceptualize, territorial borders would mean the end of IR… requiring a shift in the conduct of politics on the planet that is unimaginable’’ borders between states are not necessarily limits on but rather markers and even upholders of violence in political life;

Borders are necessary as they fulfill our ethical and identity of humans as means to independence, limits of violence, and the ability for stability

Borders Kritik - UTNIF 2013.html5

Texas (UTNIF)

Kritiks

2013

Borders are no longer seen only as lines on a map but as spaces in their own right (as in the idea of “borderlands”) and as processes; in short, there has been a shift from borders to bordering (or rebordering, on some accounts). The argument advanced here is that the changes to borders are in fact more far-reaching than can be captured by either the idea that “borders are everywhere” or a security-driven rebordering thesis. I propose that to understand borders fully scholars need to “see like a border”. Three key dimensions of borders/bordering are generating a distinct research agenda and associated literature. First, borders can be “engines of connectivity”. Rather than curtailing mobility, borders can actively facilitate it; many key borders are at airports, maritime ports, and railway terminals. Borders can connect as well as divide, not just proximate entities, but globally. This means that more conventional views of interactions across borders (e.g. Minghi, 1991) are in need of revision. It also means that border scholars must take issue with the idea, expressed by Häkli and Kaplan (2002, p. 7), that “cross-border interactions are more likely to occur when the ‘other side’ is easily accessible, in contrast to when people live farther away from the border”. For van Schendel (2005) borderlanders are able to “jump” scales (local, national, regional, global) and therefore do not experience the national border only as an immediate limit. People can construct the scale of the border for themselves; as a “local” phenomenon, a nation-state “edge”, or as a transnational staging post: the border can be reconfigured as a portal.

Rumford 11, Chris Rumford, Department of Politics and International Relations, Royal Holloway, University of London, “Seeing like a border” Political Geography 30 (2011) pages 61-69

Borders are no longer seen only as lines on a map but as spaces in their own right and as processes; in short, there has been a shift from borders to bordering (or rebordering, the idea that “borders are everywhere” or a security-driven rebordering thesis. I propose that to understand borders fully scholars need to “see like a border”. Three key dimensions First, borders can be “engines of connectivity”. Rather than curtailing mobility, borders can actively facilitate it; many key borders are at airports, maritime ports, and railway terminals. Borders can connect as well as divide, not just proximate entities, but globally. “cross-border interactions are more likely to occur when the ‘other side’ is easily accessible, in contrast to when people live farther away from the border”

Modern borders are engines of connectivity that allow for engagement with the other

Borders Kritik - UTNIF 2013.html5

Texas (UTNIF)

Kritiks

2013

Second, bordering is not always the business of the state. Ordinary people (citizens and also non-citizens) are increasingly involved in the business of bordering, an activity I have previously termed “borderwork” (Rumford, 2008). Citizens, entrepreneurs, and NGOs are active in constructing, shifting, or even erasing borders. The borders in question are not necessarily those (at the edges) of the nation-state; they can be found at a range of sites throughout society: in towns and cities, and in local neighborhoods. Examples (in the UK) include: the local currency schemes in several English towns (Stroud, Lewes, Totnes) designed to prevent the leeching of money from the local economy; securing Protected Designation of Origin status (from the EU) for local produce such as Melton Mowbray pork pies and Stilton cheese (Cooper & Rumford, in press) which creates bounded regions for branded products. What is distinctive about these activities is that they result from initiatives by entrepreneurs, citizens/ residents, and grass roots activists. They are not top-down, state-led processes of bordering. This activity does not necessarily result in borders that enhance national security but it provides borderworkers with new political and/or economic opportunities: the uses of borders are many and various. Third, borders provide opportunities for claims-making. This has long been recognized to be the case in respect of the nation-state, where national borders are not always imposed by the center. For example Sahlins’ (1989, p. 9)work on the SpaineFrance border in the Pyrenees shows that “local society brought the nation into the village”. But borderwork also has a post-national dimension and is consistent with what Isin and Nielsen (2008) term an “act of citizenship”: “they are part of the process by which citizens are distinguished from others: strangers, outsiders, non-status people and the rest” (Nyers, 2008, p. 168). Moreover, acts of citizenship and borderwork alike are not restricted to those who are already citizens; they are means by which “non-status persons can constitute themselves as being political” (Nyers, 2008, p. 162). Borderwork can also be associated with a range of claims-making activity, not only claims to national belonging or citizenship, but also demands for transnationalmobility, assertions of human rights, and demonstrations of political actorhood, all of which can comprise acts of citizenship. This leads to the possibility of viewing bordering not only in terms of securitization but also in terms of opportunities for humanitarian assistance targeted at those (refugees, migrants) who may coalesce at the borders.

Rumford 11, Chris Rumford, Department of Politics and International Relations, Royal Holloway, University of London, “Seeing like a border” Political Geography 30 (2011) pages 61-69

Second, bordering is not always the business of the state. Ordinary people (citizens and also non-citizens) are increasingly involved in the business of bordering, an activity I have previously termed “borderwork” This activity does not necessarily result in borders that enhance national security but it provides borderworkers with new political and/or economic opportunities: the uses of borders are many and various. Third, borders provide opportunities for claims-making. national borders are not always imposed by the center. But borderwork also has a post-national dimension and is consistent with an “act of citizenship”: “they are part of the process by which citizens are distinguished from others: strangers, outsiders, non-status people and the rest” This leads to the possibility of viewing bordering not only in terms of securitization but also in terms of opportunities for humanitarian assistance targeted at those (refugees, migrants) who may coalesce at the borders.

Construction of borders involve citizens and give people autonomy

Borders Kritik - UTNIF 2013.html5

Texas (UTNIF)

Kritiks

2013

We can first observe that borders help fulfil epistemological conditions. Borders produce particular conditions for understanding ‘reality’. We who are inside the border are also expected to possess greater knowledge of insiders than of outsiders, which in turn reduces uncertainties regarding our common knowledge on the inside. The border is frequently a bulwark sustaining commonly agreed measures of reality (such as national-currency measures for inflation or relative welfare). The border slices the world up into different pieces of reality that we cannot know equally well. That increases as well the plausibility of any assertion regarding the circumstances, gains or losses within our border. Hence, other things being equal, borders help promote the idea that there are fewer uncertainties in communications between insiders by comparison with communications with those on the outside. This leads to an assumption that we will be able to agree on the terms used to evaluate changes and preferences – even the order of priorities, which is a pre-condition of political decisions. Put in a nutshell, the border provides conditions for greater certainty and agreement for those within it. Thompson also makes explicit an ontological claim for the border/boundary which is implicit in post-structuralism’s prioritisation of dif- ferences as against commonalities: namely, that ‘...borders exist “before” entities ...’ – that is to say, borders are ontologically prior to specific enti- ties. Borders help constitute the way we conceive the world. This can be demonstrated, inter alia, on the basis of the epistemological claims above. For those epistemological consequences of boundaries provide key onto- logical pre-conditions for the continuity of the given social particular as an integrated entity; and hence also for its identity.14 The ‘fact’ of the border helps produce shared understandings of the identities of particulars, both internal and external to the particular itself. This includes understandings of internal variations and sub-categories (constituencies, classes ... ) between insiders/members of the given social particular. The self-identities of mem- bers and sub-categories are grounded in, and thus far validated, by seeing those particulars in relation to each other.15 Likewise, the boundary sustains any determination of the collectivity (the ‘nation’, or whatever it may be) whose interests may be the basis for decisions and actions on its behalf. This, as Rokkan noted,16 is especially significant in democratic collectivities, where a large self-aware demos is postulated as the ground for decisions that need to accord in some way with the preference of an indeterminable category, the ordinary mass of the people. The above ontological effects of borders yield yet further consequences. For borders provide pre-conditions for determinations of the situation of insiders relative to outsiders: claims regarding presumed and/or potential different conditions (be it better or worse) for insiders than for outsiders.17 The same could be said of any impression of greater/lesser (or poten- tially greater/lesser) welfare than outsiders. Only with these kinds of claims and impressions in place, can an additional, politically important category of knowledge have meaning: assertions about potential improvements or deteriorations in conditions for the inside.18 If the existence of the subjects who experience comparative well-being were not given, we would not find meaning in headlines such as ‘Danish schools worst on PISA tests’.19 A fortiori threats which it may be necessary to protect again

Parker and Addler-Nissen 12, Department of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, 2012 [Noel and Rebecca, “Picking and Choosing the ‘Sovereign’ Border: A Theory of Changing State Bordering Practices”, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2012.660582]

We can first observe that borders help fulfil epistemological conditions. Borders produce particular conditions for understanding ‘reality’. We who are inside the border are also expected to possess greater knowledge of insiders than of outsiders, which in turn reduces uncertainties regarding our common knowledge on the inside. The border is frequently a bulwark sustaining commonly agreed measures of reality The border slices the world up into different pieces of reality that we cannot know equally well. That increases as well the plausibility of any assertion regarding the circumstances, gains or losses within our border. Hence, other things being equal, borders help promote the idea that there are fewer uncertainties in communications between insiders by comparison with communications with those on the outside. This leads to an assumption that we will be able to agree on the terms used to evaluate changes and preferences – even the order of priorities, which is a pre-condition of political decisions. an ontological claim for the border/boundary which is implicit in post-structuralism’s prioritisation of dif- ferences as against commonalities: namely, that ‘...borders exist “before” entities ...’ – that is to say, borders are ontologically prior to specific enti- ties. Borders help constitute the way we conceive the world For those epistemological consequences of boundaries provide key onto- logical pre-conditions for the continuity of the given social particular as an integrated entity; and hence also for its identity Likewise, the boundary sustains any determination of the collectivity whose interests may be the basis for decisions and actions on its behalf. This is especially significant in democratic collectivities, where a large self-aware demos is postulated as the ground for decisions that need to accord in some way with the preference of an indeterminable category, the ordinary mass of the people. The ontological effects of borders yield yet further consequences. For borders provide pre-conditions for determinations of the situation of insiders relative to outsiders: claims regarding presumed and/or potential different conditions for insiders than for outsiders The same could be said of any impression of greater/lesser ) welfare than outsiders Only with these kinds of claims and impressions in place, can an additional, politically important category of knowledge have meaning: assertions about potential improvements or deteriorations in conditions for the inside

Even if Borders split up the world artificially they are key to preserving our ontological connection to the world and pre-requisite for political agency

Borders Kritik - UTNIF 2013.html5

Texas (UTNIF)

Kritiks

2013

Derrida describes how becoming suppliant before the law at the border is inevitable: The foreigner is someone whose name must be asked in order that he or she might be received. The foreigner must state and guarantee his or her identity, like a witness before a court. This is someone to whom you put a question and address a demand, the first demand, the minimal demand being, "What is your name?" or then "In telling me what your name is, in responding to this request, you are responding on your own behalf, you are responsible before the law and before your hosts, you are a subject in law." (29) And yet, as Agamben illustrates in terms of the homo sacer, the appellant is subject to the law, but not a subject in the law. This article continues to address the question of the politics of decision below. What are the asymmetric structures of choice that create the frequent and massive movement of individuals through the border, into a zone of indistinction and control, where they are subject to the law but do not enjoy rights? While the characteristics of the globalized world make movement necessary (in addition to desirable), the structure of the global mobility regime reinforces the act of crossing the frontier as an exceptional act.

Salter ‘6 Mark B, School of Poli Sci @ U of Ottawa, The Global Visa Regime and the Political Technologies of the International Self: Borders, Bodies, Biopolitics; Alternatives 31 P 174-7, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3225/is_2_31/ai_n29276866/?tag=content;col1

becoming suppliant before the law at the border is inevitable: The foreigner is someone whose name must be asked in order that he or she might be received. The foreigner must state and guarantee his or her identity, like a witness before a court. This is someone to whom you put a question and address a demand, the first demand, the minimal demand being, In telling me what your name is, in responding to this request, you are responding on your own behalf, you are responsible before the law and before your hosts, you are a subject in law the appellant is subject to the law, but not a subject in the law. This article continues to address the question of the politics of decision below. What are the asymmetric structures of choice that create the frequent and massive movement of individuals through the border, into a zone of indistinction and control, where they are subject to the law but do not enjoy rights? While the characteristics of the globalized world make movement necessary (in addition to desirable), the structure of the global mobility regime reinforces the act of crossing the frontier as an exceptional act

The alt can’t overcome bio-political or sovereign distinctions.

Borders Kritik - UTNIF 2013.html5

Texas (UTNIF)

Kritiks

2013

In contemporary political discourse, the transcendence of boundaries functions as a teleological and axiological presupposition, rather than an empirical observation. Irrespective of the empirical indications of the problematic status of boundaries, the denigration of boundaries—that is, the claim that they are inappropriate—cannot be empirically inferred, but is already present as a constitutive presupposition of the discourse. We hardly ever encounter an empirical analysis of the problematic status of sovereign statehood, made from a normatively “statist” perspective. The empirical problematization of boundaries is only thinkable on the basis that they are always-already ontologically and axiologically problematic. The developments cited as empirical proof of this discourse are frequently nothing other than its own political consequences. Many innovations of contemporary neo-liberal governmentality arise in response to the theo- retical discourse on globalization and are likewise effects rather than causes of the global denigration of boundaries (cf. Dean 2002a, 2002b). The discourse of denigration of boundaries is thus a form of wishful thinking that is vindicated by the gradual fulfillment of its own wishes. Instead of revis- iting familiar discussions of the epochal transformations of late or post- modernity, I will focus on the basic presuppositions of this discourse and account for the hostility of contemporary political discourse toward boundaries.

Prozorov, Research Fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland, in ‘8 [Sergei, “De-Limitation: The Denigration of Boundaries in the Political Thought of Late Modernity” in The Geopolitics of European Identity, ed. Noel Parker, pg. 26- ]

the transcendence of boundaries functions as a teleological and axiological presupposition, rather than an empirical observation. Irrespective of the empirical indications of the problematic status of boundaries, the denigration of boundaries— cannot be empirically inferred, but is already present as a constitutive presupposition of the discourse. The empirical problematization of boundaries is only thinkable on the basis that they are always-already ontologically and axiologically problematic. The developments cited as empirical proof of this discourse are frequently nothing other than its own political consequences. Many innovations of contemporary neo-liberal governmentality arise in response to the theo- retical discourse on globalization and are likewise effects rather than causes of the global denigration of boundaries The discourse of denigration of boundaries is thus a form of wishful thinking that is vindicated by the gradual fulfillment of its own wishes

Borders are problematic because the liberal universalism pre-supposes them to be.

Borders Kritik - UTNIF 2013.html5

Texas (UTNIF)

Kritiks

2013

Organizers are aiming to capitalize on the growing political power of Latinos in the United States and promote the benefits of cross-border ties. The plan is to recognize the contributions of Mexican immigrants to the United States — from military veterans to politicians to cultural figures, Galicot said. The event also will recognize their contributions to Mexico, he added, citing the large volume of remittances that immigrants send home.

Dribble, 7/1 [Sandra, “Talk Tonight on Plans for Tijuana Mega-Expo,” UT San Diego, July 1, 2013, http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jul/02/tp-talk-tonight-on-plans-for-tijuana-mega-expo/]

The plan is to recognize the contributions of Mexican immigrants to the United States The event also will recognize their contributions to Mexico citing the large volume of remittances that immigrants send home.

Remittances from Mexico are stable now

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

What the figures suggest is the flows continue to depend on the economic situation in the countries from which remittances are sent. Their overall value is also affected by the rate of inflation and the exchange rate of the currencies in the two countries concerned. Helpfully, the MIF report looks at this. It suggests that in the Caribbean, average inflation reduced the purchasing power of remittance flows by 4.5 per cent in 2012 and as a joint product of inflation and exchange rate movements by minus 2.3 per cent in the case of the region.

Jessop 6/30 [David, “Slight overall increase in remittances in 2012,” June 30, 2013, http://www.stabroeknews.com/2013/features/06/30/slight-overall-increase-in-remittances-in-2012/]

flows continue to depend on the economic situation in the countries from which remittances are sent Their overall value is also affected by the rate of inflation and the exchange rate of the currencies in the two countries concerned

Even if remittances have declined in recent times, the overall decline is negligible and reflective of the U.S.’s economy – if anything, it proves that a dramatic change will trigger the impact

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Much of the debate surrounding comprehensive immigration reform revolves around its effect on the American economy. Will newly legalized workers drag down wages for Americans? Would they be a drag on social services and local budgets?¶ But the biggest loser, at least initially, could be Mexico. Data from the last mass amnesty more than 20 years ago suggests migrant workers who gain legal status send far less money home. This time around, a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants could cost Mexico $2.2 billion a year in remittances, according to one estimate, dealing a staggering blow to parts of its economy.¶ Mexico has benefited considerably in the last decade from migrant workers' remittances. Its citizens in the U.S. sent $25.1 billion home in 2008, up from $8.9 billion in 2001.

Herbert 10 “How Amnesty Could Cost Mexico”, National Journal, February 11, http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/how-amnesty-could-cost-mexico-20100211

the biggest loser , could be Mexico Data from the last mass amnesty more than 20 years ago suggests migrant workers who gain legal status send far less money home a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants could cost Mexico $2.2 billion a year in remittances dealing a staggering blow to parts of its economy

Immigration reform lowers remittances

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

The TN-2 nonimmigrant visa was created for and available only to Mexican citizens who are temporarily entering the U.S. to engage in “business activities at a professional level.” in the U.S. in certain pre-designated professions. The NAFTA list of approved professions includes, but is not limited to, accountants, engineers, attorneys, pharmacists, scientists, and teachers. One of the primary benefits of the TN-2 visa is the rapid processing time. An application for a TN-2 visa can be made directly with the U.S. embassy or consulate. The sponsoring employer does not have to first file a separate petition with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as is required for other nonimmigrant classifications, such as H-1B and L-1. Other significant benefits of the TN-2 visas are that it does not have an annual cap and there is no limitation on how long a person can remain in the U.S. in TN-2 status. An indefinite number of TN-2 visas may be issued in any given year. TN-2 status can be approved for an initial three-year period, and may be extended in three year increments for an indefinite period of time. One in TN status, however, must maintain a foreign residence abroad and intend to return to the foreign residence at the end of the authorized period of stay. A prolonged stay in the U.S. in TN-2 status may give rise to a presumption that the individual intends to remain in the U.S. as an intending “immigrant” and could lead to the denial of future applications for TN-2 extensions of stay. Spouses and children of TN-2 workers are eligible to obtain TD (‘Trade Dependent”) visas in order to accompany the principal TN-2 status holder for the duration of the stay in the U.S. TD status holders are not authorized to work in the U.S. but spouses in TD status, if eligible, may independently qualify for TN-2 status or another nonimmigrant visa status.

WildeLaw, NDG [http://wildelawusa.com/tn-2-visa/]

The TN-2 nonimmigrant visa was created for and available only to Mexican citizens One of the primary benefits of the TN-2 visa is the rapid processing time. An application for a TN-2 visa can be made directly with the U.S. embassy or consulate. The sponsoring employer does not have to first file a separate petition with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as is required for other nonimmigrant classification Other significant benefits of the TN-2 visas are that it does not have an annual cap and there is no limitation on how long a person can remain in the U.S. in TN-2 status TN-2 status can be approved for an initial three-year period, and may be extended in three year increments for an indefinite period of time. Spouses and children of TN-2 workers are eligible to obtain TD (‘Trade Dependent”) visas in order to accompany the principal TN-2 status holder for the duration of the stay in the U.S.

TN-2 visas allow immigrants to come to the U.S. indefinitely and bring their families

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Agustin Fuentes works multiple construction jobs in Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, a working class suburb east of Mexico City. Until recently, his nephew was studying in a public university in the nearby city of Puebla, thanks to the money sent to Agustin's family by a niece who cleans homes in Chicago. But as wages get lower in the U.S., and job opportunities dwindle, funds sent from abroad have decreased, and Agustin's nephew can no longer afford to go to university. "Two years ago my niece was sending my sister about 2,000 pesos ($150) every two weeks. Nowadays, she can only send us 1,200, 1,500 pesos ($95-115)," said Fuentes, whose voice quivered as he recalled the difficulties now faced by his family. "They tell us that they can only work a few days a week when they used to work all week. My niece lost her job in an American family and now she is making piñatas to survive but it is nothing steady," Fuentes said. According to data compiled by Mexico's Central Bank, remittances flowing into Mexico decreased by 11.6% from August of 2011 to August of 2012, the sharpest decline since 2010. Mexico is the top recipient of remittances in Latin America and third worldwide, after India and China. So it is not surprising that this decline in remittances has had a significant impact on some segments of Mexican society. Alejandro Villagomez, an economist from Mexico's CIDE University, says that approximately 1 million households in the country depend largely on money sent from relatives abroad. "A decrease in the amount of remittances can have a significant impact on our economy and even more at a local level in areas such as [the states of] Puebla, Zacatecas, Michoacán or Guerrero, which concentrate most of the migrant population," Villagomez told ABC/Univision. In a recent economic bulletin, Mexican bank BBVA–Bancomer, warned that sectors of the U.S. economy that employ most of the Mexican migrant workforce are showing signs of a continued slowed down. These sectors include the construction industry, leisure and hospitality, and more recently, the manufacturing industry. In Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, the decline in remittances is not just a statistical affair. Miriam Aguirre is the manager of the local office of Banco Azteca. The bank receives remittances through international wire transfers from Western Union, Money Grant or Wells Fargo. She noted a clear downward tendency in withdrawals taken by local customers since January. "The most people are taking out nowadays is 1,200, 1,500 pesos ($95-115) when they used to withdraw up to 5,000 pesos ($390). I have even seen people who send money to their relatives in the United Sates now," Aguirre said. The rising strength of Mexican peso compared to U.S. Dollar has also had an impact on families that depend on remittances. A stronger local currency means fewer pesos for each dollar sent to Mexico. "For each dollar sent from the U.S., they used to give us 13 pesos, but now they give you 11 pesos," said Daniel Trejo, whose son is working in Houston. "When I was in the U.S. I was able to send b 200, 300 dollars [to Mexico] every two weeks. Now my son can only send me 100 dollars from time to time" Trejo told ABC/Univision. According to BBVA-Bancomer's memo, remittances will continue to be low in the coming months, at least until the U.S. job market becomes healthier. Alejandro Villagomez, the economist from Mexico's CIDE University, makes a similar forecast. "We know that the economy is slowing down in the U.S. and growth is almost zero in Europe. The forecasts from the main international organizations are that this will continue through 2013," Villagomez said.

Pinoteau, Quentin. "Remittances are down and Mexico feels the pain." 15 10 2012: n. page. Web. 26 Jun. 2013. <http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/remittances-mexico-feels-pain-us-recession/story?id=17483329

. "Two years ago my niece was sending my sister about 2,000 pesos ($150) every two weeks. Nowadays, she can only send us 1,200, 1,500 pesos ($95-115)," said Fuentes, According to data compiled by Mexico's Central Bank, remittances flowing into Mexico decreased by 11.6% from August of 2011 to August of 2012, the sharpest decline since 2010. Mexico is the top recipient of remittances in Latin America and third worldwide, after India and China. So it is not surprising that this decline in remittances has had a significant impact on some segments of Mexican society approximately 1 million households in the country depend largely on money sent from relatives A decrease in the amount of remittances can have a significant impact on our economy Villagomez told ABC/Univision. The most people are taking out nowadays is 1,200, 1,500 pesos ($95-115) when they used to withdraw up to 5,000 pesos ($390). "For each dollar sent from the U.S., they used to give us 13 pesos, but now they give you 11 pesos

Drop in remittances cause a drop in the Mexican economy

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

In a cross-country survey, Adams and Page (2005) find that remittances have a strong and statistically significant impact on reducing poverty in the developing world. Using a counterfactual methodology and instrumenting for the possibility of international remittances being endogenous, the authors find that a 10% increase in per capita official international remittances leads to a 3.5% decline in the percentage of people living in poverty. Taylor, Mora and Adams (2005) focus on the impact of a change in remittances on the three Foster-Greer-Thorbecke poverty measures. Using national sample survey data from Mexico in 2002, they find that a 10% increase in international remittances causes a 0.53% decrease in the Poverty Gap Squared measure (described below) while a 10% increase in internal remittances causes only a 0.30% decrease in that poverty measure. They also analyze their results on a geographical region–by-region basis and find large variations across regions. While a 10% increase in international remittances reduces poverty by 1.64% in the West-Center region, the same increase causes only a 0.11% in the South-Southwest region of Mexico.

Shroff, Kersi. "Impact of Remittances on Poverty in Mexico." Global Citizenship Conference. Hewlett Foundation. May 2009. Lecture.

remittances have a strong and statistically significant impact on reducing poverty in the developing world a 10% increase in per capita official international remittances leads to a 3.5% decline in the percentage of people living in poverty. survey data from Mexico in 2002, they find that a 10% increase in international remittances causes a 0.53% decrease in the Poverty Gap Squared a 10% increase in internal remittances causes only a 0.30% decrease in that poverty measure.

Mexican economy benefits more from external remittances

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Reflecting the slow recovery in the United States, especially in the construction sector, remittances from Mexican workers abroad dropped to USD 1.5 billion in January, which was in line with market expectations but marks the lowest level in two years. On an annual basis, remittances declined 2.3% over the same month last year, which was nonetheless an improvement over the 4.4% annual contraction tallied in December. With January’s drop, remittances have contracted for seven consecutive months. In the 12 months up to January, remittances totaled USD 22.4 billion -which represents a 2.2% contraction over the same period last year (December 2012: -1.6% year-on-year) - and remain well below the peak of USD 26.0 billion reached in December 2007. LatinFocus Consensus Forecast panelists project remittances to total USD 22.7 billion this year. For next year, the panel projects remittances to rise to USD 23.9 billion.

FocusEconomics, "Remittances Drop to Lowest Levels in Two Years." (2013): n. page. Web. 26 Jun. 2013. <http://www.focus-economics.com/en/economy/news/Mexico-Remittances-Remittances_drop_to_lowest_level_in_two_years-2013-03-02>.

Reflecting the slow recovery in the United States remittances from Mexican workers dropped to USD 1.5 billion in January, which was the lowest level in two years. With January’s drop, remittances have contracted for seven consecutive months

Remittances are the lowest in 2 years

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Mexico's remittances have already chained nine months of consecutive falls, after having declined again in March compared to the previous year, Mexico's central bank reported Thursday. Remittances are a key source of foreign-currency inflows, ahead of tourism, and an important source of income for many poor families in Mexico. Mexicans living abroad transferred home $1.79 billion in March, 15% less than in the same month a year earlier, the Bank of Mexico said. Remittances have been falling at an annual rate since last July. March's remittances brought the total for the first three months of the year to $4.9 billion, a decline of 8% from the same period of 2012. Continued weakness in employment among Mexican migrant workers in the U.S. and peso gains against the U.S. dollar are among likely causes of the decline in remittances. The Mexican currency has gained 8% in the last six months. A stronger peso tends to discourage Mexicans from sending money home, as the recipients receive fewer pesos for each dollar.

Montes, Juan. Writer for Wall Street Journal, 5/2/2013, Wall Street Journal, “Mexico’s Remittances Fall for Ninth Month in a Row.” , http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130502-713138.html

Remittances are a key source of foreign-currency inflows, and an important source of income for many poor families in Mexico. Mexicans living abroad transferred home $1.79 billion in March, 15% less than in the same month a year earlier, the Bank of Mexico said. Remittances have been falling at an annual rate since last July. Continued weakness in employment among Mexican migrant workers in the U.S. and peso gains against the U.S. dollar are among likely causes of the decline in remittances.

Mexican remittances continue to fall

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

According to data compiled by Mexico's Central Bank, remittances flowing into Mexico decreased by 11.6% from August of 2011 to August of 2012, the sharpest decline since 2010.Mexico is the top recipient of remittances in Latin America and third worldwide, after India and China. So it is not surprising that this decline in remittances has had a significant impact on some segments of Mexican society.Alejandro Villagomez, an economist from Mexico's CIDE University, says that approximately 1 million households in the country depend largely on money sent from relatives abroad. "A decrease in the amount of remittances can have a significant impact on our economy and even more at a local level in areas such as [the states of] Puebla, Zacatecas, Michoacán or Guerrero, which concentrate most of the migrant population." The rising strength of Mexican peso compared to U.S. Dollar has also had an impact on families that depend on remittances. A stronger local currency means fewer pesos for each dollar sent to Mexico. "For each dollar sent from the U.S., they used to give us 13 pesos, but now they give you 11 pesos," said Daniel Trejo, whose son is working in Houston.

Quentin Pinoteau 2012, Quentin Pinoteau is a reporter at abc news, October 15, 2012, ABCnews, “Remittances are down, Mexican economy is feeling the pain.” http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/remittances-mexico-feels-pain-us-recession/story?id=17483329#.UdGRgRbdlUQ

Mexico is the top recipient of remittances in Latin America and third worldwide it is not surprising that this decline in remittances has had a significant impact on segments of Mexican society. 1 million households in the country depend largely on money sent from relatives abroad. "A decrease in the amount of remittances can have a significant impact on our economy and even more at a local level The rising strength of Mexican peso compared to U.S. Dollar has also had an impact on families that depend on remittances. A stronger local currency means fewer pesos for each dollar sent to Mexico. "For each dollar sent from the U.S., they used to give 13 pesos, but now they give 11 pesos,"

Remittances are down, and the Mexican economy is feeling the effects

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

But the break in the trend is significant, say economists. Less cash coming to low-income families who then spend it on goods and services, will mean more frugal spending, which will in turn be a further drag on the Mexican economy this year. And it will impact millions of families whose entire incomes depend on the dollars sent from men and women working as construction workers, lettuce pickers, and housekeepers from California to New York. "This translates into social pressure," says Heliodoro Gil Corona, an economist at the School of Economists in the Mexican state of Michoacán. "It means a lack of employment. It means a lack of income. It even means more crime and insecurity." The poorest Mexicans are not the most affected – those in extreme poverty do not tend to be economic migrants. Rather the decline in remittances touches those families another rung up the economic ladder, those who depend on money to build better homes, buy books for their children and medicine for their elders. The slackened economy in the US is a major factor in the decline in remittances, especially from the construction industry, which has traditionally employed some 20 percent of Mexican migrants.

Sara Miller Llana 09, Sara is a staff writer at The Christian Science Monitor, January 28, 2009, The Christian Science Monitor, “Mexican workers send less cash home from the US,” http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2009/0128/p25s20-woam.html

Less cash coming to low-income families who then spend it on goods and services, will mean more frugal spending, which will in turn be a further drag on the Mexican economy this year. And it will impact millions of families whose entire incomes depend on the dollars sent from men and women working "This translates into social pressure," says Heliodoro Gil Corona, an economist at the School of Economists in the Mexican state of Michoacán. "It means a lack of employment. It means a lack of income. It even means more crime and insecurity." the decline in remittances touches those families another rung up the economic ladder, those who depend on money to build better homes, buy books for their children and medicine for their elders. The slackened economy in the US is a major factor in the decline in remittances, especially from the construction industry, which has traditionally employed some 20 percent of Mexican migrants.

Mexican Immigrants sending less money back home from US

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

The first time Carmen Gonzalez sent money back to her family in Mexico, in 1991, Western Union charged her a $12 fee to wire $100. She earned that $12 working for six hours in a clothing factory in midtown Manhattan, which paid her $2 an hour.¶ These days Ms. Gonzalez pays $5, which she earns in less than an hour, so she sends a bit more. The family is benefiting from a financial transformation propelled by new technology and increased competition that has driven down the average cost of sending money to Mexico by nearly 80 percent since 1999.¶ The drop in fees saved Mexican immigrants about $12 billion over the decade that ended in 2010 — five times the amount of official United States aid to Mexico during that time, according to data from the World Bank and recent Mexican government figures. The cost of sending money to other countries has also declined sharply, though not by quite as much.¶ The benefits are far-reaching, development experts say, providing a powerful means to chip away at poverty in other countries and expanding the hard-won earnings of immigrants in the United States.¶ The lower costs may be one reason that remittances have held steady even as fewer immigrants from Mexico have come to the United States and the recession has cut into incomes. Overall remittances to Mexico declined during the global recession but picked up again after 2009.¶ Some experts say more money could flow to countries like Mexico if Congress approves an immigration overhaul granting a path to citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants, because studies have shown that legalization can lead to increased wages. Others argue that with legalization, many immigrants will invest more heavily in the United States, sending less of their income back to relatives.¶ The total remittance transfers sent across the globe from the United States in recent years are almost $50 billion annually, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, or roughly the equivalent of the government’s foreign aid budget. (Estimates by the World Bank suggest that the figure is significantly higher, close to $100 billion per year, according to Dilip Ratha, an economist who leads the World Bank’s remittances program.)¶ “Remittances may well be the best single way to foment development,” said Nancy Birdsall, the president of the Center for Global Development, a nonprofit research group in Washington. “It turns out that even a modest reduction in the cost of making remittance transfers adds up to a substantial amount compared to official aid.”¶ Estefana Bautista, who left two children in her native Mexico when she immigrated to Texas in 2005, said she pays $5 less to send them money now than when she first arrived, which she called “a big help.” “I send those 5 dollars to Mexico,” Ms. Bautista said. “My kids know that they’re getting a little more money every two weeks.”¶ Growing competition among transfer companies has been the driving force behind the steady decline in costs. A decade ago, Western Union and Money Gram dominated the market. Now they contend with dozens of international competitors like Xoom and Ria.¶ Western Union’s share of the global remittance market has dropped to about 15 percent from around 75 percent in the late 1990s, while Money Gram’s market share has declined to 5 percent from 22 percent in that time, according to the companies and government figures.¶ “What we’re really seeing is competition not just based on price, but also on service quality,” said W. Alexander Holmes, the chief financial officer of MoneyGram. “It’s a very interesting time in the market.”¶ Worldwide, costs for sending remittances to any country have come down from around 15 percent per $300 transaction in the late 1990s to below 10 percent today, Mr. Ratha said. For money sent to Mexico, costs have declined from 9.5 percent per $300 to just over 2 percent today.¶ In addition to fees covering the processing, remittance companies make money from converting currencies. Remittance experts say these exchange rate fees have not come down nearly as much in recent years. In a meeting in 2011, finance ministers from the Group of 20 countries committed to reducing remittance costs over all from around 10 percent to 5 percent per transaction by 2014.¶ This month, a bipartisan group in the Senate introduced proposals to allow immigrants here illegally to gain legal status and eventually become citizens.¶ Manuel Orozco, a remittances expert at the Inter-American Dialogue, a research group in Washington, said legalization could also lead to higher wages for this group of immigrants, who could in turn send along more of their disposable income.¶ According to Mr. Orozco’s analysis, undocumented Latin Americans send about 10 percent less money home than legal immigrants, partly because of low earnings. He estimates that legalizing that population would drastically increase overall remittance flows to Latin America.¶ However, other experts contend that widespread legalization may not increase income for these immigrants.¶ “Most of the reason that illegal immigrants earn low wages is not their illegality, it’s their lack of education,” said Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, adding that legalization “is not a life-changing development, as far as their earning power goes.”¶ Demetrios Papademetriou, the president of the Migration Policy Institute, said that while a path to citizenship would certainly increase the earnings of undocumented immigrants being exploited by employers, those at the higher end of the labor market might not see an increase in income until the job market improves. “It may not be easy for them to move into new jobs that will pay much better than the current jobs that they have,” Mr. Papademetriou said.¶ He added that in the long term, granting unauthorized immigrants legal status could actually make them less likely to send large sums of money abroad. “What you’re likely to see is a psychological and emotional shift toward the family here because now they’re safe and they’re permanently here,” he said.¶ Lower remittance fees have made things easier for Ms. Gonzalez’s youngest daughter, Itzel, who was born in the United States and lives with the family in Harlem. When Itzel was in middle school, her mother remembers her saying: “I don’t need brand-name shoes or clothes, but the computer, yes. That’s my tool to keep moving forward.”¶ So Ms. Gonzalez saved for the next three years and bought Itzel an Apple laptop for her 15th birthday. Three years later, Itzel won a scholarship to Haverford College. “The only one of my children that made it to college was Itzel,” Ms. Gonzalez said. “So I say, you see? It is worth fighting and making sacrifices.”

Kitroeff 13 “Immigrants Pay Lower Fees to Send Money Home, Helping to Ease Poverty”, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/us/politics/immigrants-find-it-cheaper-to-send-money-home.html?pagewanted=all

remittances have held steady . Overall remittances picked up again after 2009 experts say more money could flow to countries like Mexico if Congress approves an immigration overhaul granting a path to citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants Manuel Orozco, a remittances expert at the Inter-American Dialogue, a research group in Washington . He estimates that legalizing that population would drastically increase overall remittance flows to Latin America.

Remittances will increase with immigration laws

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Immigration from Mexico, the home country of a majority of newcomers to the U.S., declined 3% in January from the previous year, the Inter-American Development Bank reported in a recent study. Mexico's statistics agency also has documented the steady decline. Immigration from Mexico during the fourth quarter of last year was 29.4 people per 10,000 inhabitants, compared with 78.5 in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Nelson, 5/3 [Colleen McCain, “U.S. Immigration Overhaul Texts Mexican Partnership,” The Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2013, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323628004578460870826592476.html]

Immigration from Mexico, the home country of a majority of newcomers to the U.S., declined 3% in January from the previous year Mexico's statistics agency also has documented the steady decline Immigration from Mexico during the fourth quarter of last year was 29.4 people per 10,000 inhabitants, compared with 78.5 in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Immigration from Mexico is declining now

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

If we don't quickly and substantially reduce annual immigration, the additional millions will threaten nearly every aspect of life for not only the human residents but also the plant and animal inhabitants of this country. (Read how immigration-fuelled sprawl is destroying Americans' quality of life) By most measures, America's local, state and federal governments are unable to provide fully proficient infrastructures to handle our current population. Bridges, roads, schools, water and sewage systems, parks and other public infrastructure in many parts of the country are inadequate. Using immigration to force another hundred million people into our communities over the next few decades is a recipe for deteriorating quality of life for the American people. If U.S. Speaker of the House Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid were truly concerned about the future, today's Census announcement would trigger their call for an emergency session of Congress to determine how this country can possibly handle another 135 million people the next four decades -- and, more importantly, why it would want to handle that number. I remain convinced that if Congress had to confront the amount of infrastructure required to handle 135 million additional people, it would decide to take the easy way out and reduce immigration. While world population is projected to finally peak some time this century, U.S. population is on a trajectory to grow for centuries to come -- if Congress doesn't reduce immigration. This population growth poses huge energy problems. Even if Americans somehow cut their energy consumption by one third over the next half-century, the projected growth in population would negate nearly all the gain. The same is true about America's contribution of greenhouse gases. U.S. population growth threatens to erase all the gains the country might make over the next few decades in terms of per capita emissions, leaving the total U.S. contribution to greenhouse gases unchanged despite herculean efforts and expenses. For four decades, Congress has forced high levels of immigration and high levels of population growth, adding more than 100 million people to our communities in the process and congesting our streets and schools while contributing to the deterioration of much of our infrastructure. Americans should resolve today to push their favorite congressional candidates this fall to pledge to keep the new Census projection from happening by working to lower overall immigration to a traditional level.

Roy Beck, August 14, 2008, “New Nightmare Census Projections Reveal CHAIN MIGRATION Still Choking Our Future,” Numbers USA, https://www.numbersusa.com/content/nusablog/beckr/august-14-2008/new-nightmare-census-projections-reveal-.html

If we don't quickly and substantially reduce annual immigration, the additional millions will threaten nearly every aspect of life for not only the human residents but also the plant and animal inhabitants of this country. By most measures, America's local, state and federal governments are unable to provide fully proficient infrastructures to handle our current population. Bridges, roads, schools, water and sewage systems, parks and other public infrastructure in many parts of the country are inadequate. Using immigration to force another hundred million people into our communities over the next few decades is a recipe for deteriorating quality of life for the American people remain convinced that if Congress had to confront the amount of infrastructure required to handle 135 million additional people, it would decide to take the easy way out and reduce immigration. While world population is projected to finally peak some time this century, U.S. population is on a trajectory to grow for centuries to come -- if Congress doesn't reduce immigration. The same is true about America's contribution of greenhouse gases. U.S. population growth threatens to erase all the gains the country might make over the next few decades in terms of per capita emissions, leaving the total U.S. contribution to greenhouse gases unchanged despite herculean efforts and expenses. For four decades, Congress has forced high levels of immigration and high levels of population growth, adding more than 100 million people to our communities in the process and congesting our streets and schools while contributing to the deterioration of much of our infrastructure.

Chaining causes degradation of infrastructure, habitats, and increases green house gas emissions

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Some environmentalists support continued high levels of immigration, while most are uncomfortable with the topic and avoid discussing it. So strong is this aversion that groups such as the Sierra Club, which during the 1970s prominently featured strong commitments to U.S. population stabilization, have dropped domestic population growth as an issue.1 Several years ago, the group Zero Population Growth went so far as to change its name to Population Connection (“PC” for short). In 2006, the United States passed the 300 million mark in population—that’s 95 million more people than were here for the first Earth Day in 1970—with little comment from environmentalists. In 2007, as Congress debated the first major overhaul of immigration policy in nearly twenty years, leaders from the principal environmental organizations remained silent about competing proposals that could have meant the difference between a U.S. population of 300 million, 600 million, or 1.2 billion people in 2100. Like immigration policy for the past fifty years, immigration policy for the next fifty looks likely to be set with no regard for its environmental consequences. We believe this situation is a bad thing. As committed environmentalists, we would like to see our government set immigration policy (and all government policy) within the context of a commitment to sustainability. We don’t believe that the goals we share with our fellow environmentalists and with a large majority of our fellow citizens—clean air and clean water; livable, uncrowded cities; sharing the land with the full complement of its native flora and fauna—are compatible with continued population growth. It is time to rein in this growth—or forthrightly renounce the hope of living sustainably here in the United States.

Philip Cafaro, Department of Philosophy, Colorado State University, and Winthrop Staples III, wildlife biologist, 2009, “The Environmental Argument for Reducing Immigration into the United States,” Environmental Ethics, http://www.populationmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/the-environmental-argument-for-reducing-immigration-into-the-united-states.pdf

Some environmentalists support continued high levels of immigration, while most are uncomfortable with the topic and avoid discussing it In 2006, the United States passed the 300 million mark in population—that’s 95 million more people than were here for the first Earth Day in 1970—with little comment from environmentalists. In 2007, as Congress debated the first major overhaul of immigration policy in nearly twenty years, leaders from the principal environmental organizations remained silent about competing proposals that could have meant the difference between a U.S. population of 300 million, 600 million, or 1.2 billion people in 2100. Like immigration policy for the past fifty years, immigration policy for the next fifty looks likely to be set with no regard for its environmental consequences. this is a bad thing. we would like to see our government set immigration policy within the context of a commitment to sustainability. We don’t believe that the goals we share with our fellow environmentalists and with a large majority of our fellow citizens—clean air and clean water; livable, uncrowded cities; sharing the land with the full complement of its native flora and fauna—are compatible with continued population growth. It is time to rein in this growth—or forthrightly renounce the hope of living sustainably here in the United States.

Failure to prevent immigration-driven population growth precludes sustainable existence in the US

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Largely ignored is the view that legal immigration is already too high. That was the message of the last national commission that studied our immigration policies. The U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, chaired by Barbara Jordan, the late former Congresswoman (D-TX) and law school professor, recommended in the mid 1990s that legal immigration should be reduced. The Commission asserted with near unanimity that unique provisions of our immigration law that provide for chain migration, i.e., the ability for immigrants to sponsor extended family members, awarding immigrant visas by lottery, and reserving some immigrant visas for unskilled workers make no sense for the nation.¶ "We disagree with those who would label efforts to control immigration as being inherently anti-immigrant. Rather, it is both a right and a responsibility of a democratic society to manage immigration so that it serves the national interest." — Barbara Jordan, National Press Club, September, 1994¶

Federation for American Immigration Reform, 2013, “Rising Immigrant Admissions to the United States”, http://www.fairus.org/issue/rising-immigrant-admissions-to-the-united-states

legal immigration is already too high . The U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, chaired by Barbara Jordan, the late former Congresswoman (D-TX) and law school professor, recommended in the mid 1990s that legal immigration should be reduced ., the ability for immigrants to sponsor extended family members, awarding immigrant visas by lottery, and reserving some immigrant visas for unskilled workers make no sense for the nation.¶

Plan opens the floodgates for immigration

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Illegal aliens come to the United States to take jobs that offer them greater opportunity, and they are often welcomed by U.S. employers who are able to hire them for wages lower than they would have to pay to hire U.S. workers. This employment is illegal under a law enacted in 1986, but some employers ignore the law and hire illegal workers in the underground economy. Others simply accept fake employment documents and hire the illegal workers as if they were legal. Because there is no requirement to verify documents presented by workers, employers can easily evade compliance.¶ The illegal alien workers are mostly persons who sneaked into the country — nearly all Mexicans or Central Americans who enter from Mexico. There is also, however, illegal entry across the border with Canada, with apprehensions by the Border Patrol of more than 6,000 aliens in 2010. There is also a significant portion of the illegal alien population that arrives with visas and stays illegally. These ‘overstayers' are estimated variously to between one- third and 40 percent of the illegal alien population.¶ The defenders of illegal aliens — ethnic advocacy groups, employer groups, and church-based groups — often assert that illegal aliens only take jobs unwanted by U.S. workers. This is patently false because they are working in jobs in which U.S. workers are also employed — whether in construction, agricultural harvesting or service professions. ¶ If the hiring of illegal alien workers is prevalent in a sector of the economy, as it has become the case in seasonal crop agriculture, the willingness of foreign workers to accept lower wages because of their illegal status acts to depress wages and working conditions for all workers in that occupation. This in turn makes employment in that sector less attractive to U.S. workers who have other options. The result is a form of circular logic, i.e., the more that illegal aliens are able to take jobs in a sector of the economy, the less attractive the sector becomes to U.S. workers, and the greater appearance of validity to the lie that only illegal aliens are willing to take jobs in the sector. Only by enforcing the immigration law against employment of illegal alien workers can this spiral to the bottom be broken and employers forced to restore wages and working conditions to levels that will attract U.S. workers and legal foreign workers.

Federation for American Immigration Reform, 2013, “Illegal Aliens Taking U.S. Jobs”, http://www.fairus.org/issue/illegal-aliens-taking-u-s-jobs

often welcomed by U.S. employers who are able to hire them for wages lower than they would have to pay to hire U.S. workers. only take jobs unwanted by U.S. workers. This is patently false because they are working in jobs in which U.S. workers are also employed — whether in construction, agricultural harvesting or service professions. the willingness of foreign workers to accept lower wages This in turn makes employment in that sector less attractive to U.S. workers who have other options. The result is a form of circular logic, i.e., the more are able to take jobs in a sector of the economy, the less attractive the sector becomes to U.S. workers,

Extra immigration takes away jobs from Americans

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Immigration policy’s effect on the labor force should be carefully considered, but the vast majority of immigrants are not admitted based on education or skill level. In 2009, the U.S. admitted over 1.1 million legal immigrants, just 5.8 percent of whom possessed employment skills in demand in the United States. By contrast, 66.1 percent were based on family preferences, or 73 percent if the relatives of immigrants arriving on employment visas are included. 16.7 percent of admissions were divided among refugees, asylum- seekers and other humanitarian categories, while 4.2 percent of ad - missions were based on the diversity lottery (which only requires that winners have completed high school). 2 Some family-based im - migrants may be highly educated or skilled, but the vast majority of admissions are made without regard for those criteria.¶ the immigrant population reflects the system’s lack of emphasis on skill. Nearly 31 percent of foreign-born residents over the age of 25 are without a high school diploma, compared to just 10 percent of native-born citizens. 3 Immigrants trail natives in rates of college attendance, associate’s degrees, and bachelor’s degrees, but earn ad - vanced degrees at a slightly higher rate (10.9 percent, compared to 10.4 percent for natives). 4 Illegal immigrants are the least-educated group, with nearly 75 percent having at most a high school educa - tion. Overall, 55 percent of the foreign-born population has no ed - ucation past high school, compared to 42 percent of natives. 5¶ the median immigrant worker has an income of $30,000 per year, trailing native workers by about 18 percent. At $22,500 per year, illegal aliens make even less than their legal counterparts. 6 though U.S.-born children of legal immigrants are no more likely to be in poverty than those in native households, the children of illegal aliens and foreign-born children of legal immigrants are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty. 7¶ Both legal and illegal immigrants lag significantly behind natives in rates of health insurance coverage. Just 14 percent of native adults were uninsured in 2008, compared to 24 percent of legal immi -¶ 3I mmigration, Poverty and Low-Wage Earners: The Harmful Effect of Unskilled Immigrants on American Workers¶ grants and 59 percent of illegal aliens. Chil - dren were even more disproportionately uninsured. 8 these low rates of insurance come despite a higher use of Medicaid than native households, 24.4 percent versus 14.7 percent in 2007. 9 Overall, immigrants and their children make up about one-third of the uninsured population. 10¶ Immigrants in the Labor Market¶ A common argument adopted by defenders of illegal immigration is that illegal aliens only take jobs that natives are unwilling or unable to do. In reality, immigrants and na - tives compete in the same industries, and no job is inherently an “immigrant job.” Less than 1 percent of the Census Bureau’s 465 civilian job categories have a majority immigrant workforce, meaning that most employees in stereotypically “immigrant occupations” like housekeeping, construc - tion, grounds keeping, janitorial service, and taxi service are actually natives. 11¶ the U.S. economy is oversaturated with unskilled labor. In May 2010, the unem - ployment rate for high school dropouts reached 15 percent, compared to just 4.7 percent among those with a bachelor’s de - gree. 12

Eric a. Ruark, director of research and Matthew Graham, 2011, Federation for American Immigration Reform, “Poverty and Low-Wage Earners: The Harmful Effect of Unskilled Immigrants on American Workers”, http://www.fairus.org/issue/immigration-poverty-and-low-wage-earners-the-harmful-effect-of-unskilled-immigrants-on-american-work

the vast majority of immigrants are not admitted based on education or skill level. In 2009, the U.S. admitted over 1.1 million legal immigrants, just 5.8 percent of whom possessed employment skills in demand in the United States .¶ the immigrant population reflects the system’s lack of emphasis on skill. Nearly 31 percent of foreign-born residents over the age of 25 are without a high school diploma, compared to just 10 percent of native-born citizens A common argument adopted by defenders of illegal immigration is that illegal aliens only take jobs that natives are unwilling or unable to do. In reality, immigrants and na - tives compete in the same industries, and no job is inherently an “immigrant job.” Less than 1 percent of the Census Bureau’s 465 civilian job categories have a majority immigrant workforce, meaning that most employees in stereotypically “immigrant occupations” like housekeeping, construc - tion, grounds keeping, janitorial service, and taxi service are actually natives. 11¶ the U.S. economy is oversaturated with unskilled labor.

There are already too many low skilled workers, the plan exacerbates the problem

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

If one included workers who are employed part-time for economic reasons or want a job but have given up looking, many more millions of unemployed or un - deremployed workers are added to that total. Based on this measure, economists Andrew Sum and Ishwar Khatiwada used¶ Poverty and Health Insurance¶ Current Population Survey data to peg the underutilization rate of high school dropouts at 35 percent, compared to 21 percent for high school graduates, 10 percent for bachelor’s recipients, and just 7 percent among advanced degree-earners. 13¶ Wage data and occupational patterns also indicate an unskilled labor surplus. the lowest rates of underutilization were found to be in “professional and managerial jobs” like legal, computer, and math-related occupations. Low- skill jobs had by far the highest underutilization rates, with food preparation and service at 24.7 percent, building and grounds cleaning at 24.6 percent, and construction at 32.7 percent. 14 Even before the current economic downturn, indicators revealed a surplus of unskilled labor, as real hourly wages declined by 22 percent among male high school dropouts between 1979 and 2007. For male high school graduates, the drop was 10 percent. Over the same period, real wages for college graduates rose by 23 percent. 15¶ the current economic slowdown has reduced labor demand and forced many out of work, making it more im - portant than ever to address the unskilled labor surplus. the labor force participation rate dropped from 63 per - cent in 2007 to 58.5 percent in June 2010, even while the unemployment rate more than doubled. 16 Job competition has also greatly increased since the onset of the recession. the number of job seekers per job increased from about 1.5 in April 2007 to 5.0 in April 2010, a figure that does not account for underemployed or dis - couraged workers. 17¶ Immigration policy and enforcement are two of the most important determinants of America’s labor supply, and the U.S. immigration system continues to contribute to the unskilled labor surplus, while the federal government has consistently failed to enforce the laws prohibiting the employment of illegal workers. Between 2000 and 2007, immigration increased the supply of high school dropouts in the labor force by 14.4 percent, compared to just a 2 to 4 percent increase for groups with higher educational attainment. 18 A large share of the increase in unskilled labor was caused by illegal entry — over the same period, an estimated four million illegal immigrants took up residence in the U.S., about two million of whom had no diploma and another million of whom had no education past high school. 19¶ the large influx of unskilled, sometimes desperate workers has allowed employers to offer low wages and de - plorable conditions. Special interests have successfully promoted the myth that Americans refuse to do some jobs, but in truth, immigrants and natives work alongside one another in all low-skill occupations. Reducing low-skill immigration, especially illegal immigration, would tighten the labor market and force employers to in - crease wages and improve working conditions.¶ The empirical attempts at supporting the claim that there are not enough Americans to do certain jobs are ex - tremely short-sighted. Some reports, including the Immigration Policy Center’s “Untying the Knot” series, have taken any observable demographic difference between immigrants and natives to imply that they do not compete for jobs. In one case, the authors write that, “[t]here were 390,000 unemployed natives without a high‐school¶ 5I ¶ diploma who had no occupation, compared to zero employed recent immigrants without a high‐school diploma.” 20 In other words, the authors limit the sample to people who report having no occupation , then claim that because no immigrants who do have an occupation have the same education level as some unemployed na - tives, there is no competition between immigrants and natives. This is not evidence of anything.¶ Every “finding” made in the “Untying the Knot” series is consistent with an assumed lack of immigrant-native competition. e authors attempt to prove that immigrants and natives of different skill levels live in different parts of the country by making observations like, “the largest share (26.9 percent) of all employed recent immi - grants without a high school diploma lived in the Pacific states … [b]ut the largest share (18.9 percent) of un - employed natives without a high‐school diploma lived in the East North Central states.” 21 ese percentages gloss over the reality that there are millions of low-skill natives in Pacific states and millions of immigrants in East North Central states. e authors attempt to use slight differences in regional demographics to mask the fact that there are immigrants and natives competing within the same skill levels and occupations in every part of the country.¶ Just as importantly, the study’s attempt to use regional differences to disprove immigrant-native competition is seriously flawed. Downward wage pressure and job displacement occurs nationally, rendering local differences less significant. For example, the shift toward illegal labor in the meatpacking industry moved production from urban to rural areas and applied cost-cutting pressure to meat producers everywhere. Natives in one part of the country lost jobs to illegal immigrants in another part. e claims in “Untying the Knot” are meaningless and misleading, and the premise of the claims out of touch with the realities of the U.S. labor market. Nonetheless, pro-amnesty groups apparently found the report’s baseless conclusions to be quite useful — the Immigration Policy Center, an offshoot of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, touted the report as its second most utilized resource in 2009. 22¶ Others looking to justify a need for unskilled labor treat employers as if they were not interested parties. Em - ployers often claim shortages of unskilled labor to justify their need for a constant supply of migrant workers, whether legal or illegal. These claims are not backed by wage patterns or employment data. In fact, employers do not take full advantage of existing unskilled worker programs. The H-2A visa for temporary agricultural workers is uncapped, meaning that employers could legally bring in as many seasonal laborers as they need through the H-2B visa program, the demand for which was so low in 2009 that USCIS extended the application deadline and ultimately left about 10,000 visas unclaimed at the end of the year. 23 Claims that farmers would be unable to harvest their crops without illegal immigrants are pure fiction. 24 Instead, they could use legal im - migrants or natives.¶ In addition to the practice of hiring illegal aliens rather than using legal guest worker programs, employers have turned away from hiring teens. The steep decline in teen employment since the 1980s, both year-round and during the summer, is unprecedented for any demographic group in American history. Teen summer employment hit a 60-year low in 2008, with just 32.7 percent of teens holding a summer job. Over 3.4 million teens were¶ 6 Federation for American Immigration Reform either unemployed, underemployed, or part of the labor force reserve that summer. The households who have suffered most are the ones that would benefit most from another income-earner — low-income teens were nearly twice as likely to be underutilized as high-income teens. 25¶ Overall, there is a massive pool of unskilled natives that needs work. In May 2010, 7.1 million natives with a high school diploma or less were unemployed, another 3.1 million were not considered part of the labor force but reported wanting a job, and 2.7 million more were working part-time for an economic reason. 26 It would make no sense to grant permanent legal status and full job market access to millions of unskilled illegal alien workers at the expense of these 12.9 million natives, not to mention the millions more whose wages have been undercut by low-skill immigration. Politicians should not succumb to corporate America’s addiction to ever- growing quantities of unskilled immigrant labor.

Eric a. Ruark, director of research and Matthew Graham, 2011, Federation for American Immigration Reform, “Poverty and Low-Wage Earners: The Harmful Effect of Unskilled Immigrants on American Workers”, http://www.fairus.org/issue/immigration-poverty-and-low-wage-earners-the-harmful-effect-of-unskilled-immigrants-on-american-work

Wage data and occupational patterns also indicate an unskilled labor surplus. Low- skill jobs had by far the highest underutilization rates, the labor force participation rate dropped from 63 per - cent in 2007 to 58.5 percent in June 2010, even while the unemployment rate more than doubled. Immigration policy and enforcement are two of the most important determinants of America’s labor supply, and the U.S. immigration system continues to contribute to the unskilled labor surplus Between 2000 and 2007, immigration increased the supply of high school dropouts in the labor force by 14.4 percent, Special interests have successfully promoted the myth that Americans refuse to do some jobs, but in truth, immigrants and natives work alongside one another in all low-skill occupations. Reducing low-skill immigration, especially illegal immigration, would tighten the labor market and force employers to in - crease wages and improve working conditions The empirical attempts at supporting the claim that there are not enough Americans to do certain jobs are ex - tremely short-sighted. Politicians should not succumb to corporate America’s addiction to ever- growing quantities of unskilled immigrant labor.

The plan adds to increasing the unskilled workers surplus

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Regardless of their views about the overall economic effect of immigration, almost all economists agree that poor native workers bear the brunt of its negative consequences. Foreign-born workers compete with natives on all skill levels, but because immigrants to the U.S. are disproportionately unskilled, they are especially likely to un - dercut the wages of low-skill natives. An analysis of America’s 25 largest metropolitan areas showed that in high- skill industry groups like health professionals, technicians, administrative workers, and educators, immigrant earnings were usually within 10 percent of native wages; however, in unskilled groups like construction, machine operators, drivers, and farming, foreign-born workers consistently earned at least 10 percent less than their peers. 27 Immigrant-native competition is an important concern in high-skill jobs, but is much more acute in low-skill industries.¶ Illegal aliens are the least skilled subset of the immigrant population, and therefore the most likely to undercut the wages and working conditions of low-skilled natives. Among seventeen industry categories named by the Pew Research Center as having the highest proportions of illegal aliens, data from the Current Population Survey reveal that noncitizens earned lower wages than natives in all but one of them. 28 Data for noncitizens, which in - cludes legal and illegal immigrants as well as temporary laborers, differ from data on illegal aliens because the latter tend to have lower wages and fewer skills. However, data on noncitizens are a much better fit for illegal aliens than using the foreign born population as a whole. In construction, noncitizens earned less than two- thirds of natives’ wage salaries, and in the two agricultural categories, they earned less than half. 29 Wage and salary differences demonstrate how illegal and unskilled immigrants place downward pressure on wages by pro - viding an incentive for employers to choose them over natives. The opportunity to exploit workers is the reason big business clamors for more immigrant labor.¶ Most wage-effect studies do not analyze illegal immigrants as a separate group because most demographic data is not differentiated on that basis. However, what evidence does exist indicates that they constitute a major drag on unskilled wages. In 2010, Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda of the Center for American Progress estimated that unskilled workers would on average make about $400 more per year if the illegal immigrant population were reduced by 4 million, or approximately one-third. 30 In Georgia, where the illegal immigrant share of the labor force went from about 4 percent to 7 percent from 2000 to 2007, a study by the Federal Reserve found that the illegal labor caused a 2.5 percent wage drop overall and an 11 percent drop in construction wages over the period. 31 is analysis used a confidential state employer database that helped identify Social Security mismatches, making it one of the most sophisticated estimates available. ¶ Other estimates focus on the entire immigrant population, whose education is comparable to natives at the high end but overwhelmingly unskilled at the other end of the distribution. e National Research Council’s landmark 1997 study estimated that high school dropouts earn 5 percent less per year due to immigration, which totaled $13 billion in wage losses at a time when the illegal alien population stood at less than half its present number. 32 Harvard University’s George Borjas concluded that immigration reduced wages for the poorest 10 percent of Americans by about 7.4 percent between 1980 and 2000 with even larger effects for workers with less than 20 years of experience. 33 Other economists who have found that immigration depresses low-skilled wages include the Cato Institute’s Daniel Griswold. 34 If legal and illegal immigration continue to add to the overabundance of unskilled workers, the consequences for poor natives will continue to grow.¶

Eric a. Ruark, director of research and Matthew Graham, 2011, Federation for American Immigration Reform, “Poverty and Low-Wage Earners: The Harmful Effect of Unskilled Immigrants on American Workers”, http://www.fairus.org/issue/immigration-poverty-and-low-wage-earners-the-harmful-effect-of-unskilled-immigrants-on-american-work

Regardless of their views about the overall economic effect of immigration, almost all economists agree that poor native workers bear the brunt of its negative consequences. Foreign-born workers compete with natives on all skill levels, but because immigrants to the U.S. are disproportionately unskilled, they are especially likely to un - dercut the wages of low-skill natives. the least skilled subset of the immigrant population, and therefore the most likely to undercut the wages and working conditions of low-skilled natives Harvard University’s George Borjas concluded that immigration reduced wages for the poorest 10 percent of Americans by about 7.4 percent between 1980 and 2000 with even larger effects for workers with less than 20 years of experience. 33 Other economists who have found that immigration depresses low-skilled wages include the Cato Institute’s Daniel Griswold. 34 If legal and illegal immigration continue to add to the overabundance of unskilled workers, the consequences for poor natives will continue to grow

Low Skilled worker immigration lowers wages for American Workers

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

A strong link exists between low-skill immigrant labor and native unemployment. Steve Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies found a correlation of 0.9 between low-skill immigrants’ share of an occupation and the native unemployment rate in that occupation; the correlation between the illegal immigrant share of an oc - cupation and native unemployment was also high at 0.91 (the highest possible correlation is 1). Translated from statistical terminology, these numbers show that illegal and low-skill immigration go hand-in-hand with a rise in native unemployment. The share of illegal and low-skill immigrants in a job category explains about 80 percent of the variance in native unemployment between different occupations. 35¶ Any large-scale immigration reform must address the impact of both legal and illegal immigration on the un - skilled labor surplus. Congress could easily mandate cost effective employer-based measures such as E-Verify that would deter illegal immigration and encouage voluntary emigration due to decreasing employment oppor - tunities for illegal workers. Illegal aliens are rational people.

Eric a. Ruark, director of research and Matthew Graham, 2011, Federation for American Immigration Reform, “Poverty and Low-Wage Earners: The Harmful Effect of Unskilled Immigrants on American Workers”, http://www.fairus.org/issue/immigration-poverty-and-low-wage-earners-the-harmful-effect-of-unskilled-immigrants-on-american-work

A strong link exists between low-skill immigrant labor and native unemployment a correlation of 0.9 between low-skill immigrants’ share of an occupation and the native unemployment rate in that occupation , these numbers show that illegal and low-skill immigration go hand-in-hand with a rise in native unemployment low-skill immigrants in a job category explains about 80 percent of the variance in native unemployment between different occupations.

Increasing low skilled immigration contributes American unemployment

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Many labor and immigration analysts believe illegal immigrants have a negative effect on wages and job opportunities for low-skill workers. Vernon M. Briggs, a professor at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, believes the downward pressure on wages is so great that an all-out effort should be made to crack down on companies that hire undocumented workers.

Russ Buchanan “Why is immigration bad for the U.S.?” http://www.ehow.com/list_5776034_immigration-bad-u_s__.html May 21, 2013


labor and immigration analysts believe immigrants have a negative effect on wages and job opportunities for low-skill workers.

Immigrants have a negative effect on the economy


Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

An ecological footprint measures how much land and water area a population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its wastes. Most immigrants to the United States come from less technologically advanced countries. Because of the lifestyles of those countries, their people tend to consume less and produce less waste; that is, they have a smaller ecological footprint.1 ¶ Per capita ecological footprint increases when immigrants come to the United States¶ When immigrants come to the United States, they do not maintain the traditional lifestyle of their home country. Rather, they quickly adapt to the American lifestyle. As they do, they become greater consumers and polluters; their individual ecological footprint increases. For example, the carbon footprint of the average immigrant is 302 percent higher than it would have been had s/he remained at home.¶ This does not justify the consumptive patterns of Americans; however, it does indicate that that we can reduce the immediate stress upon our environment by limiting immigration to the U.S.¶ Immigration → Overpopulation → Environmental Degradation¶ The problem is not merely that immigrant’s ecological footprint increases after they arrive in America although that fact is troubling in itself. Immigration also causes overpopulation. Environment degradation does not solely depend on per capita consumption and waste; it also matters how many people there are. Simply stated:¶ (Environmental Degradation) = (Per Capita Ecological Footprint) x (Population)¶ The more people there are in the United States, the more we as a whole degrade the environment. This is the problem of population growth, and immigration worsens it severely.¶ The Pew Research Center estimates that post 1970’s immigrants and their children will constitute 82 percent of population growth from 2005 to 2050.2 We can not manage our nation’s ecological footprint unless we stabilize our population. But we cannot stabilize our population without reducing annual immigration to a sustainable level. For the sake of our environment, we need a moratorium on immigration.¶ graph of increase¶ What the environment degradation factors mean¶ Methane Production. The gas methane contributes to the greenhouse effect, which is increasing the world’s temperature.¶ Freshwater Consumption. We are depleting or polluting freshwater much faster than it is being replaced. Mass immigration exacerbates the shortage of freshwater.¶ Industrial CO 2 Production. CO2 (carbon dioxide) is the primary gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect. CO2 is perhaps our worst and most immediate environmental danger, and immigrants triple their CO2 production by coming to the United States.¶ Energy Consumption. Ninety-three percent of U.S. energy comes from a non-renewable source, and each source degrades the environment in some way.3 The average immigrant more than triples his energy consumption.¶ Cattle Production. While cattle production may seem benign, it is not. Cattle emit methane, cause soil erosion, pollute streams, and require the conversion of forest into rangeland. Immigration more than quintuples the average immigrant's effect on the production of cattle.¶ Fertilizer Consumption. Although fertilizer increases short-term crop yields, it also salts the earth, poisoning land and water systems. The average immigrant increases his use of fertilizer by a factor of six upon arriving in America.¶ Fish Production. Nearly half of America’s native fish species are in danger of extinction. On average, when people immigrate to the United States, their contribution to the problem increases six fold.¶

Federation of American Immigration Reform, June 2009, “Environmental Impact”, http://www.fairus.org/issue/environmental-impact

Per capita ecological footprint increases when immigrants come to the United States¶ When immigrants come to the United States, they do not maintain the traditional lifestyle of their home country. Rather, they quickly adapt to the American lifestyle. As they do, they become greater consumers and polluters; their individual ecological footprint increases we can reduce the immediate stress upon our environment by limiting immigration to the U.S The more people there are in the United States, the more we as a whole degrade the environment. This is the problem of population growth, and immigration worsens it severely.¶ The Pew Research Center estimates that post 1970’s immigrants and their children will constitute 82 percent of population growth from 2005 to 2050.2 We can not manage our nation’s ecological footprint unless we stabilize our population. But we cannot stabilize our population without reducing annual immigration to a sustainable level On average, when people immigrate to the United States, their contribution to the problem increases six fold

Mass immigration hurts the environment

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

According to Harvard Professor of Economics and Social Policy George J. Borjas, the education gap between recent immigrants and native citizens is growing. As a result, many immigrants have low-income jobs, and are more likely to rely on public assistance. Since states and local governments pay most welfare benefits, native citizens in states with high levels of immigrants pay more in taxes to help support indigent immigrants.

Russ Buchanan “Why is immigration bad for the U.S.?” http://www.ehow.com/list_5776034_immigration-bad-u_s__.html May 21, 2013

According to Harvard Professor of Economics and Social Policy Borjas, the education gap between recent immigrants and native citizens is growing. As a result, many immigrants have low-income jobs, and are more likely to rely on public assistance. native citizens pay more in taxes to help support immigrants

Immigrants more likely to rely on public assistance

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Immigration is the most significant factor contributing to the United States's population increase. According to Joseph Chamie, Director of Research at the Center for Migration Studies, this is due not only to their numbers, but also a greater tendency to have more offspring than native citizens. In his July 30, 2009 piece, "US Immigration Policy Likely to Boost Population," Chamie predicts the population of the U.S. will reach 439 million by 2050, with immigrants making up 70 percent of the total population increase.

Russ Buchanan “Why is immigration bad for the U.S.?” http://www.ehow.com/list_5776034_immigration-bad-u_s__.html May 21, 2013

Immigration is the most significant factor contributing to the United States's population increase. According to Chamie, Director of Research at the Center for Migration Studies, this is due not only to their numbers, but also a greater tendency to have more offspring than native citizens. Chamie predicts immigrants making up 70 percent of the total population increase.

Immigrants create too large of a population increase


Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

The Mexican government continued to improve the abilities of its security forces to counter terrorism. The United States supported these efforts by providing training and equipment to Mexican law enforcement and security agencies, sharing information, and promoting interagency law enforcement cooperation. The United States also supported Mexican efforts to address border security challenges along its southern and northern borders and its ports. The Mexican and U.S. governments shared information and jointly analyzed transnational threats; promoted information and intelligence sharing; deployed enhanced cargo screening technologies; and strengthened passenger information sharing. Mexican and U.S. officials also continued coordinated efforts to prevent the transit of third country nationals who may raise terrorism concerns. On the Mexico-U.S. border, officials increased coordination of patrols and inspections and improved communications across the border. On the Mexico-Guatemala-Belize border, Mexico deployed additional security forces and implemented biometric controls. Mexico remained an important partner nation in the Department of State's Antiterrorism Assistance program, which continued its overall shift in focus from protection of national leadership training to border security, preventing terrorist safe havens, and protecting critical infrastructure.

State Department, 5/30 [Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, “Chapter 2. Country Reports: Western Hemisphere Overview,” Country Reports on Terrorism 2012, May 30, 2013, http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2012/209984.htm]

The Mexican government continued to improve the abilities of its security forces to counter terrorism. The United States supported these efforts by providing training and equipment to Mexican law enforcement and security agencies, sharing information, and promoting interagency law enforcement cooperation. The United States also supported Mexican efforts to address border security challenges along its southern and northern borders and its ports Mexican and U.S. officials also continued coordinated efforts to prevent the transit of third country nationals who may raise terrorism concerns. On the Mexico-U.S. border, officials increased coordination of patrols and inspections and improved communications across the border.

Mexico is successfully bolstering border security and counteracting terrorism

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

The Mexican government on Tuesday voiced concern about U.S. congressional proposals to beef up security along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying it was divisive and would not solve the problem of illegal immigration.¶ Immigration plays a significant part in the countries' bilateral relations. Millions of Mexicans live and work on the U.S. side of the border and tens try to enter the United States annually, often at peril to their lives.¶ "Our country has let the United States government know that measures which affect links between communities depart from the principles of shared responsibility and good neighborliness," Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade said in a televised statement.¶ "We're convinced that fences do not unite, fences are not the solution to the migration phenomenon and are not in line with a modern, safe border."¶ On Monday, a border security amendment seen as crucial to the fate of an immigration bill backed by President Barack Obama cleared a key procedural hurdle in the U.S. Senate, helping pave the way for the biggest changes to U.S. immigration law since 1986.¶ The amendment would double the number of agents on the southern border to about 40,000 over the next 10 years and provide more high-tech surveillance equipment to stop illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. The amendment also calls for finishing construction of 700 miles (1,120 km) of border fence.¶ The bill would also grant legal status to millions of undocumented foreigners, who would be put on a 13-year path to citizenship.

Reuters 6/25 (Reuters Business and Financial News) “Mexico Concerned By U.S. Measure To Strengthen Border Security” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/mexico-concerned-border-security_n_3498605.html

The Mexican government voiced concern about U.S. congressional proposals to beef up security along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying it was divisive and would not solve the problem of illegal immigration Immigration plays a significant part in the countries' bilateral relations Our country has let the United States government know that measures which affect links between communities depart from the principles of shared responsibility and good neighborliness," Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade said We're convinced that fences do not unite

Senate bill proves Mexico doesn’t like border security

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Border scholars have on the whole rejected the claim that the U.S.–Mexico border has been dissolved by late modern crossborder migrations of capital, people, and practices. However, in noting the escalation of militarized policing practices in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands in the midst of liberalizing trade agreements such as NAFTA, the tendency in this literature has been to reconcile hegemonic U.S. geopolitical and geoeconomic practices in the region as paired. In conversation with these approaches to U.S. statecraft in the region, I propose that border policing in the wake of September 11, 2001, surfaces the long-standing relative incoherence of U.S. geopolitical and geoeconomic practice. By investigating how nonlocally conceived policies come apart on the ground in terms of the local circumstances each produce, I describe the border as a security/economy nexus in U.S. statecraft.

Coleman 05 [Department of Geography, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90025-1524, USA http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096262980400126X]

Border scholars have on the whole rejected the claim that the U.S.–Mexico border has been dissolved by late modern crossborder migrations of capital, people, and practices. noting the escalation of militarized policing practices in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands in the midst of liberalizing trade agreements such as NAFTA, the tendency in this literature has been to reconcile hegemonic U.S. geopolitical and geoeconomic practices in the region as paired. By investigating how nonlocally conceived policies come apart on the ground in terms of the local circumstances each produce,

U.S. NAFTA policies bad – Mexico border

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Since the late 1990s, there has been a slow but steady decline in the number of rural Mexicans migrating north. Agriculture economist Ed Taylor at the University of California, Davis, says that decline has little to do with U.S. immigration policy.¶ Taylor's research suggests that declining birth rates in rural Mexico, where the economy has also improved in recent years, is the reason why fewer migrants are coming to the U.S. And since farms in Mexico have also expanded to meet the year-round produce demands north of the border, why risk going north?¶ "Many [American] farmers also have this sense that, if Washington can just get its house in order and pass immigration reform, their problems will be over, and that isn't what our research is showing," Taylor says.¶ Farms here are going to have to learn how to do more with less immigrant labor, Taylor says. That means switching to less labor-intensive crops, or mechanization.¶ In the Salinas Valley town of Gonzales, Frank Maconachy with the company Ramsay Highlander may have an answer for farmers worried about big labor shortages.¶ "The labor resource is dwindling, so we needed to develop a machine that could mechanically cut ... efficiently, effectively, safely and get the crop to market competitively," he says.

Kirk Siegler (reports for NPR) “Why An Immigration Deal Won't Solve The Farmworker Shortage” April 30, 2013 http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/04/30/180053057/why-an-immigration-deal-wont-solve-the-farmworker-shortage

, there has been a slow but steady decline in the number of rural Mexicans migrating north. that decline has little to do with U.S. immigration policy declining birth rates in rural Mexico, where the economy has also improved in recent years, is the reason why fewer migrants are coming to the U.S. And since farms in Mexico have also expanded to meet the year-round produce demands north of the border, why risk going north .¶ Farms here are going to have to learn how to do more with less immigrant labor

Plan won’t solve the agriculture industry

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Research cited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says there is no correlation between immigration and high unemployment. ¶ But one major critic disagrees and says that illegal immigrants are already competing with native-born Americans for jobs, particularly low-wage, unskilled service jobs. ¶ In a new report released today, “Immigration, Poverty and Low-Wage Earners: The Harmful Effect of Unskilled Immigrants on American Workers,” FAIR (Federation for Immigration Reform) says the president’s vision for comprehensive immigration reform would add thousands, if not millions, more unskilled workers to the labor force, which is still struggling under the recession. ¶ FAIR finds that out of 1.1 million new legal immigrants accepted annually, less than 6 percent “were admitted because they possessed skills deemed essential to the U.S. economy.” Making illegal workers legal, and opening up the process to let more immigrants into the country, would only make that worse, said Ira Mehlman, FAIR’s media director. ¶ “Here we have a policy that actually increases poverty,” Mehlman tells FoxNews.com, noting that 7.1 million Americans with a high school diploma or less are already unemployed. ¶ “Some family-based immigrants may be highly educated or skilled, but the vast majority of admissions are made without regard for those criteria,” charges the FAIR report.

Kelley Vlahos, Fox News, “Report Warns Easing Immigrants' Path to Citizenship Will Further Harm Economy” May 31, 2011 http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/31/report-warns-easing-immigrants-path-citizenship-harm-economy/

one major critic says that illegal immigrants are already competing with native-born Americans for jobs, particularly low-wage, unskilled service jobs a new report released today, “Immigration, Poverty and Low-Wage Earners: The Harmful Effect of Unskilled Immigrants on American Workers,” Federation for Immigration Reform) says the president’s vision for comprehensive immigration reform would add thousands, if not millions, more unskilled workers to the labor force, which is still struggling under the recession of 1.1 million new legal immigrants accepted annually, less than 6 percent “were admitted because they possessed skills deemed essential to the U.S. economy.” Making illegal workers legal, and opening up the process to let more immigrants into the country, would only make that worse, said Ira Mehlman, FAIR’s media director “Some family-based immigrants may be highly educated or skilled, but the vast majority of admissions are made without regard for those criteria,” charges the FAIR report

Legal immigration destroys the economy

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

The potential for an accidental nuclear war remains as a threat to the Arctic regions. On January 25, 1995 Boris Yeltsin activated his "nuclear briefcase" when Russian radar detected a rocket launch from somewhere off the Norwegian coast. The rocket was first thought to be headed towards Moscow, but eventually veered away from Russian territory. The rocket was in fact an American scientific probe sent to examine the northern lights. The Norwegians had informed the Russians of the launch, but mis-communications had resulted in the failure of the message to reach the proper Russian officials. (4) This incident, while hopefully rare, indicates that the potential for nuclear misunderstanding remains as real as ever. In addition to the Russian Government's perception of a military threat posed by the United States, as evidenced by the continuing weapons programme in Russia and the continued threat of accidental nuclear war, some American policy-makers are perceiving an increased military threat from Russia. In particular, they are questioning the assistance provided to the Russians for the purpose of decommissioning their older nuclear submarines. (5) They are concerned that such programmes are subsidizing the Russian modernization of their submarine fleets. However, the current administration does not share this point of view. Nevertheless, it is necessary to recognize that the American leadership is bound to be disturbed if, on the one hand, the Russians continue to plead poverty when decommissioning their older submarines while, on the other hand, they continue to build the Borei class. The Americans have also demonstrated with their recent actions that they have every intention of pursuing Arctic security issues on a multilateral basis, but only of their choosing. As the Standing Committee Report correctly points out, the Americans refused to join the Arctic Council unless it was specifically precluded from addressing issues of security. Accordingly, a footnote was included in the Council's declaration which stated "The Arctic Council should not deal with matters related to military security." Such a requirement would seem to indicate that the Americans do not want to take any action that might hinder their ability to define security issues in the Arctic. However, at the same time that they were insisting that the Arctic Council not deal with security issues, they were signing another agreement with the Russians and the Norwegian to do precisely that. The Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (AMEC) calls for the three partners to work together to address environmental issues caused by military activity. (6) The agreement provides that six projects will be conducted to transport and clean up radioactive and non-radioactive pollutants from military sites. While such a move is laudable, it is not clear as to why the United States would agree to undertake such actions under the AMEC but not under the Arctic Council. It would appear that the Americans have a specific agenda that they wish to follow, but it is not clear as to what this may be. The objectives of the American Government are particularly confusing given that the Arctic Council Declaration was signed on September 19, 1996 while the AMEC was signed on September 9, 1996. (7) Speculating as to the motives of the American Government, the most logical explanation is that the three partners of the AMEC did not want the other five members and three permanent participants of the Arctic Council involved in the process. Why this would be the case is currently unknown. The questions that arise is what these factors may have to do with Canadian security issues in the Arctic and why the Standing Committee should be concerned. Two main issues need to be addressed. First, these factors demonstrate that the Canadian Government still needs to be wary about military security issues. As much as the end of the Cold War has reduced these threats, they have not been completely eliminated. The development of a new class of Russian ballistic missile submarines, entailing the provision of scarce resources to an expensive project, demonstrates the Russians current belief in nuclear deterrence despite the end of the Cold War. Many of these submarines will inevitably be stationed in the Northern base of Murmansk upon completion. Secondly, even if the Russian actions do not pose a real threat to Canada, there is cause for concern if the Americans perceive these actions as a threat. The warnings of Professor Nils Orvik, formerly of Queens University, need to be recalled when he wrote about the "Defence against help". (8) Canadians may decide that there no longer are military threats in the Arctic, but if the Americans do not share this view, then Canada has to respond to American fears. Thus, it is important that a full appreciation of American northern security apprehensions be understood. A concern for Canada is the possibility that the Americans are beginning to worry about a reemerging Russian threat in the form of its nuclear force modernization. At this point, the anxiety of some American members of Congress are not shared by the U.S. Administration. But if this or any future administration begins to adopt such concerns, Canada will inevitably be involved. It is imperative that Canadian officials take a proactive position rather than simply being caught up in such a set of circumstances. What then can be done? There are a number of options. First, Canada needs to promote a frank and open debate among the Arctic nations in order to determine what security issues remain as a source of problems. While it is much more politically acceptable to focus such a discussion on only environmental issues, it avoids dealing with the complete picture. Why is it necessary for Russia to build the Yuri Dolgoruky? If the belief is that such projects are necessary to protect Russian ship building capacity, can other less threatening project not be found? Why does the United States refuse to allow the Arctic Council to address military security, even though it has signed another agreement with Norway and Russia to deal with such issues? What can be done to eliminate American concerns about Russian submarine building programmes? While answers to these questions are not immediately apparent, solutions can only be attained through discussion. Another option is that Canada take the lead in developing additional safeguards against the dangers of accidental nuclear war in the Arctic. Hopefully the Russian reaction to the 1995 rocket launch is a single abberation. However, only one such abberation is necessary for massive destruction where nuclear weapons are concerned. If the Arctic Council is not allowed to deal with such issues, other mechanisms need to be put in place. A central registry for all missile launches, open to public scrutiny, would serve as both a central coordinating function as well as a confidence building mechanism. Furthermore, consideration should also be given to Canadian policy if tensions should re-emerge in the North. To ignore such concerns in the hope that they will simply go away is not the optimal policy for Canada. Canada should do all that it can to promote improved cooperation and peaceful cooperation, but options need to be available to restore relations in the event that they deteriorate among the Arctic states. At the very least, such options would provide Canada with a modicum of preparedness

Huebert 7 (Prof. Rob Huebert, Department of Political Science/Strategic Studies Program, University of Calgary, 2007, “Canada and the Circumpolar World: Meeting the Challenges of Cooperation into the Twenty-First Century: A Critique of Chapter 4 - "Post-Cold War Cooperation in the Arctic: From Interstate Conflict to New Agendas for Security." Omitted Arctic Security Issues,” http://www.carc.org/calgary/a4.htm

On January 25, 1995 Boris " . The rocket was first thought to be headed towards Moscow, but eventually veered away from Russian territory sent to examine the northern lights. The , . these factors demonstrate that . As much as the end of the Cold War has reduced , they The a new class of , entailing the provision of scarce resources to an expensive project, despite the end of the Cold War. Many of these submarines will inevitably be stationed in the Northern base of Murmansk upon completion , even if the Russian actions do not pose a real threat to Canada, there is cause for concern if the Americans perceive these actions as a threat for Canada in the form of its nuclear force modernization Hopefully the Russian reaction to the 1995 rocket launch is a single abberation. However, At the very least, such options would provide Canada with a modicum of preparedness

Artic conflict escalates to global nuclear war- only cooperation with Canada can prevent war

Mexico Negative - MSDI 2013.html5

Missouri State (MSDI)

Case Negatives

2013

As the presidential election of 2012 approaches, more and more critics are deriding President Obama’s pre-election vision of hope and change, targeting what they consider to be Obama’s naivete in foreign policy. This January, however, the president announced one significant foreign policy reform that he hopes will counter such criticism. In a memorandum entitled “Reaching Out to the Cuban People,” he detailed foreign policy changes between the United States and Cuba that ease the fifty-year American embargo on Cuba. The three-part reform measure that has gone largely unnoticed attempts to create more contact with the citizens of Cuba, and the changes it implements are certainly admirable. As its failures over the past fifty years have shown, however, the embargo is a Cold War remnant of political tension that is hurting American industry, America’s reputation abroad, and most directly, the Cuban people. Analysis of the negative ramifications of the embargo reveals that President Obama should fully end the oppressive embargo and reconnect the United States with the Cuban citizenry.¶ The economic embargo was first enacted in 1960 as the swift answer to communist President Fidel Castro’s seizure of American property in Cuba. Since then, every American president has maintained the embargo in some form, with a conditional promise to lift it when Cuba adopts a democratic system of government.¶ Last year, President Obama ended restrictions on travel and cash remittances by family members of Cubans, but his newest move has forced politicians and citizens alike to reconsider the issue. Although Cuba is still not fully open to the public and businesses, the new policy aims “to enhance contact with the Cuban people and support civil society” by allowing approved licensed travelers for “purposeful travel.”¶ Following the changes, a variety of groups can visit the communist state: religious organizations are now able to travel for missionary purposes, academic institutions are able to sponsor study abroad programs, and cultural groups are encouraged to host conferences along with other forms of “educational exchange.” Additionally, reporters have been given more freedom to travel to Cuba for journalistic purposes. The new policy also allows remittances of $500 per quarter that can be sent by Americans to Cuban citizens (excluding senior Cuban government officials and members of the Communist Party). The final part of the memorandum affects charter flights to Cuba which had been previously restricted to Miami and a few other airports. Now, all international airports can apply for licenses allowing flights to Cuba for family members and others engaging in “purposeful travel.”¶ The loosening of restrictions continues a series of recent improvements in American-Cuban relations. Although Cuba is undoubtedly facing economic woes—500,000 government workers were laid off last September—citizens are slowly approaching true political freedom. In February 2008, Fidel Castro resigned from his position as president of Cuba due to health reasons, and Cuba’s National Assembly selected his relatively moderate brother, Raul, as his successor. When taking office, Raul Castro suggested that Cuba may be headed “toward a more democratic society,” and Cuba is indeed showing signs of change. In 2009 Raul Castro offered to speak with President Obama, saying, “We have sent word to the U.S. government in private and in public that we are willing to discuss everything, human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners, everything.” Citizens in Cuba are now allowed to own cell phones, and farmers can till their own land. Most recently, Cuba has been releasing political prisoners, some of whom had been sentenced to decades of imprisonment.¶ The political buzz generated by the memorandum is to be expected, given that the embargo policy has been a part of American diplomacy for fifty years. Like most members of his party, Cornelius Mack (R-FL) had harsh feelings toward the president’s policy change, saying that the “dictatorship is one of the most brutal in the world. The U.S. economic embargo must remain in place until tyranny gives way to freedom and democracy.” In a statement that defied the Democratic party line, Cuban-American Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) echoed the sentiments, calling the loosening of the embargo a “gift to the Castro brothers [that] will provide the regime with the additional resources it needs to sustain its failing economy.”¶ Yet the changes are also receiving support from varied sources. Pepe Hernandez, head of the Cuban-American National Foundation, praised the shift for allowing impoverished Cubans to fight for economic independence from the Castro administration. Rev. Michael Kinnamon, speaking on behalf of the National Council of Churches, commended the move, saying, “We look forward to the day when the U. S. embargo of Cuba will be lifted completely.” Even some Republicans favor the change, including Senator Richard Lugar, who said last year that “the unilateral embargo on Cuba has failed to achieve its stated purpose of “bringing democracy to the Cuban people.”¶ Those who still favor the use of the embargo see it as a way to pressure the communist regime of Cuba. The idea was that, the embargo would inflict hunger and suffering among Cubans, weakening the regime and even spurring a revolt against the Castro regime. But Lugar is correct: the failed history of the embargo should disabuse us of this notion. Over the last five decades, American-Cuban relations have been characterized by stagnation and hostility. The country has certainly shown signs of hardship, but the Cuban people have not been able to organize and protest against the government. Instead, Fidel Castro was able to rule with an iron first, before handing the presidency to his brother. Fidel Castro continues issue regular tirades in the newspaper Granma, which serves as the mouthpiece for the Cuban Communist Party. Clearly, the outdated embargo has served to strengthen the Castro regime, rather than create extreme instability. Perhaps most tragic has been the fate of the Cuban people, who continue to suffer economically, politically, and even emotionally: the nation has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.¶ Although the president deserves praise for the diplomatic changes, they are not new. During the Carter and Clinton administrations, similar restrictions were lifted, but the changes were short-lived. Moreover, the embargo under the George W. Bush administration was very strictly enforced, effectively negating Clinton’s reforms. The recent changes loosen the restrictions, but the basic tenet of banned trade remains intact. American industries are still not permitted to engage in business with the communist nation. Although weakening the embargo is certainly a step in the right direction, the nation needs to take further steps to end the punitive policy.¶ Increasing contact with the Cuban people is certainly not equivalent to accepting communism. Rather, it exposes Cubans to the democratic principles espoused by the United States and the benefits of capitalism. At the present time, Cubans are inundated with anti-American propaganda spewed by state-run media sources. Even though funds from America may indeed benefit the Cuban economy, it is time to let diplomacy show American support for the Cuban people. By abandoning the Cuban people, the United States is leaving them at the mercy of a communist regime that continues to retain power. Forming economic, academic, and cultural connections will allow the United States to introduce American ideas to Cubans in a peaceful and effective way.¶ In addition to aiding the Cuban people, ending the embargo would strengthen America’s own economic interests and improve her reputation abroad. American businesses currently yearn for the untapped potential present in Cuba, and the opening of trade would help the United States assert dominance during a difficult economic time. Furthermore, the negative global consequences of the embargo would be curbed. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called the present embargo a “cruel and aggressive policy absolutely contrary to international law” and much of the international community agrees; in October 2010, the United Nations voted to end the U.S. embargo for the 19th consecutive year, with 187 members voting against the embargo and the only two votes supporting the embargo from the United States and Israel.¶ President Obama has taken a step in the right direction with his modification of the embargo against Cuba, but it is simply not enough. In the current, relatively moderate Cuban political environment, ending the fifty-year-old embargo would give the Cuban people the American economic and cultural connection they sorely need. If Obama limits his actions to the superficial changes of Carter and Clinton, both the president and his policies may be gone in 2012. Relations between the United States and Cuba cannot afford to wait another fifty years.

AFP 11 (American Foreign Policy Magazine, Princeton Student Editorials on Global Politics. "Ending the Embargo Against Cuba: Why Obama’s Baby Steps Are Not Enough" March 16, 2011. afpprinceton.com/2011/03/ending-the-embargo-against-cuba-why-obama’s-baby-steps-are-not-enough/)

the president announced In a memorandum entitled “Reaching Out to the Cuban People,” he detailed foreign policy changes between the United States and Cuba that ease the fifty-year American embargo on Cuba the embargo is a Cold War remnant of political tension that is hurting American industry, America’s reputation abroad, and most directly, the Cuban people Obama should fully end the oppressive embargo and reconnect the United States with the Cuban citizenry. President Obama ended restrictions on travel and cash remittances by family members of Cubans, but his newest move has forced politicians and citizens alike to reconsider the issue The loosening of restrictions continues a series of recent improvements in American-Cuban relations. citizens are slowly approaching true political freedom. We look forward to the day when the U. S. embargo of Cuba will be lifted completely Lugar said the unilateral embargo on Cuba has failed to achieve its stated purpose of “bringing democracy to the Cuban people.” Those who still favor the use of the embargo see it as a way to pressure the communist regime of Cuba. American-Cuban relations have been characterized by stagnation and hostility outdated embargo has served to strengthen the Castro regime, rather than create extreme instability. the Cuban people continue to suffer economically, politically, and even emotionally: the nation has one of the highest suicide rates in the world During the Carter and Clinton administrations, similar restrictions were lifted, but the changes were short-lived. The recent changes loosen the restrictions, but the basic tenet of banned trade remains intact. American industries are still not permitted to engage in business with the communist nation. Although weakening the embargo is certainly a step in the right direction, the nation needs to take further steps to end the punitive policy. it is time to let diplomacy show American support for the Cuban people. By abandoning the Cuban people, the United States is leaving them at the mercy of a communist regime that continues to retain power In addition to aiding the Cuban people, ending the embargo would strengthen America’s own economic interests and improve her reputation abroad. American businesses currently yearn for the untapped potential present in Cuba, and the opening of trade would help the United States assert dominance during a difficult economic time the negative global consequences of the embargo would be curbed Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called the present embargo a “cruel and aggressive policy absolutely contrary to international law” and much of the international community agrees; the United Nations voted to end the U.S. embargo for the 19th consecutive year modification of the embargo is simply not enough ending the fifty-year-old embargo would give the Cuban people the American economic and cultural connection they sorely need. Relations between the United States and Cuba cannot afford to wait another fifty years

Loosening restrictions is insufficient – repealing the full embargo is key to help the Cuban people, American businesses, and international credibility

Cuba Embargo Affirmative Addendum - Northwestern 2013 6WeekSeniors.html5

Northwestern (NHSI)

Affirmatives

2013

Cuba’s Communist authorities denied Yoani Sánchez (right) the right to travel twenty times, but she has now arrived in the Czech Republic, Radio Praha’s Jan Richter reports:¶ Sánchez, who said she only knew Prague from the books of Milan Kundera, will attend the One World Festival of human rights documentaries and appear at a concert in support of Cuban artists, organized by the humanitarian Czech NGO People in Need,* which provides support for Cuban journalists and opposition activists.¶ But the dissident blogger warned that the partial relaxation of travel curbs did not signify a real shift in government policy.¶ “I don’t think that this is a sign of significant political change,” she said. “Instead, the government is trying to create the impression that Cuba is progressing and improving, that the country has begun to open up. The reality is that repression continues on the island [see videos below], and that human-rights and opposition activists continue to be violently oppressed.”¶ “I do hope that there will be change. But I don’t believe it could come from the government. Rather, the civic society, which has developed and acquired new tools such as technology, can push for a process of democratisation. That’s my hope.”¶ Cuban dissidents are equally skeptical that Raul Castro’s announcement that he will step down in 2018 will do more than re-allocate authority within the ruling elite. Castro’s appointed “dauphin,” Vice-president Miguel Diaz-Canel, would be the first leader not to be a veteran of the Cuban revolution – assuming he ever takes office.¶ “It’s going to be a challenge,” said analyst Brian Latell. “The record of the Cuban revolution is littered with the names of people who were thought to be No. 3 or 2 and all of them fell by the wayside, going back to Che Guevara.”¶ Diaz-Canel’s elevation is a sign of continuity rather than change, observers suggest.¶ “It confirms the gradualism of Raúl’s approach,” said Geoff Thale, program director for the Washington Office on Latin America, referring to Castro’s modest economic reforms. “I don’t think there’s any evidence that he is someone looking to bring rapid or dramatic change to Cuba’s political or economic system,” he tells the New York Times:¶ Raúl Castro has mostly praised [Diaz-Canel] for his hard work, and his “ideological firmness” — more than enough to attract the ire of anti-Castro Cuban-Americans who have already criticized him for being a Castro protégé. American officials have expressed skepticism, noting that the top-down selection of a new leader does not amount to democracy.¶ Mr. Díaz-Canel may in fact find himself on a lonely perch if he manages to seize the top job. He will be surrounded by pent-up demands for more significant change, but without the heft attributed to the Castros and the revolutionaries who fought with them.¶ “He will have to watch his back,” Mr. Latell said.¶ The ruling Communist party’s determination to retain its political monopoly explains why external actors need to keep up the pressure, and post-Communist states like the Czech Republic have a special role and responsibility, said Sánchez.¶ “The position of the Czech government towards the opposition – one of solidarity, collaboration and support, is very important at this moment,” she said. “It seems that for many, Cuban affairs are beginning to lose importance because many people believe that Cuba is changing. Maintaining the pressure is crucial.”¶ Sánchez arrived in Prague after a visit to Brazil, where she received a hostile reception from Leftist demonstrators, reportedly orchestrated by the Cuban regime, who on one occasion, “burst into an event at a bookstore, forcing organizers to cancel it,” the Wall Street Journal reports:¶ For many Brazilians, the headline-making attacks are a national embarrassment. In one dramatic scene in Bahia this week, the 71-year-old Brazilian Sen. Eduardo Suplicy put himself between an angry mob and Ms. Sánchez to protect her. “Have the courage to listen!” he shouted. They didn’t, and the event was canceled for safety reasons.¶ “Why are we talking so much about Cuba and Yoani Sánchez? Because this woman is living proof of the Castros’ unfulfilled promise of liberty, a promise that seduced and involved, from the start, some of the greatest intellects of our continent,” wrote O Estado de S. Paulo columnist Eugênio Bucci.¶ Sánchez noted that the demonstrators were exercising the rights to protests and free speech denied to Cuba’s people.¶ “I am a self-taught democrat. I believe in the plurality of ideas. But when it comes to verbal or physical violence, that’s no longer plurality, that’s fanaticism,” she said, explaining Latin America’s “illusion” about Cuba.¶ “There are young people attracted to the idea of revolution. And there are not so young people who can’t accept that the ideas they believed in are defunct, or for whom it is too late in life to say ‘I was wrong.’ ”¶ Brazil’s ruling Workers’ Party has remained supportive of Cuba’s Communist dictatorship. Pro-democracy activists criticized then-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva when he suggested that hunger-striking dissidents were common criminals. Labor unionists have also highlighted Lula’s hypocrisy, recalling the international solidarity he received while struggling for the same democratic rights as a young union militant.¶ Brazil’s stance could backfire when Cuba becomes a democracy, said Sánchez.¶ “There’s been a lack of toughness or frankness [from Brazil] when it comes to talking about human rights on the island. I would recommend a more energetic position, because the people don’t forget,” she said.

DemDigest 13 (Democracy Digest, Democracy Digest provides news, analysis and information on democracy assistance and related issues. The Digest consists of a blog and an e-bulletin produced at the National Endowment for Democracy. "'Repression continues' in dubious transition to post-Castro Cuba" February 28, 2013. www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/02/repression-continues-as-dubious-transition-to-post-castro-cuba-starts/)

Cuba’s Communist authorities denied Sánchez the right to travel twenty times the partial relaxation of travel curbs did not signify a real shift in government policy I don’t think that this is a sign of significant political change,” she said. “Instead, the government is trying to create the impression that Cuba is progressing and improving, that the country has begun to open up. repression continues on the island and that human-rights and opposition activists continue to be violently oppressed.” “I do hope that there will be change. But I don’t believe it could come from the government. Rather, the civic society, which has developed and acquired new tools such as technology, can push for a process of democratisation. the gradualism of Raúl’s approach,” said Thale I don’t think there’s any evidence that he is someone looking to bring rapid or dramatic change to Cuba’s political or economic system American officials have expressed skepticism, noting that the top-down selection of a new leader does not amount to democracy. The ruling Communist party’s determination to retain its political monopoly explains why external actors need to keep up the pressure, Why are we talking so much about Cuba and Yoani Sánchez? Because this woman is living proof of the Castros’ unfulfilled promise of liberty, a promise that seduced and involved, from the start, some of the greatest intellects of our continent,” been a lack of toughness or frankness [from Brazil] when it comes to talking about human rights on the island. I would recommend a more energetic position, because the people don’t forget,”

Gradual reforms fail and continue political repression

Cuba Embargo Affirmative Addendum - Northwestern 2013 6WeekSeniors.html5

Northwestern (NHSI)

Affirmatives

2013

The instability in international markets and the increase in food prices in a country somewhat dependent on food imports threatens national sovereignty. This reality has prompted high officials to make declarations emphasizing the need to prioritize food production based on locally available resources.12 It is in fact paradoxical that, to achieve food security in a period of economic growth, most of the resources are dedicated to importing foods or promoting industrial agriculture schemes instead of stimulating local production by peasants. There is a cyclical return to support conventional agriculture by policy makers when the financial situation improves, while sustainable approaches and agroecology, considered as “alternatives,” are only supported under scenarios of economic scarcity. This cyclical mindset strongly undermines the advances achieved with agroecology and organic farming since the economic collapse in 1990.

Altieri and Funes 12 (Miguel A. Altieri and Fernando R. Funes-Monzote. "The Paradox of Cuban Agriculture" Monthly Review: An Independent Socialism Magazine, Vol 63, Iss 8, 2012. monthlyreview.org/2012/01/01/the-paradox-of-cuban-agriculture)

instability in international markets and the increase in food prices in a country somewhat dependent on food imports threatens national sovereignty to achieve food security in a period of economic growth, most of the resources are dedicated to importing foods or promoting industrial agriculture schemes instead of stimulating local production by peasants. There is a cyclical return to support conventional agriculture sustainable approaches and agroecology, considered as “alternatives,” are only supported under scenarios of economic scarcity. This cyclical mindset strongly undermines the advances achieved with agroecology and organic farming

Cuba isn’t transitioning to sustainable agg now

Cuba Embargo Affirmative Addendum - Northwestern 2013 6WeekSeniors.html5

Northwestern (NHSI)

Affirmatives

2013

United States ¶ The 1992 Cuban Democracy Act all but prohibited commercial sales of agricultural products between the United States and Cuba.'" The loosening of restrictions under "'SRA and Cuba's need to import food in the wake of Hurricane Michelle in November 2001 provided the impetus for trade to resume.' In 2002. the first shipments of U.S. rice arrived in Cuba (table 2.3). The flow of products steadily increased from S26.000 in 2000 to a peak of $392 million in 2004. Sales fell 10 percent in 2005 to $352 million. and fell a further 2 percent in 2006 to $337 in According to the Cuban government, this decline resulted from changes in U.S. regulations on export payments and financing in March 2005.'s Other commentators have attributed the decline to other factors, such as the availability of favorable financing tenns front competitive suppliers and an overall decline in imports in 2006." The effects of the March 2005 regulatory changes are described in chapter 3. ¶ In general. agricultural products imported from the United States have lower costs of delivery and warehousing than competitive products from third-country exporters because of the proximity of the U.S. ports to Cuba. the marketing efficiency of the U.S. exporters. the SMaller volume of individual shipments, and the transportation and handling capacity. of U.S. ports? In 2001 an unnamed Cuban official estimated that the proximity of U.S. Gulf ports saves freight. warehousing. and interest costs. and gives U.S. exporters the equivalent of up to a 20 percent price advantage over third-country suppliers to Cuba.21 The lack of domestic storage capacity for agricultural products and poor internal rail' and truck delivery. heightens the advantages U.S. exporters have in being able to make timely deliveries of smaller shipments on a "just-in-time" basis. U.S. suppliers are reported to service the three major Cuban ports in a matter of one day or less. as compared to 25 days for sailing from ¶ In 2006. the United States accounted for a substantial percentage of Cuban imports of wheat (66 percent). corn (71 percent). rice (77 percent), poultry (65 percent), pork (42 percent). soybeans (lot) percent). and animal feed (76 percent). The drop in imports from the United States in 2005 was concentrated in a few products. mainly rice and animal feed. Cuban imports front the United States of set eral commodities increased hem een 2004 and 2005, including soybeans. fats and oils, pork, dairy products, and dry beans. ¶ The Cuban government's access to foreign exchange limits Cuban imports. especially those from die United States. since no U.S. commercial credit can be pros ided. This underscores the importance of Cuban-American family um el and remittances and dollar receipts from tourism to the ('than economy. Changes in U.S. government regulations from March 2003 to June 2004 cased family travel restrictions to Cuba and increased the amount that each tot clef could cam fi om $$00 to $3.000.' This action had the potential to substantially increase the Cuban government's access to foreign exchange and its ability to purchase food and agricultural products from the United States during this period. ¶ EU ¶ The EU was the second largest supplier of agricultural products to Cuba in 2006 but has seen its share of the Cuban import market decline from 50 percent to less than 20 percent between 2000 and 2006. EU sales of w heat and poultry to Cuba fell in 2004 when the Cuban government shifted to other suppliers such as the United States, Brazil. Argentina. and Canada. The significant appreciation of the Euro against the Cuban peso and U.S. dollar during 2003-06 made U.S. and third-country agricultural products relatively less expensive;' ¶ Lower EU wheat sales to Cuba coincided with increased Cuban wheat imports from the United States and Canada. This shift away from the EU toward imports from the North American suppliers ma) suggest a Cuban preference for higher quality w heat and cm ay from w heat flour.' The building of several Cuban w heat mills also contributed to higher w heat. and lower wheat flour imports EU poultry sales to Cuba fell from $14 5 million to $2.7 million during 2000-06 and were offset by increased imports from Brazil and the United States! The EU still retains a large percentage of die Cuban import market for milk powder and wheat flour. ¶ Brazil ¶ Cuban agricultural imports from Brazil increased more than six-fold during 2000-06. In 2006. Cuban imports of Brazilian sugar were over $50 million, up from zero in 2000. Brazilian meat exports to Cuba also increased six-fold from $6 million in 2000 to almost S40 million in 2006. Pork accounted for 61 percent. and beef and poultry for 29 percent of the mod al tie of Brazilian meat exports to Cuba in 2006. Brazil also sold significant quantities of powdered milk and soybean oil to Cuba. ¶ An important factor in the increase in Cuban food imports from Brazil was reportedly the Cuban got ernment seeking political support for admission to Mercosur. Cuba acceded to Mercosur in July 2006 Brazil imported the vast majority of Cuba's exports to Mercosur countries in 2004 and continues to purchase large quantities of Cuban goods. ¶ Argentina ¶ Cuban imports from Argentina increased 73 percent by value between 2000 and 2006. This increase was primarily led by gains in corn, powdered milk, and dry beans Dairy and corn each accounted for 25 percent of total shipments in 2006. Dry beans increased significantly. from 5288.001) in 2000 to $13 million in 2006. Like Brazil. Argentina is member of Mercosur. and it is possible that Cuba's shift in food suppliers assay from the EU to Mercosur members w as designed to support Cuba's accession to the trading bloc. The Argentine peso declined about 50 percent relative to the U.S. dollar from 2001 to 2006," and increased Argentine price competitiveness.

ITC 7 (United States International Trade Commission. "U.S. Agricultural Sales to Cuba: Certain Economic Effects of U.S. Restrictions" USITC pulication 3932, July 2007. http://books.google.com/books?id=OEGpZfNR0a8C&pg=SL8-PA4&lpg=SL8-PA4&dq=cuban+agriculture+globalization&source=bl&ots=3lSPv0oekY&sig=Wy6YrIm2yPsLsbx3SLdiTaVetrY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sFr9UaXuOMfmrQHqk4GwCA&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false)

In 2002 U.S. rice arrived in Cuba flow of products steadily increased agricultural products imported from the United States have lower costs of delivery and warehousing than competitive products from third-country exporters because of the proximity U.S. suppliers are reported to service the three major Cuban ports in a matter of one day or less. the United States accounted for a substantial percentage of Cuban imports of wheat (66 percent). corn (71 percent). rice (77 percent), poultry (65 percent), pork (42 percent). soybeans (lot) percent). and animal feed (76 percent). The EU was the second largest supplier of agricultural products to Cub Lower EU wheat sales to Cuba coincided with increased Cuban wheat imports from the United States and Canada The EU still retains a large percentage of die Cuban import market for milk powder and wheat flour Cuban agricultural imports from Brazil increased more than six-fold Cuban imports of Brazilian sugar were over $50 million Brazilian meat exports to Cuba also increased six-fold Cuba acceded to Mercosur in July 2006 Brazil imported the vast majority of Cuba's exports to Mercosur countries in 2004 Cuban imports from Argentina increased 73 percent This increase was primarily led by gains in corn, powdered milk, and dry beans

Cuba is already receiving an influx of food supplies from other countries

Cuba Embargo Affirmative Addendum - Northwestern 2013 6WeekSeniors.html5

Northwestern (NHSI)

Affirmatives

2013

Today, South American regionalism is primarily driven by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). UNASUR began its operations in 2011 and its membership boasts every South American state with the sole exception of French Guiana. The organization has already set some lofty goals for itself, envisioning a future regional currency, passport, and even a joint parliament.¶ The stated goal of UNASUR is to pursue growth not just for growth's own sake, but also for the greater goal of reducing inequality and poverty; problems which previous economic strategies have failed to address. Like many developing nations around the world, those in Latin America have a long history of experimenting with West-endorsed, neoliberal trade policies. These policies have included: specializing in export-oriented primary products, reducing government spending on social services, and increasing trade with the developed world. However as the years marched on and these strategies failed to bring prosperity and change to impoverished and underprivileged populations, South American governments decided to step away from this pattern and instead pursue change by increasing ties with one another. UNASUR is the latest substantive effort to do this.¶ It has been a long road to reach this moment in South American regionalism, and many lessons were learned along the way. One important teacher was the predecessor to UNASAR- the Andean Community of Nations (CAN). This organization was formed in 1969 by Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela. Originally envisioned as a trade bloc, CAN gave rise to harmonized policies and institutions that were meant to facilitate economic relations amongst member states and provide more leverage in dealings with external powers. It followed the European model of a regional organization with a kind of supra-state structure. However, it is often criticized for becoming bogged down by disagreements between its members. Though highly centralized, no reliable conflict-resolution framework was ever put in place, and political differences persistently produced significant delays and impasses. Though CAN is still in existence today, the rise of other, more thoroughly institutionalized and more strongly supported organizations have left CAN a secondary consideration in contemporary regional endeavours, moreover one with only a handful of remaining members.¶ The Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) was the dominant regional presence in Latin America for many years. Originally a 1980s trade agreement between Argentina and Brazil, it later expanded to include Paraguay, Uruguay, CAN member states as associates, and soon Venezuela as well. Like CAN, it is intended not only to improve and deepen regional trade, but also to present a strong, large, unified South American economy to Western trading partners. In some ways, MERCOSUR sought to overcome the weaknesses of CAN. Whereas CAN established a central organization but failed to implement proper conflict resolution processes, MERCOSUR is less a governing body and more a rough framework; it is a set of institutions and practices designed to facilitate intergovernmental relations and agreements. Moreover, where CAN has maintained a mostly economic and commercial focus, MERCOSUR has attempted to foster a sense of community and regional identity, similar to ASEAN's Socio-Cultural Community. Importantly, both the economic and the social goals of MERCOSUR have been designed in part to address internal problems such as poverty, corruption, and inequality. It is hoped that the pooling of resources and standardization of political practices can improve conditions in a way that previous neoliberal policies never could. Unfortunately, even with a framework in place specifically designed to assist intergovernmental relations, without a strong, European-style superstructure or central body, MERCOSUR has been faced with enforcement difficulties, and fewer than half of its directives have come into effect.¶ UNASUR represents a step forward in the evolution of South American regionalism. It seeks to bridge the two methods of CAN and MERCOSUR. It is institutionalized in a supranational structure, like CAN or the EU, but it also has a solid foundation of conflict resolution and enforcement processes. Moreover, like MERCOSUR, it has a strong focus on the alleviation of poverty and inequality and seeks to foster a sense of regional community, thereby reducing the often divisive effect of zealous nationalism that can impede effective regional policy-making.

Rose 12 (Zak Rose for Geopolitical Monitor, Canadian intelligence publication and consultancy. "EU: The Straw that Broke the Back of Latin American Regionalism?" July 9, 2012. www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/eu-the-straw-that-broke-the-back-of-latin-american-regionalism-4699)

South American regionalism is primarily driven by the Union of South American Nations The stated goal of UNASUR is to pursue growth not just for growth's own sake, but also for the greater goal of reducing inequality and poverty developing nations in Latin America have a long history of experimenting with West-endorsed, neoliberal trade policies CAN gave rise to harmonized policies and institutions that were meant to facilitate economic relations amongst member states and provide more leverage in dealings with external powers. It followed the European model of a regional organization with a kind of supra-state structure. trade agreemen is intended not only to improve and deepen regional trade, but also to present a strong, large, unified South American economy to Western trading partners MERCOSUR sought to overcome the weaknesses of CAN. it is a set of institutions and practices designed to facilitate intergovernmental relations and agreements. resources and standardization of political practices can improve conditions in a way that previous neoliberal policies never could. UNASUR has a strong focus on the alleviation of poverty and inequality and seeks to foster a sense of regional community, thereby reducing the often divisive effect of zealous nationalism that can impede effective regional policy-making.

Regional institutions are able to cooperate with Western powers

Cuba Embargo Affirmative Addendum - Northwestern 2013 6WeekSeniors.html5

Northwestern (NHSI)

Affirmatives

2013

Since he took office, U.S. President Barack Obama has articulated a policy toward Latin America that is centered on the idea of partnership. As he said last April, there would be “no senior or junior partner to this new engagement.” The United States, in other words, would be but one actor on the regional stage, not its director. But recent crises -- from the coup in Honduras to simmering tensions in the Andes -- have revealed a fundamental weakness in the Obama administration’s nascent Latin America policy. Without strong U.S. leadership, partnership in the Americas risks inertia or, even worse, an escalation of tensionson many of the hemisphere’s critical issues, such as transnational crime, democracy, and security. Although some countries -- including Brazil and Chile -- have been willing to take on diplomatic responsibilities commensurate with their economic status, they remain averse to conflict with neighbors, even to the point of willfully downplaying existing disagreements. Such an approach may have served Latin American governments well in the past, when a unified front helped to push issues such as debt relief and alternative thinking on antinarcotics policy. But the failure of any one country to assume a larger regional profile -- especially with regards to protecting norms and security -- has allowed problems to fester.

Sabatini and Marczak, ’10 [January 2010, As Senior Director of Policy, Christopher Sabatini oversees the Americas Society and Council of the Americas’ (AS/COA) research and publishing programs. In his capacity at the AS/COA, he chairs the organizations’ working group on rule of law which recently published a report on rule of law in the hemisphere titled Rule of Law, Economic Growth and Prosperity, which in 2008 appeared in Spanish. Dr. Sabatini also chairs the AS/COA’s Cuba Working Group. In April 2007, Dr. Sabatini created and launched the AS/COA’s policy journal, Americas Quarterly (AQ). He is now the Editor-in-Chief of AQ and oversees the AQ website (www.americasquarterly.org) on which he has a regular blog on policy in the Americas, Jason Marczak is director of policy at Americas Society and Council of the Americas and senior editor of the AS/COA policy journal Americas Quarterly, “Obama’s Tango, Restoring U.S. Leadership in Latin America”, http://www.unc.edu/world/2010Seminars/LANC%20reading%202.pdf]

Since he took office, U.S. President Barack Obama has articulated a policy toward Latin America that is centered on the idea of partnership The United States, in other words, would be but one actor on the regional stage, not its director. But recent crises have revealed a fundamental weakness in the Obama administration’s nascent Latin America policy. Without strong U.S. leadership, partnership in the Americas risks inertia or, even worse, an escalation of tensionson many of the hemisphere’s critical issues, such as transnational crime, democracy, and security. Although some countrie have been willing to take on diplomatic responsibilities commensurate with their economic status, they remain averse to conflict with neighbors, even to the point of willfully downplaying existing disagreement But the failure of any one country to assume a larger regional profile -- especially with regards to protecting norms and security -- has allowed problems to fester.

Strong Latin American Relations is key to stop escalation in the region and solve international security and democracy

Cuba Embargo Affirmative Addendum - Northwestern 2013 6WeekSeniors.html5

Northwestern (NHSI)

Affirmatives

2013

New opportunities for US-Latin America Relations: Which Partnerships? To prepare new partnerships it is important to have in mind the three processes already reviewed: prevailing global trends, US government policies and the status of the US economy, and priorities that Latin American governments are ready to carry out. The United States faces years of constraints. It will have to devote greater resources to preserving the competitive and technological edge that is critical to maintaining its influence. It is likely that Latin America—especially South America—will continue to multiply its exchanges with Asia over the next five years. Rates of investment and the expansion of the middle class in China, India, and other middle-income countries will drive global growth through expanded domestic consumption. Latin America will account for a larger share of the demand for products than industrialized countries. In this global context, the United States will be closely following events in Latin America—as a market, an energy supplier, and a region with which it shares problems and opportunities. Most US attention will focus on Mexico and Brazil, albeit for different reasons and with different emphases. Mexican markets, oil resources, and migrants have a strong impact in the United States. Mexico and the United States need to work closely together in combating drugs and organized crime. Brazil will draw high levels of US attention because of its rising global role, expanding market, industrial progress, and the production of oil, food and biofuels. Immigration will continue to be necessary for the United States to sustain its growth. Negative aspects of immigration tend to grab the spotlight, but the fact remains that Latin American immigrants make a major contribution to the US economy. A recent report5 projects that the US population will increase from 310 million in 2010 to 370 million in 2030, half of it as a result of immigration. This would make the United States the only industrialized country to have population growth through 2030. Leaving aside Brazil and Mexico–whose size will make them increasingly important actors–the rest of the countries should cooperate and coordinate with one another more effectively to have some influence on global political and economic trends. The expanding role of Brazil and Mexico is guaranteed by their sheer size. But smaller Latin American countries must seek closer cooperation and coordination to enhance their influence.Each will take the initiative and seek mutually beneficial arrangements with the United States. As a start, three areas are worth pursuing: democracy strengthening; energy and climate change; and education, science, and technology. Democracy Strengthening a) In Central America, collaboration could bolster the fight against organized crime, improve citizen security, and strengthen democratic institutions.The United States has proposed a Central America Citizen Security Partnership. High levels of drug consumption and arms sales to countries south of the border give the United States a special responsibility in this regard. Mexico and Colombia can also make an important contribution, while South America can cooperate in security, crime investigation, police training, and other initiatives. b) South American nations should get more involved in providing assistance to Haiti. c) The region should also offer support to help facilitate a transition to democracy in Cuba. Despite the steps taken by the Obama administration regarding visits and remittances, the ineffective US embargo continues with no end in sight. For Latin Americans, it will be important to have conditions in place for a peaceful transition when Cuban leadership changes. It is helpful to encourage some processes underway in Cuba, such as the release of political prisoners, improved freedom of expression, and economic reforms, which could pave the way for a democratic opening. Energy and Climate Change Although President Obama has spoken about an Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas, its content, priorities, goals, and resources remain unclear. a) There are opportunities for collaboration in developing renewable energy sources, especially solar, and assisting with nuclear plant safety and ethanol, cleaner coal, and natural gas research. b) Partnership with the United States could also help Latin America reduce CO2 emissions, protect tropical and temperate forests, and safeguard glaciers and water resources. Latin America abounds in natural resources and must take measures to protect them. c) Climate change and increasing concentration of the population will intensify the impact of natural disasters. Emergency preparedness requires effective institutions, first responder training, equipment acquisition, public education, and improved land use and construction standards. Latin American countries can take the initiative in these areas. Education, Science, and Technology Education, science, and technology help increase productivity and drive growth.Collaboration in these areas could focus on goods and services, with an emphasis on the use of information and communications technology.Latin American countries should propose innovative initiatives and explore areas of potential agreement, including: a) President Obama’s only quantitative proposal was to increase the number of US graduate students studying in Latin America to 100,000 and the number of Latin Americans studying in the United States to 100,000. To date, Asia has taken better advantage than Latin America of the academic excellence offered by US universities. New proposals designed to stimulate and fund these exchanges are needed. Chile’s 2008Becas Chile student aid program is a good example with much potential. b) Joint research in areas of importance to Latin America should be expanded. These include renewable energy, especially solar, biotechnology, and collaboration between Latin American and US businesses and research centers. A Rand Corporation report6 identifies 16 technology applications that will change living conditions in this decade and notes that some Latin American countries will be able to adopt them if they carry out certain policies and make a sustained effort. And it is important to remember that proficiency in English is an essential tool in a knowledge-based society. c) With respect to trade, the United States should move to eliminate barriers and open its market to Latin American products, especially foods. If WTO talks remain deadlocked, free trade agreements between the United States and Latin America should be expanded. There are serious political obstacles given the concern that such an approach would result in less employment in the United States. A more open global economy helps small and medium-sized countries whose development depends on exporting goods and services with increasing value-added. The 24 references to “partner” and “partnership” in President Obama’s Santiago speech should not remain empty talk. While some may interpret Obama’s logic of partnership as a sign of disinterest, I believe it reflects the new reality within which the United States will have to function. It falls to all Latin Americans to take a more active role in pursuing opportunities anddemanding that the United States make a firm commitment to its proposed new partnerships. Are Latin Americans prepared for this? Is there enough will in the United States to seek such partnerships? It is worth making a serious effort to see if this can work.

Bitar, ’11 [September 2011, Sergio Bitar, a long-time member and now non-resident senior fellow of the Inter-American Dialogue.Bitar served as senator as well as minister of energy and mines, education, and public works under three separate administrations in Chile, “Latin America and the United States: Looking Towards 2020”, http://www.thedialogue.org/PublicationFiles/LAtheUS2020.pdf]

New opportunities for US-Latin America Relations: Which Partnerships? To prepare new partnerships it is important to have in mind the three processes already reviewed: prevailing global trends, US government policies and the status of the US economy, and priorities that Latin American governments are ready to carry out. Immigration will continue to be necessary for the United States to sustain its growth. Negative aspects of immigration tend to grab the spotlight, but the fact remains that Latin American immigrants make a major contribution to the US economy. This would make the United States the only industrialized country to have population growth through 2030 –the rest of the countries should cooperate and coordinate with one another more effectively to have some influence on global political and economic trends But smaller Latin American countries must seek closer cooperation and coordination to enhance their influence.Each will take the initiative and seek mutually beneficial arrangements with the United States. As a start, three areas are worth pursuing: democracy strengthening; energy and climate change; and education, science, and technology. Democracy Strengthening a collaboration could bolster the fight against organized crime, improve citizen security, and strengthen democratic institutions. South American nations should get more involved in providing assistance to Haiti. c) The region should also offer support to help facilitate a transition to democracy in Cuba. the ineffective US embargo continues with no end in sight. Energy and Climate Chang There are opportunities for collaboration in developing renewable energy sources, especially solar, and assisting with nuclear plant safety and ethanol, cleaner coal, and natural gas research. b) Partnership with the United States could also help Latin America reduce CO2 emissions, protect tropical and temperate forests, and safeguard glaciers and water resources. Latin America abounds in natural resources and must take measures to protect them. c) Climate change and increasing concentration of the population will intensify the impact of natural disasters. Emergency preparedness requires effective institutions, Education, Science, and Technology Education, science, and technology help increase productivity and drive growth.Collaboration in these areas could focus on goods and services, with an emphasis on the use of information and communications technology.Latin American countries should propose innovative initiatives and explore areas of potential agreement, 16 technology applications that will change living conditions in this decade and notes that some Latin American countries will be able to adopt them if they carry out certain policies and make a sustained effort the United States should move to eliminate barriers and open its market to Latin American products, especially foods. If WTO talks remain deadlocked, free trade agreements between the United States and Latin America should be expande . A more open global economy helps small and medium-sized countries whose development depends on exporting goods and services with increasing value-added. I believe it reflects the new reality within which the United States will have to function. It falls to all Latin Americans to take a more active role in pursuing opportunities anddemanding that the United States make a firm commitment to its proposed new partnerships. ? It is worth making a serious effort to see if this can work.

US-Latin American Relations key to Democracy, Climate change, alternative energies, and S&T

Cuba Embargo Affirmative Addendum - Northwestern 2013 6WeekSeniors.html5

Northwestern (NHSI)

Affirmatives

2013

Divorce also demonstrates how sexual radicalism reproduces itself in new forms. It has almost certainly led to same-sex marriage, which would not be an issue today if marriage had not already been devalued by divorce. “Commentators miss the point when they oppose homosexual marriage on the grounds that it would undermine traditional understandings of marriage,” writes Bryce Christensen. “It is only because traditional understandings of marriage have already been severely undermined that homosexuals are now laying claim to it.”[46] Though gay activists cite their very desire to marry as evidence that their lifestyle is not inherently promiscuous, they also acknowledge that that desire arises only by the promiscuity permitted in modern marriage. Stephanie Coontz notes that gays are attracted to marriage only in the form debased by heterosexual divorce: “Gays and lesbians simply looked at the revolution heterosexuals had wrought and noticed that, with its new norms, marriage could work for them, too.”[47] ¶ Same-sex marriage is therefore only a symptom of the larger politicization of private and sexual life. Further, just as the divorce revolution led to same-sex marriage, so through the child abuse industry it has extended this to parenting by same-sex couples. ¶ Most critiques of homosexual parenting have focused on the therapeutic question of whether it is developmentally healthy for children to be raised by two homosexuals.[48] Few have stopped to ask the more momentous political question of where homosexual “parents” get children in the first place. Here the discussion does not require esoteric child-development theory or psychological jargon from academic “experts.” It can readily be understood by any parent who has been interrogated by Child Protective Services. The answer is that homosexuals get other people’s children, and they get them from the same courts and social service bureaucracies that are operated by their feminist allies. While attention has been focused on sperm donors and surrogate mothers, most of the children sought by potential homosexual parents are existing children whose ties to one or both of their natural parents have been severed. Most often, this has happened through divorce.[49]¶ The question then arises whether the original parent or parents ever agreed to part with their children or did something to warrant losing them. Current law governing divorce and child custody renders this question open. The explosion of foster care and the assumed but unexamined need to find permanent homes for allegedly abused children provides perhaps the strongest argument in favor of gay marriage and gay parenting.[50] Yet the politics of child abuse and divorce indicate that this assumption is not necessarily valid. ¶ The government-generated child abuse epidemic, and the mushrooming foster care business which it feeds, have allowed government agencies to operate what amounts to a traffic in children. The San Diego Grand Jury reports “a widely held perception within the community and even within some areas of the Department [of Social Services] that the Department is in the ‘baby brokering’ business.”[51] Introducing same-sex marriage and adoption into this political dynamic could dramatically increase the demand for children to adopt, thus intensifying pressure on social service agencies and biological parents to supply such children. While sperm donors and surrogate mothers supply some children for gay parents, in practice most are already taken from their natural parents because of divorce, unwed parenting, child abuse accusations, or connected reasons. Massachusetts Senator Therese Murray, claiming that 40% of adoptions have gone to gay and lesbian couples, urges sympathy for “children who have been neglected, abandoned, abused by their own families.”[52] But false and exaggerated abuse accusations against not only fathers but mothers too make it far from self-evident that these children are in fact victims of their own parents. What seems inescapable is that the very issue of gay parenting has arisen as the direct and perhaps inevitable consequence once government officials got into the business — which began largely with divorce — of distributing other people’s children.

Baskerville 8 ( Stephen Baskerville, Ph.D.*Stephen Baskerville teaches political science at Patrick Henry College. He is the author of Taken Into Custody: The War Against Fathers, Marriage, and the Family (Cumberland Books). http://profam.org/pub/fia/fia.2202.htm, "The Family in America” Online Edition Volume 22 Number 02) // SC

Same-sex marriage is therefore only a symptom of the larger politicization of private and sexual life. just as the divorce revolution led to same-sex marriage, through the child abuse industry it has extended this to parenting by same-sex couples. ¶ While attention has been focused on sperm donors and surrogate mothers, most of the children sought by potential homosexual parents are existing children whose ties to one or both of their natural parents have been severed. Most often, this has happened through divorce Introducing same-sex marriage and adoption into this political dynamic could dramatically increase the demand for children to adopt, thus intensifying pressure on social service agencies and biological parents to supply such children he very issue of gay parenting has arisen as the direct and perhaps inevitable consequence once government officials got into the business — which began largely with divorce — of distributing other people’s children.

The alt is key to other radical reforms

Race Ks - Michigan7 2013.html5

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There is broad consensus that ethanol from sugar cane, which is fermented and distilled from the crushed cane waste after the sugar has been extracted, does not have the same impact on food production as ethanol from corn, since producers do not have to choose between producing food or fuel. And it is one of the most environmentally friendly of the first-generation biofuels, in terms of its carbon dioxide emissions, in production and use.¶ Mr. Desplechin added that sugar cane was not to blame for deforestation. Sugar cane for ethanol occupies 1.5 percent of Brazil's arable land, while the area for livestock pasture represents almost 50 percent.¶ Sugar cane-based ethanol has been produced in Brazil since the 1970s, when, after an oil crisis, the Brazilian government introduced a subsidy to encourage carmakers to start producing large numbers of ethanol-powered cars, fostering the creation of a nationwide distribution network.¶ The industry has developed more strongly since 2003 with the introduction of ''flex-fuel'' engines that can run on ethanol, gasoline - which in Brazil is 25 percent ethanol - or any blend of the two.¶ There are about 10 million flex-fuel cars on Brazilian roads, and they account for about 90 percent of new car sales. Ethanol meets about half of Brazil's fuel needs. ''In Brazil, gasoline is the alternative fuel for cars,'' said Mr. Desplechin.¶ Over all, a sixth of the country's total energy needs are met by sugar cane. According to Unica, this shift has reduced carbon emissions by more than 600 million tons since the mid-1970s.

LOUISE LOFTUS, of The International Herald Tribune, October 12, 2010. U.S. is feeling the heat over ethanol subsidies;  Brazil and other countries want Washington to open market, but industry warns of job losses, Lexis-Nexis

There is broad consensus that ethanol from sugar cane, And it is one of the most environmentally friendly of the first-generation biofuels, in terms of its carbon dioxide emissions, in production and use.¶ sugar cane was not to blame for deforestation. Sugar cane for ethanol occupies 1.5 percent of Brazil's arable land, while the area for livestock pasture represents almost 50 percent.¶ Sugar cane-based ethanol has been produced in Brazil since the 1970s Ethanol meets about half of Brazil's fuel needs

Brazilian Sugar Ethanol does not cause deforestation

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

US ethanol production uses only 3 percent of global grain supplies. Ethanol producers generated 37 million metric tons of livestock feed in 2012 - enough to produce seven quarter-pound hamburger patties for everyone on the planet. Ethanol hasn't increased food prices, either. Only 14 percent of the average household's food budge goes toward raw agricultural ingredients such as corn, while 86 percent pays for energy, transportation and supply chain costs.

Bob Dinneen, of the Houston Chronicle, July 2, 2013. Clean-burning biofuels can give us true independence www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Clean-burning-biofuels-can-give-us-true-4643503.php

US ethanol production uses only 3 percent of global grain supplies Ethanol producers generated 37 million metric tons of livestock feed in 2012 - enough to produce seven quarter-pound hamburger patties for everyone on the planet. Ethanol hasn't increased food prices Only 14 percent of the average household's food budge goes toward raw agricultural ingredients such as corn, while 86 percent pays for energy, transportation and supply chain costs.

Corn ethanol does not increase food prices

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

With all this in mind, there is little ¶ doubt that the growing use of agricultural commodities for the production ¶ of energy in the rich countries has a ¶ negative impact on food security in ¶ developing countries. The biofuels ¶ lobby in developed countries does not ¶ tire to emphasize that the world has suficient productive capacity to produce ¶ both food and agricultural commodities for use in biofuels production, and ¶ hence that there is no trade-off between ¶ biofuels and food security.

rural21.medianet-kunden.de/uploads/media/R21_Biofuels_and_food_security_0208.pdf Biofuels and food security¶ International Platform- Fostering biofuels has become a momentous policy fashion in the rich countries, and their ¶ farmers and processing industries grab the new opportunities. But what does this mean for ¶ food security in the poor countries?

The biofuels ¶ lobby in developed countries does not ¶ tire to emphasize that the world has suficient productive capacity to produce ¶ both food and agricultural commodities for use in biofuels production, and ¶ hence that there is no trade-off between ¶ biofuels and food security.

No internal link/Impact- There is no trade-off or correlation between biofuels and food security

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Our results confirm that changes in export policy are set in response to restrictions imposed by other exporters, particularly for large exporters¶ and in important products such as staple foods. Moreover, the overall impact of these measures has¶ been to signiÖcantly increase food prices in 2008-10. this multiplier mechanism in food markets bears consequences for global welfare. An increase¶ (fall) in the world price of food is a terms of trade gain (loss) for exporting countries and a terms¶ of trade loss (gain) for importers. While these e§ects cancel each other out, export policy activism¶ creates the traditional distortions and deadweight loss that lower global welfare.

WTO 12vision¶ Food Prices and the Multiplier Effect of Export Policy¶ Paolo E. Giordani Nadia Rocha¶ LUISS "Guido Carli" University World Trade Organization¶ Michele Ruta¶ World Trade Organization¶ Manuscript date: April 2012http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/ersd201208_e.pdf

Our results confirm that changes in export policy in important products such as staple foods. Moreover, the overall impact of these measures has¶ been increase food prices in 2008-10. this multiplier mechanism in food markets bears consequences for global welfare.

Solvency Turn- Changing U.S. export policy results in increase of food prices.

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(David Rose, staff writer for UK Daily Mail, “Global warming stopped 16 years ago, reveals Met Office report quietly released... and here is the chart to prove it,” 9/13/12.)

Rose 12

David Rose “Global warming stopped 16 years ago, reveals Met Office report quietly released... and here is the chart to prove it,”

Studies confirm warming ended 16 years ago

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(Marc, news correspondent for Climate Depot, B.A., Political Science, George Mason University, Team of Former NASA Scientists Conclude: ‘There is no convincing physical evidence to support the man-made climate change hypothesis,’ 1/23/13.)

Morano 13

Marc Team of Former NASA Scientists Conclude: ‘There is no convincing physical evidence to support the man-made climate change hypothesis,’ 1/23/13

NASA scientists conclude there’s no catastrophic warming and CO2 is good for ecosystems

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Global Warming has become irreversible, according to a new report from the American Meteorological Society. EIN Newswire reports that the AMS made the startling finding in an information report published on August 20, 2012. The report finds that even if governments, corporations and individuals cut their greenhouse gas emissions drastically today, it would still be too late to head off a coming global disaster." "Those findings echo the claims made in the 1972 report 'Limits to Growth,' in which a team of MIT researchers entered a variety of different economic and environmental scenarios into a computer model. Most of those scenarios indicated that without significant limits to human consumption patterns, the result would be a complete global economic collapse by 2030. The 1972 report also stated that to avoid the predicted consequences, drastic changes were required to protect the environment. In the ensuing decades the environmental outlook has continued to worsen, human consumption has grown and the population of the world has exploded. The new AMS report warns: There is unequivocal evidence that Earth’s lower atmosphere, ocean, and land surface are warming; sea level is rising; and snow cover, mountain glaciers, and Arctic sea ice are shrinking. The dominant cause of the warming since the 1950s is human activities. This scientific finding is based on a large and persuasive body of research. The observed warming will be irreversible for many years into the future, and even larger temperature increases will occur as greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere.

(Sacramento, news correspondent for the Thom Hartmann Program, Global Warming has become irreversible, according to a new report from the American Meteorological Society, 8/31/12.)

Global Warming has become irreversible, according to the American Meteorological Society. even if governments, corporations and individuals cut their greenhouse gas emissions drastically today, it would still be too late to head off a coming global disaster." MIT researchers stated that to avoid the predicted consequences, drastic changes were required to protect the environment. In the ensuing decades the environmental outlook has continued to worsen, human consumption has grown and the population of the world has exploded. There is unequivocal evidence that Earth’s lower atmosphere, ocean, and land surface are warming; sea level is rising; and snow cover, mountain glaciers, and Arctic sea ice are shrinking. The observed warming will be irreversible for many years into the future, and even larger temperature increases will occur as greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere.

No government action can solve – warming is irreversible Dave 12

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(Matthew Patterson, the Warren T. Brookes Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and senior editor at the Capital Research Center, “Global Warming We Can All Cheer,” New York Post, November 2011.) Accessed online at: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/global_warming_we_can_all_cheer_YuaZ4rbJSEIerSIa8Ij25I

Patterson 11

Matthew Patterson “Global Warming We Can All Cheer,” November 2011 http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/global_warming_we_can_all_cheer_YuaZ4rbJSEIerSIa8Ij25I

Global warming is key to a prosperous human race; history empirically proves

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(William H Calvin, is a theoretical neurophysiologist at the University of Washington at Seattle, “A brain for all seasons: human evolution and abrupt climate change” 2002. ) Accessed online at: http://books.google.com/books?id=xbo8CXwh3hoC&pg=PT141&dq=The+population-crash+scenario&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qhssT5-ZHKbe2AXS39j5Dg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=The%20population-crash%20scenario&f=false

Calvin 02

William H Calvin A brain for all seasons: human evolution and abrupt climate change” 2002

Food shortages lead to World War III

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(Bryan Walsh senior writer for TIME magazine covering the economy and the environment “Meat: Making Global Warming Worse”, TIME, Sept. 10, 2008 )

Walsh 8

(Bryan Walsh “Meat: Making Global Warming Worse”, TIME, Sept. 10, 2008

Farming is 18% of greenhouse emissions

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2013

The US Navy has gone into battle to save its “great green fleet” from Republicans in Congress who are trying to sink the ambitious biofuel project in what should have been its finest hour.¶ The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and a strike force of 71 jet fighters, helicopters and transport planes, set off on a demonstration voyage off the Hawaiian island of Oahu this week, powered by a 50-50 mix of conventional fuels and algae or cooking oil.¶ An Australian Navy commander also joined the Nimitz in a biofuel-burning helicopter.¶ But the voyage that should have been the pinnacle of the navy’s green aspirations instead found the Pentagon and Obama administration fending off Republican attacks on the biofuels project.¶ In a telephone call with reporters on Thursday, the navy secretary, Ray Mabus, and Obama administration officials made their most public effort to date to head off moves in Congress to block the navy’s biofuels project.¶ Congress is considering a 2013 spending bill that would effectively shut down the navy’s green fleet, four years into the project.¶ The navy took its first steps to “greening” the fleet in 2009 and tested the first jet engines on the biofuels mix a year later. But the project became controversial late last year when the navy spent $450,000 on biofuels, paying about $15 a gallon for used chicken fat with a dash of algae, compared to $3.60 for conventional fuel.¶ A bill before the Senate, supported by Republicans Jim Inhofe and John McCain, would ban the navy from buying more biofuels unless the price drops to the same prices as conventional fuels. It also seeks to block the navy from spending on biofuel refineries – support that could help speed up the commercialisation of biofuels.

Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian, Friday, July 20, 2011. U.S. Navy defends ‘great green fleet’ from Republican attacks www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/20/u-s-navy-defends-great-green-fleet-from-republican-attacks/

The US Navy has gone into battle to save its “great green fleet” from Republicans in Congress who are trying to sink the ambitious biofuel project the voyage that should have been the pinnacle of the navy’s green aspirations instead found the Pentagon and Obama administration fending off Republican attacks on the biofuels project Congress is considering a 2013 spending bill that would effectively shut down the navy’s green fleet Republicans Jim Inhofe and John McCain, would ban the navy from buying more biofuels unless the price drops to the same prices as conventional fuels

Plan is unpopular with republican and drains Obama’s political capital

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2013

But several things changed after the legislative defeats. The Navy ran a successful, if limited, test of their biofuels during a brief demonstration sail of the “Great Green Fleet,” an alternatively powered carrier strike group. They pledged never to overpay for biofuels, ever, while the Solyndra scandal slid off the front pages. Behind the scenes, groups like the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate lobbied lawmakers. Then, of course, President Obama won re-election. That left Republicans a little less eager for budget-cutting measures, and Democrats a little more inclined to back the president, who had strongly and vocally supported the biofuel push.¶ On Wednesday, the Senate voted to strip away the anti-biofuel amendment, 62-37. Republicans John Barrasso, John Thune, Roy Blunt and Jerry Moran. So did Susan Collins, who missed the May vote on biofuels in the Armed Services Committee — allowing the amendment to pass by a single “yea.”¶ “DOD is the largest single user of oil in the world, consuming more than 355,000 barrels of oil per day in Fiscal Year 2011. Despite increased domestic production of traditional fossil fuels, rising global oil prices and market volatility caused DOD’s fuel bill to rise more than $19 billion in Fiscal Year 2011,” Collins and 37 of her colleagues wrote in a letter to the Senate’s leadership (.pdf), urging for the amendment to be taken out. “Alternative fuels will not supplant fossil fuels entirely; however, replacing even a fraction of the fuel consumed by DOD with domestic alternative fuels has the potential to advance U.S. national security, strategic flexibility, and insulate the defense budget against future spikes in the cost of fossil fuels.”

NOAH SHACHTMAN, Writer for Wired Magizine, 11.28.12. Senate Votes to Save the Navy’s ‘Great Green Fleet’, http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/11/senate-green-fleet/

The Navy ran a successful, if limited, test of their biofuels during a brief demonstration sail of the “Great Green Fleet,” They pledged never to overpay for biofuels while the Solyndra scandal slid off the front pages. groups like the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate lobbied lawmakers. President Obama won re-election. That left Republicans a little less eager for budget-cutting measures, and Democrats a little more inclined to back the president, who had strongly and vocally supported the biofuel push.¶ the Senate voted to strip away the anti-biofuel amendment, 62-37

Great White Fleet is popular

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WASHINGTON: The Defense Department is the largest single consumer of energy in the United States. It consumes 1 percent of America’s massive demand, burning billions of gallons of fuel a year. Indeed, as Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a recent speech, DoD is “the largest single consumer of fossil fuels on the face of the earth.” And just getting that fuel to forward operating bases in Afghanistan means troops risks their lives daily in fuel convoys. So making the armed forces more energy-efficient is important for tactical, ecological, and budgetary reasons.¶ The problem is that it costs money now to save money later. Congressional Republicans have been particularly skeptical of Mabus’s ambitions for a “Great Green Fleet” of ships and jets (our favorite is the “Green Hornet,” as the biofuel version of the F-18 is known) that run on biofuels. Add to that skepticism the fact that the mandatory cuts known as sequestration are cramping DoD energy investments across the board. As our colleagues at BreakingEnergy reported this morning:

SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR, Deputy Editor Breaking Defense, June 07, 2013. Will Sequester Scuttle DoD’s Energy Efficiency Efforts?, http://breakingdefense.com/2013/06/07/will-sequester-scuttle-dods-energy-efficiency-efforts/

DoD is “the largest single consumer of fossil fuels on the face of the earth.” The problem is that it costs money now to save money later. Congressional Republicans have been particularly skeptical of Mabus’s ambitions for a “Great Green Fleet” of ships and jets that run on biofuels. the mandatory cuts known as sequestration are cramping DoD energy investments across the board.

The Sequester kills military biofuel efforts

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"We know you can't go 100 percent biofuel because in aviation or ground-based systems, existing seals rely on particular ingredients found in conventional petroleum fuels which causes them to swell and provide proper sealing," said Brophy. "If you put them in biofuel, they tend to swell only a fraction of what is expected. Liquids contained within the engine are kept in by seals around a piston or a shaft, and if the seal is not expanding as expected, they leak. This has resulted in aircraft returning with significant leaks, so it's a big problem." "The question was how much biofuel can the engines handle, and 50/50 worked," Brophy said. "But can you do 70/30? We don't really know the demarcation line between what fraction of biofuel you can run, but 50/50 is what the Navy has selected to date because we know it works." One of the challenges with biofuels is that the scarcity of the product makes it more expensive than the fuels the Navy currently uses. To harvest algae and camelina, a member of the mustard family, in quantities large enough to fuel the fleet is a challenge, and one that has driven up the cost of production for the biofuels. For the three-day Great Green Fleet Exercise that took place during the 23rd Rim of the Pacific Exercise in July, the Navy purchased 450,000 gallons of biofuel to run the blend in two destroyers and several dozen planes for two to three days.

Stein, Amanda. 31 Aug. 2012 "Navy.mil Home Page." NPS Researchers Evaluate Biofuels for Powering the Fleet. N.p.,. Web. 07 July 2013. <http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=69357>

"We know you can't go 100 percent biofuel because in aviation or ground-based systems, existing seals rely on particular ingredients found in conventional petroleum fuels which causes them to swell and provide proper sealing," "If you put them in biofuel, they tend to swell only a fraction of what is expected. Liquids contained within the engine are kept in by seals around a piston or a shaft, and if the seal is not expanding as expected, they leak. This has resulted in aircraft returning with significant leaks, so it's a big problem." "The question was how much biofuel can the engines handle, and 50/50 worked,"

Solvency takeout for the advantage, the engines only work on biofuel 50% of the time

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The Navy ships and aircraft in San Diego still run predominantly on petroleum. But that may change soon. In fact, though Goudreau works at the Pentagon, he said he was standing on a pier in San Diego last fall to see a Navy ship pull away under the power of biofuel. What’s more, one of the alternatives the Navy is testing is algae fuel, which San Diego scientists are working to develop. Goudreau said the Navy's search for alternative fuels has shown that some are far from ideal. He said biodiesel can damage equipment and gum up filters. Another alternative, ethanol, has low energy density. Fill a ship's tank with that, he said, and it will go only half as far. What the Navy needs are fuels that can literally take the place of petroleum. The Navy calls them drop-in fuels. "The key for us is to get an operational fuel that will go straight into our aircraft and straight into our ships,” said Goudreau, “without having to change any of the engineering inside the ships, and without having to change any of the storage or distribution infrastructure. It's got to be a true drop-in fuel." And this is where algae comes in. Algae fuel is an alternative the Navy is testing. UC San Diego molecular biologist Steve Mayfield is a founder of Sapphire Energy, a San Diego-based company that is already producing algae fuel at its demonstration plant in New Mexico. Some of it has been converted for use as jet fuel. Mayfield now serves on the company's science advisory board. He said the Navy has a proud history of transitioning between energy sources.

Fudge, Tom. Jan. 2013 "Algae Fuel Could Help Solve The Navy's Oil Dependence." Algae Fuel Could Help Solve The Navy's Oil Dependence. N.p.,. Web. 07 July 2013. <http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/jan/17/algae-fuel-could-help-solve-navys-oil-dependence/>

What’s more, one of the alternatives the Navy is testing is algae fuel, which San Diego scientists are working to develop. Goudreau said the Navy's search for alternative fuels has shown that some are far from ideal. He said biodiesel can damage equipment and gum up filters. Another alternative, ethanol, has low energy density. Fill a ship's tank with that, he said, and it will go only half as far.

Alternative fuels cause tech damage and only provide half the power

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Imagine if the US military developed a weapon that could threaten millions around the world with hunger, accelerate global warming, incite widespread instability and revolution, provide our competitors and enemies with cheaper energy, and reduce America’s economy to a permanent state of recession. What would be the sense and the morality of employing such a weapon? We are already building that weapon—it is our biofuels program. For the sake of our national energy strategy and global security, we must face the sober facts and reject biofuels while advocating an overall national energy strategy compatible with the laws of chemistry, physics, biology, and economics. To be certain, there are many critics of the biofuels business. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, the chairman of the Swiss food giant Nestle has declared that using food crops to make biofuels is "absolute madness." Just a few days ago, Alan Shaw, the former CEO of Codexis, the first "advanced" (made from non-food crops) biofuel company to be publicly traded on a US stock exchange, said flatly that it was impossible to convert crop waste, wood, and plants like switchgrass into motor fuel and do so economically. Shaw said it was wrong to base the motor fuel industry on plants. "The feedstock is wrong," he said. Another high-profile critic of the biofuel madness: Jean Ziegler, a former member of the Swiss Parliament who served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food from 2000 to 2008. In August, Ziegler will publish his new book Betting on Famine: Why the World Still Goes Hungry. (I’ve read an advance copy of the book and have provided a blurb for it.) Ziegler’s book is an angry one. In it, he describes his visits to biofuel plantations all over the world – Brazil, Colombia, Cameroon, and India — and in each location, he finds similar stories: exploited workers and expropriated land. Ziegler writes that the companies that produce biofuels have succeeded at convincing the public and politicians in Western countries that "energy from plant sources constitutes the miracle weapon against climate change. Yet their argument is a lie." Last month, the British think tank, Chatham House, released a blistering report on biofuels which said the use of biofuels "increases the level and volatility of food prices with detrimental impacts on the food security of low-income food-importing countries." It went on, saying that due to land use changes, emissions from the production of biodiesel made from vegetable oils is "worse for the climate than fossil diesel." Finally, it says that the current 5-percent mandate for biofuel use in the UK will cost the country’s motorists "in the region of $700 million this year." But back to Kiefer. His massively footnoted takedown of biofuels hinges not on moral cries about higher food prices, even though that’s one his arguments. Instead, he hammers the physics and math. He points out that biofuels have poor power density, a term that refers to the amount of energy flow that can be harnessed from a given area, volume, or mass. "Only about 0.1 percent of sunlight is translated into biomass by the typical terrestrial plant," writes Kiefer. The result, "an anemic power density of only 0.3 watts per square meter." Kiefer goes on to point out that power density on solar photovoltaic panels is about 6 watts per square meter, or 20 times more. The low power density of biofuels means that vast amounts of land are needed to produce significant quantities of fuel. For example, to replace all US oil needs with corn-based ethanol, writes Kiefer, would require about 700 million acres of land. That would be "37 percent of the total area of the continental United States, more than all 565 million acres of forest, and more than triple the current amount of annually harvested cropland." Like biodiesel better? Kiefer calculates that relying on soy biodiesel to replace domestic oil needs would "require 3.2 billion acres—one billion more than all US territory including Alaska." Kiefer’s 38-page paper includes more than 100 footnotes and a half dozen charts or tables. That effort makes the Obama administration’s response to Kiefer’s report look all the more, well, anemic. Strategic Studies Quarterly published two documents one, a rebuttal from the Defense Department, the other from the Energy Department. The first response, written by Adam L. Rosenberg, whose title is Deputy Director for Technology Strategy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Plans and Programs, has just five paragraphs and no footnotes or references to citations. Rosenberg dismissed Kiefer’s report as offering "interesting but ultimately misleading opinions." Rosenberg continued, saying the defense department "has a policy of only purchasing operation quantities" of biofuels if they are "cost competitive with conventional fuels." (The biofuel that was used by the Navy on Earth Day 2010 cost about $67.50 per gallon.) The other response, from Zia Haq, whose title is Lead Analyst/DPA Coordinator, Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office, has 14 paragraphs, and not a single citation or footnote. Despite this lack of supporting evidence, Haq claims that Keifer had "tailored" his report by relying exclusively on studies that had "negative points of views and results for biofuels." To be certain, the amount of money the US military is spending on biofuels remains fairly small. The Navy’s current-year budget request for biofuels was about $70 million. But Kiefer’s report, along with the new report from Chatham House, is appearing at a time when the biofuel sector is struggling mightily both economically and politically. The European Union is in the midst of a fierce fight over biofuels. The EU has passed a mandate requiring 10 perce Not of all transportation energy to come from renewable sources by 2020. Nearly all of that would have to come from biofuels. But biofuels’ land use requirements and their scant or non-existent climate benefits, have resulted in a growing political effort to roll back the mandates. Last week, the Irish Times reported that biofuel companies and their lobbyists have been sending three emails per hour to a key EU official in an effort to preserve their mandate.

Bryce, Robert. May 2013. "Article | Navy Captain Guns Down Biofuels." Article | Navy Captain Guns Down Biofuels. N.p., Web. 07 July 2013. <http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/miarticle.htm?id=9199>.

For the sake of our national energy strategy and global security, we must face the sober facts and reject biofuels while advocating an overall national energy strategy compatible with the laws of chemistry, physics, biology, and economics. Alan Shaw, the former CEO of Codexis, the first "advanced" (made from non-food crops) biofuel company to be publicly traded on a US stock exchange, said flatly that it was impossible to convert crop waste, wood, and plants like switchgrass into motor fuel and do so economically Jean Ziegler, a former member of the Swiss Parliament who served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food from 2000 to 2008 Ziegler’s book describes his visits to biofuel plantations all over the world – Brazil, Colombia, Cameroon, and India — and in each location, he finds similar stories: exploited workers and expropriated land the British think tank, Chatham House, released a blistering report on biofuels which said the use of biofuels "increases the level and volatility of food prices with detrimental impacts on the food security of low-income food-importing countries." It went on, saying that due to land use changes, emissions from the production of biodiesel made from vegetable oils is "worse for the climate than fossil diesel." Finally, it says that the current 5-percent mandate for biofuel use in the UK will cost the country’s motorists "in the region of $700 million this year." biofuels have poor power density

Turn: Biofuels leads to exploited workers, leads to food insecurity and has poor power density-tons of warrants

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Case Negatives

2013

On the other hand, if we drive to reduce the global dependence on oil, until we find an alternative, we will negatively impact the US economy and the US consumer. One fact that most do not realize is that all the oil traded globally is nominated in US dollar. What does that mean? As the demand on oil increase so does the price. As a result the demand on the US dollar will increase and so will the purchasing power of the American Consumer. The Dollar...remains King! Therefore the drive to reduce dependence on oil may have its benefits, but it will come at a cost that should be mitigated as an integral part of the strategy to reduce dependence on oil. Reducing dependence on oil cannot be approached with a tunnel vision strategy because the lower the dependence on oil the lower the demand on the dollar and the lower the purchasing power of the American consumer. So, what is more...a matter of National Security? In my opinion there is no alternative to a diversified strategy particularly when it comes to energy and natural resources. This includes diversification in the fuel mix we use, the sources of the fuels, and the markets we target. Although we should continue to develop and advance renewable energy, there is no question in my mind that oil, natural gas, and coal will remain the dominant fuels for the foreseeable future because these fuels are abundant and economical. What we need to focus on is making these fuels more environmentally friendly by aggressively investing and developing new technologies to accomplish that. Yes, with such a strategy, there will remain uncertainties that we will have to deal with. However this approach will mitigate our risks and help...Keep the Dollar as King.

Mutasem, Sam. Mar. 2012 "Comments." Electric Power Articles. N.p.,. Web. 07 July 2013. <http://www.energycentral.com/articles/article/2512>.

if we drive to reduce the global dependence on oil, until we find an alternative, we will negatively impact the US economy and the US consumer. One fact that most do not realize is that all the oil traded globally is nominated in US dollar. As the demand on oil increase so does the price. As a result the demand on the US dollar will increase and so will the purchasing power of the American Consumer. The Dollar...remains King! Reducing dependence on oil cannot be approached with a tunnel vision strategy because the lower the dependence on oil the lower the demand on the dollar and the lower the purchasing power of the American consumer.

Turn-Oil dependence good keeps the dollar on top

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The top ten oil exporters to the U.S., which account for half of all U.S. consumption, read like a State Department tourism warning list: Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Nigeria, Iraq, Angola, Russia, Colombia, and Brazil. (To be fair, Canada has long been our number one oil source, and Mexico alternates with Saudi Arabia for the number two spot.) But keep in mind that most of these countries need our money a lot more then we need their oil. If Saudi Arabia and the U.S. suddenly ended our trade tomorrow, for example, the U.S. and global economies would not suffer nearly as much as Saudi Arabia's. The Saudis understand this and so want to keep U.S. and Saudi interests aligned. As a result, buying Saudi oil gets us a lot more than just energy. It gets us a dedicated ally that wields unparalleled influence in a part of the world where we desperately need it: the Middle East. The Saudi royal family has put their wily intelligence service at our disposal and allowed sprawling U.S. military bases onto their soil. In 1992, the Saudis even exiled one of their own on America's behalf: A prominent, wealthy, and popular humanitarian and freedom fighter named Osama bin Laden. Saudi royalty risked a violent backlash by expelling bin Laden to Sudan, but U.S. officials had demanded his ouster. That's no small favor. It would be almost as if the United States deported Google CEO Eric Schmidt to Honduras at the request of angry Chinese officials. The Saudis came to our aid again in 1996 when they convinced the Sudanese regime to themselves deport bin Laden. Bin Laden's anti-American terrorism did not begin until he fled to Afghanistan, where the United States then had little influence. In the decade since, he has moved between there and Pakistan, two countries with which the U.S. has no meaningful economic ties save foreign aid. Unlike with Saudi Arabia, our pleas to those governments to help us rout bin Laden went largely ignored. If our oil-greased relationships with other top producing states are half as close as the U.S.-Saudi partnership, it will give us much-needed leverage over some of this century's biggest emerging threats. In Nigeria, we can pressure the government to peacefully contain the state's alarming increase in terrorism. For Iraq, the economic ties with America would be an important counterbalance to Iran's religious and political influence. As for Venezuela, no matter how antagonistic President Hugo Chavez gets, he would be a lot worse if we didn't take close to a million barrels off his hands every day.

Fisher, Max. Apr. 2010 "The Upside of Depending on Foreign Oil." The Atlantic. N.p.,. Web. 07 July 2013. <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2010/04/the-upside-of-depending-on-foreign-oil/38380/>.

The top ten oil exporters to the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Nigeria, Iraq, Angola, Russia, Colombia, and Brazil most of these countries need our money a lot more then we need their oil. buying Saudi oil gets us a lot more than just energy. It gets us a dedicated ally that wields unparalleled influence in a part of the world where we desperately need it: the Middle East. The Saudi royal family has put their wily intelligence service at our disposal and allowed sprawling U.S. military bases onto their soil. In 1992, the Saudis even exiled one of their own on America's behalf: A prominent, wealthy, and popular humanitarian and freedom fighter named Osama bin Laden. If our oil-greased relationships with other top producing states are half as close as the U.S.-Saudi partnership, it will give us much-needed leverage over some of this century's biggest emerging threats. In Nigeria, we can pressure the government to peacefully contain the state's alarming increase in terrorism. For Iraq, the economic ties with America would be an important counterbalance to Iran's religious and political influence.

Turn: Oil dependence key to maintaining ties with critical partners in the Middle East.

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The US Navy plans to launch an entire biofuel-enabled Great Green Fleet in 2016, complete with fighter jets, helicopters, destroyers, and other ships, despite attempts by certain members of Congress to block it from buying biofuels. The notorious budget sequester hasn’t proven to be much of an obstacle to the military biofuel program, either. In the latest development, the Department of Defense has just nailed down $16 million in matching funds for three companies to build biofuel refineries to the tune of 150 million gallons in capacity by 2016, all using non-edible sourcing including animal fats and other waste from food processors.

Tina Casey, specializes in military and corporate sustainability, advanced technology, emerging materials, biofuels, and water and wastewater issues. Tina’s articles are reposted frequently on Reuters, Scientific American, and many other sites, May 28, 2013. Come Hell Or High Water, Great Green Fleet Will Sail, http://cleantechnica.com/2013/05/28/military-biofuel-program-gets-three-new-biorefineries/#ScEHMzzopm0XKEey.99 

The US Navy plans to launch an entire biofuel-enabled Great Green Fleet in 2016, complete with fighter jets, helicopters, destroyers, and other ships, despite attempts by certain members of Congress to block it from buying biofuels. The notorious budget sequester hasn’t proven to be much of an obstacle to the military biofuel program the Department of Defense has just nailed down $16 million in matching funds for three companies to build biofuel refineries to the tune of 150 million gallons in capacity by 2016

Nothing is stopping the Great Green Fleet now

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Case Negatives

2013

The U.S. Navy launched its Great Green Fleet recently at RIMPAC, the world's largest naval exercise, which takes place biannually off the coast of Hawaii. Squadrons of F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, an SH60-Seahawk helicopter, E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft and other planes took off from the deck of the USS Nimitz, all powered by a biofuel blend, demonstrating, for the first time, biofuels in action at sea.¶ “The military has done a lot of things that starts a tidal wave throughout our culture, and I think this is one of those things,” Lt. Commander Jason Fox, a Hawkeye pilot, told Forbes.¶ The Navy has been testing biofuels for years, as part of a broader military effort to reduce vulnerability to oil prices and improve combat capability in general through renewable energy and efficiency. Naval Secretary Ray Mabus pointed out that the Navy got hit with a billion-dollar energy bill in May due to rising oil prices. He told reporters, “We simply have to figure out a way to get American made homegrown fuel that is stable in price, that is competitive with oil that we can use to compete with oil. If we don’t we’re still too vulnerable.”

Peter Lehner, Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group, July 31, 2012. Navy Launches Great Green Fleet, Powered by Biofuels, http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/plehner/navy_launches_great_green_flee.html

The U.S. Navy launched its Great Green Fleet recently Squadrons of F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, an SH60-Seahawk helicopter, E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft and other planes took off from the deck of the USS Nimitz, all powered by a biofuel blend, demonstrating, for the first time, biofuels in action at sea. The military has done a lot of things that starts a tidal wave throughout our culture, and I think this is one of those things The Navy has been testing biofuels for years, as part of a broader military effort to reduce vulnerability to oil prices and improve combat capability in general through renewable energy and efficiency

The Great Green Fleet is already in effect

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

While many government officials nervously await the outcome of the November elections and speculate as to its implications for the cleantech sector, one federal department is likely to be relatively unaffected regardless of the outcome: Defense.¶ According to panelists at the recent “Mission Critical: Clean Energy and the U.S. Military“ event in Denver, the military’s growing commitment to reducing its use of fossil fuel, for both national security and economic reasons, will not waver regardless of who’s in charge in the White House or the Congress.¶ Senator Mark Udall of Colorado rattled off a series of statistics that underline the reasons for the military’s emphasis on becoming as green as the army’s uniforms: ¶ The military is 25 percent of government’s energy burden¶ The Pentagon is biggest consumer of fossil fuels in the world, burning 300,000 barrels of oil per day at a cost of more than $30 million in fuel per day¶ A $1 increase in the price of oil increases DoD’s energy cost by $100 million per year¶ 1 out of every 50 convoys in a combat zone results in a casualty, and the Army has accrued more than 3300 fatalities in convoys since 2001¶ Convoy and security costs $100 per gallon for combat zones¶ Udall emphasized that the military is implementing many fuel-reducing technologies because of the high human price paid in getting fuel to the front lines. “Saving energy saves lives,” he said, adding that adopting clean energy technologies is “one of the most patriotic things we can do.”¶ Despite any changes that might occur in the leadership in the executive or legislative branches, the military will continue to be an early adopter of clean technologies that enable it to become more energy independent. These includes making military bases self-sufficient (and less vulnerable to attack) by creating microgrids, and purchasing a large number of hybrid and electric vehicles for its non-combat fleet.

John Gartner, Forbes, 5/11/2012. U.S. Military Not Retreating on Clean Energy, http://www.forbes.com/sites/pikeresearch/2012/05/11/u-s-military-not-retreating-on-clean-energy/

the military’s growing commitment to reducing its use of fossil fuel, for both national security and economic reasons, will not waver regardless of who’s in charge in the White House or the Congress.¶ that the military is implementing many fuel-reducing technologies because of the high human price paid in getting fuel to the front lines. adopting clean energy technologies is “one of the most patriotic things we can do.” the military will continue to be an early adopter of clean technologies that enable it to become more energy independent. These includes making military bases self-sufficient by creating microgrids, and purchasing a large number of hybrid and electric vehicles for its non-combat fleet.

Oil shock won’t kill military readiness – already committed to alternative energy

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Navy contracts are being extended for algae-based biofuel as well. While¶ camelina has been more rapidly deployed, algae could be an able competitor.¶ Through a contract with Solazyme, in southern California, the Navy will allocate¶ $8.5 million toward 1,500 gallons for aircraft testing and twenty thousand for¶ maritime use, significantly more money per gallon than it will spend on the¶ camelina option.37 DoN accepted a delivery of twenty thousand gallons from¶ Solazyme in 2010 and extended a new order for 150,000 gallons.38Like camelina,¶ algae do not compete with traditional food crops. Algae can be grown on brackish, saltwater, or nonarable desert land, reducing the need to divert freshwater.39¶ A skeptic might point to the sheer scale of the Navy’s biofuel goals. In order to¶ supply the Navy’s entire current demand for aviation fuel with algae, an estimated five hundred square miles of land would be required to grow the plants.¶ To bring the cost down to two dollars a gallon, carbon dioxide would have to be¶ transported from nearby conventional power plants;40 otherwise the cost jumps¶ to forty-four dollars.41 Similarly, without a program to manage land and infrastructure for biofuels, camelina grown in the amounts necessary to meet DoN¶ demand would require an area equivalent to between a quarter and a third of the¶ state of Montana.42 At present, these obstacles are prohibitive, as they are for¶ other forms of green energy. However, they could be surmounted as technology¶ progresses and economies of scale emerge. Advances, for instance, in battery¶ technology have allowed for a variety of electric and hybrid vehicles to gain traction in the market—a development that would not have been possible a decade¶ ago.¶ The Department of the Navy is not alone in its attempts to develop and test algaeand camelina-based fuels and bring down the costs of production. As jet fuel accounts for half of the Defense Department’s fuel consumption, the Air Force is¶ testing similar technology to develop a JP-8 equivalent.43 Both services could¶ benefit from the other’s success, as could the aviation industry. Additionally, the¶ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded a $34.8 million contract to two companies to find ways to reduce the cost of algae-based fuel to¶ three dollars per gallon.44 This effort has been met with skepticism, but the¶ agency’s methods have proved successful in the past—notably with the computer mouse, the Global Positioning System, and the internet.45

Lieutenant Alaina M. Chambers, U.S. Navy, and Steve A. Yetiv. Lieutenant Chambers is a master’s student in the Graduate Program in International Studies at Old Dominion University, in Norfolk, Virginia. is University Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Old Dominion University THE GREAT GREEN FLEET: The U.S. Navy and Fossil-Fuel Alternatives, Naval War College Review, Summer 2011, Vol. 64, No. 3, http://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/72d7de2c-b537-4466-9b4b-809c205d1747/The-Great-Green-Fleet--The-U-S--Navy-and-Fossil-Fu

Navy contracts are being extended for algae-based biofuel as well Through a contract with Solazyme the Navy will allocate¶ $8.5 million toward 1,500 gallons for aircraft testing and twenty thousand for¶ maritime use algae do not compete with traditional food crops. Algae can be grown on brackish, saltwater, or nonarable desert land, reducing the need to divert freshwater. obstacles could be surmounted as technology¶ progresses and economies of scale emerge. The Department of the Navy is not alone in its attempts to develop and test algaeand camelina-based fuels and bring down the costs of production. This effort has been met with skepticism, but the¶ agency’s methods have proved successful in the past—notably with the computer mouse, the Global Positioning System, and the internet.

Text: The Department of the Navy should in invest in algae ethanol

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Initially, China’s activities in Latin America were limited to the diplomatic level. By providing funds and assisting in infrastructure constructions, China managed to interrupt diplomatic ties between poor Latin countries and Taiwan. Since then, with China's economic boom, the supply of energy and resources has gradually become a problem that plagues China -- and its exchanges with Latin America thus are endowed with real substantive purpose.¶ Among the numerous needs of China, the demand for oil has always been the most powerful driving force. In the past 30 years, China has consumed one-third of the world's new oil production and become the world's second-largest oil importer. More than half of China's oil demand depends on imports, which increases the instability of its energy security. Diversification is inevitable. In this context, Latin America and its huge reserves and production capacity naturally became a destination for China.¶ China must better protect its energy supply, and can't just play the simple role of consumer. It must also help solidify the important links of the petroleum industry supply chain. Indeed, the China National Petroleum Corporation frequently appears in Latin American countries, and China’s investment and trade in the Latin American countries are also focused on its energy sector.

Xiaoxia 2013 (Wang Xiaoxia. “IN AMERICA'S BACKYARD: CHINA'S RISING INFLUENCE IN LATIN AMERICA” Economic Observer. May 6, 2013. Accessed July 6, 2013. http://www.worldcrunch.com/china-2.0/in-america-039-s-backyard-china-039-s-rising-influence-in-latin-america/foreign-policy-trade-economy-investments-energy/c9s11647/)

with China's economic boom, the supply of energy and resources has gradually become a problem that plagues China -- and its exchanges with Latin America thus are endowed with real substantive purpose.¶ Among the numerous needs of China, the demand for oil has always been the most powerful driving force. Latin America and its huge reserves and production capacity naturally became a destination for China. the China National Petroleum Corporation frequently appears in Latin American countries, and China’s investment and trade in the Latin American countries are also focused on its energy sector.

The Latin American energy sector is viewed as a hotspot for China. Economic engagement is ensuing.

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

As relations between Venezuela and the US soured in recent years, Venezuela looked away from its traditional trading partner towards the east. China could soon surpass the US as Venezuela’s largest trading partner.¶ Venezuela's interim President Nicolas Maduro, who took the job following the death of President Hugo Chavez on March 5, held talks with Chinese officials over the weekend.¶ "The best tribute that we could give to our comandante Chavez is to deepen our strategic relationship with our beloved China," said Maduro, who once served as Venezuela’s foreign minister.¶ In a televised meeting with Maduro, Zhang Ping, chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, said “deepening relations between China and Venezuela” are “the only way to comfort the soul of President Hugo Chavez”.¶ If elected president on April 14, Maduro has said his first trip abroad will be to China.¶ Henrique Capriles, leader of Venezuela’s opposition, criticises most government policies but generally supports expanding trade with China. ¶ The countries have launched two satellites together in recent years, and China is negotiating a free trade deal with Mercosur, a South American trading zone.¶ Debt trap?¶ While China’s business deals with South America are welcomed by many, including politicians and young businessmen like Sanchez, some experts worry the manufacturing powerhouse is repeating old problems faced by Latin America, allowing countries to boost their economies purely through primary commodity exports.¶ Loans to Venezuela backed by the Chinese state and its development banks are being repaid in oil, directly from the spigot, rather than cash or government bonds.¶ Current oil deals are creating a “fundamentally unsustainable cycle of indebtedness and dependency”, according to the University of Miami study.¶ Since 2008, state-backed China Development Bank has agreed to lend Venezuela $46.5bn, according to a report from Tufts University. More than 90 percent of this debt is backed by sales contracts for crude. And the government is running up debt despite high oil prices.¶ With international lenders demanding high interest rates on Venezuelan government debt, and the Chavez government criticising the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank for their demands of privitisation and austerity, turning to China makes sense, according to some observers.¶ “Venezuela has a policy goal of trying to limit its exposure to the international debt market,” Mark Jones, Latin America expert at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, a think-tank specialising in the energy industry, told Al Jazeera. “For China, ideology has very little to do with it; they are investing for strategic reasons - to acquire natural resources.” Ideology, for Venezuela, is crucial.¶ Carlos Andres Perez, a former Venezuelan president, once slammed the IMF for “practicing economic totalitarianism which kills not with bullets but with famines”. But it’s unclear whether deals from totalitarian China, especially if they are backed with black gold, will be any better for Venezuela’s long-term prospects.¶ “My children and grandchildren will have to pay that debt,” Sanchez said, wondering if the billions in loans-for-oil deals could be “a double-edged sword”.

Arsenault 2013 (Chris Arsenault, Prior to joining Al Jazeera, Chris Arsenault was a reporter with Inter Press Service news agency. He has also reported for CBC radio, the Halifax Chronicle Herald and dozens of magazines. His work focuses on North and South America, geopolitics, energy markets and social movements. “Venezuela looks to China for economic boost.” Aljazeera March 12, 2013. 9:31AM. Accessed July 6, 2013. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/03/201331271053389351.html)

China could soon surpass the US as Venezuela’s largest trading partner Maduro held talks with Chinese officials The best tribute that we could give to our comandante Chavez is to deepen our strategic relationship with our beloved China," said Maduro, The countries have launched two satellites together in recent years, and China is negotiating a free trade deal with Mercosur, a South American trading zone.¶ Loans to Venezuela backed by the Chinese state and its development banks are being repaid in oil, directly from the spigot, rather than cash or government bonds.¶ With international lenders demanding high interest rates on Venezuelan government debt, and the Chavez government criticising the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank for their demands of privitisation and austerity, turning to China makes sense, according to some observers For China, ideology has very little to do with it; they are investing for strategic reasons - to acquire natural resources

Chinese economic relations with Venezuela are becoming promising.

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Guo Jinlong, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), attended in this city a ceremony of donation and signing of documents as part of his official visit to Cuba.¶ Jinlong, accompanied by José Ramón Balaguer, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, witnessed the donation of two modern ambulances, by the municipality of Beijing, to a representative of the Cuban Ministry of Public Health.
 
At EXPOCUBA Fairgrounds, Jinlong also presided over the signing of an agreement for the grant of a photovoltaic power park, which at full capacity will generate one MW (megawatt).
 
The also Secretary of the Municipal Committee of the CPC in Beijing was given, by experts of the Electrical Union Company, details from the location , which can serve as a model to the Cuban sources of renewable energy national program.
 
At the head of his delegation, Jinlong also attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on economic cooperation between Cuban and Chinese entities; a protocol in order to bring to Cuban market new technologies for automotive transportation and two letters of intent.
 
One of the latter is related to the possibility and economic viability of mutual business on the production of glass containers and the other one with the creation of joint units to the construction, operation and marketing of golf facilities.
 
It was also signed an agreement for the joint development of a monoclonal antibody for the treatment of patients with breast and stomach cancer.
 
In addition, the Chinese leader and his companions opened in EXPOCUBA the ¨ Beijing Spectacular¨ photo exhibition
 
¨ We believe that the signature of these documents will help to play a very active role in the promotion and economic and commercial development and bilateral cooperation,¨ Guo Jinlong said.(ACN)

Cadenagramonte 6/3 (“China Makes Donations to Cuba and Signs Cooperation Agreements”. Cadenagramonte. June 3, 2013. Accessed July 6, 2013. http://www.cadenagramonte.cu/english/index.php/show/articles/14551:china-makes-donations-to-cuba-and-signs-cooperation-agreements)

Guo Jinlong, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), attended in this city a ceremony of donation and signing of documents as part of his official visit to Cuba.¶ the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, witnessed the donation of two modern ambulances, by the municipality of Beijing, to a representative of the Cuban Ministry of Public Health.
 
At EXPOCUBA Fairgrounds, Jinlong also presided over the signing of an agreement for the grant of a photovoltaic power park, which at full capacity will generate one MW (megawatt).
 
At the head of his delegation, Jinlong also attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on economic cooperation between Cuban and Chinese entities; a protocol in order to bring to Cuban market new technologies for automotive transportation and two letters of intent.
 
One of the latter is related to the possibility and economic viability of mutual business on the production of glass containers and the other one with the creation of joint units to the construction, operation and marketing of golf facilities.
 
It was also signed an agreement for the joint development of a monoclonal antibody for the treatment of patients with breast and stomach cancer.
 
In addition, the Chinese leader and his companions opened in EXPOCUBA the ¨ Beijing Spectacular¨ photo exhibition
 
¨ We believe that the signature of these documents will help to play a very active role in the promotion and economic and commercial development and bilateral cooperation,¨ Guo Jinlong said

China’s economic relations with Cuba are showing positive growth – recent exchanges prove.

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Meanwhile, China's galloping entrance into the Latin American market for energy resources and other commodities has been accompanied by an accelerating pace of high-level visits by Chinese officials to the region over the past few years. Though China's foreign policy strategy toward the developing world prioritizes South Asia and Africa over Latin America, this last relationship has experienced explosive growth. In 2001, Chinese President Jiang Zemin's landmark visit to the region sparked a wave of visits by senior officials and business leaders to discuss political, economic, and military concerns. Since then, the volume of trade between China and the region has skyrocketed. President Hu Jintao traveled to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Cuba in 2004 and visited Mexico in 2005. The presidents of all those and other countries have paid reciprocal visits to China.¶ China's economic engagement with Latin America responds to the requirements of a booming Chinese economy that has been growing at nearly 10 percent per year for the past quarter century. The economic figures are impressive: in the past six years, Chinese imports from Latin America have grown more than six-fold, at a pace of some 60 percent a year, to an estimated $ 60 billion in 2006. China has become a major consumer of food, mineral, and other primary products from Latin America, benefiting principally the commodity-producing countries of South America--particularly Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Chile. Chinese investment in Latin America remains relatively small at some $ 6.5 billion through 2004, but that amount represents half of China's foreign investment overseas. n9 China's Xinhua News agency reported that Chinese trade with the Caribbean exceeded $ 2 billion in 2004, a 40 percent increase from the previous year. n10 China has promised to increase its investments in Latin America to $ 100 billion by 2014, although government officials have since backed away from that pledge and several proposed investments are already showing signs of falling short in Brazil, Argentina, and elsewhere. FIGURE 2. CHINA V. TAIWAN: TRADING WITH LATIN AMERICA n11¶ [*75] For their part, Latin Americans are intrigued by the idea of China as a potential partner for trade and investment. As a rising superpower without a colonial or "imperialist" history in the Western Hemisphere, China is in many ways more politically attractive than either the United States or the European Union, especially for politicians confronted with constituencies that are increasingly anti-American and skeptical of Western intentions. n12 Nevertheless, most analysts recognize that Latin America's embrace of China--to the extent that this has actually occurred--is intimately linked to its perception of neglect and disinterest from the United States. Nervousness about China's rise runs deeper among the smaller economies such as those of Central America, which do not enjoy Brazil's or Argentina's abundance in export commodities and are inclined to view the competition posed by the endless supply of cheap Chinese labor as a menace to their nascent manufacturing sectors.¶ But even as China seeks to reassure the United States that its interests in South America are purely economic, Beijing has begun enlisting regional powers like Mexico to aid its effort to woo Central American diplomats. Pressure is also being placed on Paraguay by Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, its partners in the South American Common Market (Mercosur), which places certain constraints on member states' bilateral foreign policy prerogatives. Despite its avowals to Washington, China appears to be using [*76] its economic might as a means to achieve the patently political objective of stripping Taiwan of its democratic allies in the Western Hemisphere.

Erikson and Chen 2007 (Daniel P. [Senior Associate for US policy @ Inter-American Dialogue] and Janice [joint-degree candidate at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Georgetown University Law Center]; China, Taiwan, and the Battle for Latin America; 31 Fletcher F. World Aff. 69; kdf)

China's galloping entrance into the Latin American market for energy resources and other commodities has been accompanied by an accelerating pace of high-level visits by Chinese officials to the region over the past few years China's economic engagement with Latin America responds to the requirements of a booming Chinese economy that has been growing at nearly 10 percent per year for the past quarter century Chinese imports from Latin America have grown more than six-fold, at a pace of some 60 percent a year Chinese investment in Latin America remains relatively small at some $ 6.5 billion , Latin Americans are intrigued by the idea of China as a potential partner for trade and investment. As a rising superpower without a colonial or "imperialist" history in the Western Hemisphere, China is in many ways more politically attractive than either the U S most analysts recognize that Latin America's embrace of China is intimately linked to its perception of neglect and disinterest from the U S

China solves better than the US in Latin America…

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Extraordinarily high demands for minerals and fuels have created a mining and resource boom. Chinese Direct Foreign Investment has flowed into Latin America restructuring channels of foreign influence and control. U.S. dominance in the region may be retracting. The boom in Chinese investment potentially allows agile nations to enhancing their bargaining with foreign entities as the Chinese compete with major resource investors such as the US, Canada, Australia and others. This boom has created vast economic rents that are largely appropriated by foreign-owned corporations who repatriate then to “center” nations. Royalties and taxes from these investments have been modest or minimal, while States have done little to channel such windfalls into the expansion of the productive base of their nation.

Cypher and Wilson 2011 (J.M. Cypher and  Tamar Diana Wilson. “China’s South-South Relationships with Latin America in the Current Era”. Latin American Perspectives. Copyright 2011. Accessed July 6, 2013. http://latinamericanperspectives.com/prospectus-china-latin-america/)

Extraordinarily high demands for minerals and fuels have created a mining and resource boom. Chinese Direct Foreign Investment has flowed into Latin America restructuring channels of foreign influence and control. U.S. dominance in the region may be retracting. The boom in Chinese investment potentially allows agile nations to enhancing their bargaining with foreign entities as the Chinese compete with major resource investors such as the US,

Chinese engagement is contingent on the U.S. staying out of the way.

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Whether by design or not, the convergence with China’s foreign policy goals is important on at least two levels. First, developing countries in Africa and Latin America may be lulled by the prospect of partnering with a country such as China that does not have an explicit political agenda, as did the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War, but this appears to be an illusion. Whether this reaches the level of “new colonialism” as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton referred to it remains to be seen, but the economic asymmetries that undergird the relationship make that prospect more likely. A second set of implications deals with the United States. During the same period in which China’s trade with Africa and Latin America and foreign policy convergence have increased, the United States and China have actually diverged in their overall UNGA voting behavior. This suggests something of a zero sum dynamic in which China’s growing trade relations make it easier to attract allies in international forums while US influence is diminishing. Taken together, these trends call for greater engagement on behalf of the United States in the developing world. Since the September 2001 attacks, Washington has dealt with Africa and Latin America through benign neglect and shifted its attention elsewhere. If foreign policy alignment does follow from tighter commercial relations, the US ought to reinvigorate its trade and diplomatic agenda as an important means of projecting influence abroad.

Kreps 13, Sarah E. "No Strings Attached? Evaluating China's Trade Relations Abroad." The Diplomat. N.p., 17 May 2013. Web. 06 July 2013. <http://thediplomat.com/china-power/no-strings-attached-evaluating-chinas-trade-relations-abroad/>.

A second set of implications deals with the United States. During the same period in which China’s trade with Africa and Latin America and foreign policy convergence have increased, the United States and China have actually diverged in their overall UNGA voting behavior. This suggests something of a zero sum dynamic in which China’s growing trade relations make it easier to attract allies in international forums while US influence is diminishing . If foreign policy alignment does follow from tighter commercial relations, the US ought to reinvigorate its trade and diplomatic agenda as an important means of projecting influence abroad.

Economic Politics are zero sum

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

Despite a chill in relations between China and Mexico in recent years, both countries have new leaders in Xi Jinping and Enrique Peña Nieto who have signaled their intention to reset relations. With Mr. Peña Nieto’s visit to China in April and Mr. Xi’s trip to Mexico about to end, both sides appear to be interested in finding areas where they can cooperate for both sides’ benefits and downplaying competition. For instance, if Mr. Peña Nieto is able to make needed reforms in Mexico’s oil industry, China could become a big investor and consumer in that field. Additionally, both leaders have signed agreements in mining and infrastructure, agreed to China purchasing US$1 billion worth of Mexican goods, and opened the Chinese market to Mexican pork and tequila.¶ Still, while Chinese investment in the infrastructure and industries that focus on the extraction of natural resources and pledges to import more from other countries are good, but they cannot completely paper over the difficulties Mexico has encountered in competing with Chinese manufacturing. For example, while it is true that Mexico has regained competitiveness and market share vis-à-vis China as a result of exogenous factors, this trend alone might not guarantee long-term survival. In 2003, both countries made two million cars per year – today, China produces 20 million while Mexico only makes 2.5 million. Additionally, Latin American countries’ hopes of moving into high-end manufacturing could be dashed by China’s desire to do the same.

Sarmiento – Saher 2013 (Sebastian Sarmiento-Saher. “Is Xi’s Chinese Dream Compatible with Latin America’s?” The Diplomat. June 7, 2013. Accessed July 6, 2013. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:p8Y4O4XB8ewJ:thediplomat.com/china-power/is-xis-chinese-dream-compatible-with-latin-americas/+mexican+oil+china+us+crowd+out+investment&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari)

Still, while Chinese investment in the infrastructure and industries that focus on the extraction of natural resources and pledges to import more from other countries are good, but they cannot completely paper over the difficulties Mexico has encountered in competing with Chinese manufacturing. For example, while it is true that Mexico has regained competitiveness and market share vis-à-vis China as a result of exogenous factors, this trend alone might not guarantee long-term survival.

Any interruptions with developing ties between China and Mexico will destabilize the Chinese economy.

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

As Chinese President Xi Jinping concludes his trip to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), including Mexico, it is worth probing the trip for what it can reveal about Beijing’s future in the region and beyond.¶ Mr. Xi visited Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, and Mexico – countries that are important in their own way. Trinidad and Tobago is a pearl in the Caribbean for its steady economic development and oil and gas reserves, which have made the country a regional petroleum hub. Costa Rica is one of the world’s oldest democracies, a key player in renewable energy, and is considered a success story in a troubled neighborhood. Mexico has the second largest economy in Latin America with an attractive oil industry that could be improved and opened through reforms. Taken together, these countries offer what China is looking for: a stable and reliable source of energy to fuel its own economy.¶ Beyond securing resources, Mr. Xi may also be using this trip as a PR opportunity to improve China’s image in the developing world. While Beijing emphasizes its “peaceful rise” in geopolitics, it is also trying to fight the perception that China’s size and stature in the world economy are crowding out other emerging countries, and dominating its smaller partners. With this Latin American tour, Mr. Xi was hoping to demonstrate that states of any size or condition can have a harmonious relationship with China. ¶ Despite these good intentions, China’s economic ties with Latin America are complicated by the fact that their economies are not entirely complementary. While Chinese trade and investment with Latin American countries have grown rapidly over the past several years, the rise in Sino-LAC business has also been accompanied by significant competition between both sides. China’s demand for commodities has benefitted Latin American countries and firms that export resources ranging from soybeans to oil. On the other hand, the sheer scale and competitiveness of Chinese industry has put pressure on manufacturers across Latin America.

Sarmiento – Saher 2013 (Sebastian Sarmiento-Saher. “Is Xi’s Chinese Dream Compatible with Latin America’s?” The Diplomat. June 7, 2013. Accessed July 6, 2013. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:p8Y4O4XB8ewJ:thediplomat.com/china-power/is-xis-chinese-dream-compatible-with-latin-americas/+mexican+oil+china+us+crowd+out+investment&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari)

Mexico has the second largest economy in Latin America with an attractive oil industry that could be improved and opened through reforms. Taken together, these countries offer what China is looking for: a stable and reliable source of energy to fuel its own economy.¶ Beyond securing resources, Mr. Xi may also be using this trip as a PR opportunity to improve China’s image in the developing world.

China is dependent on Mexico for its supply of oil. Other counties’ investments will destabilize China’s economy.

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

More importantly, Latin America is no longer constrained to a US-dominated Western hemisphere, but is developing relationships with emerging economies from the rest of the world. However, challenges still remain in those countries' China policies in terms of policy coordination and implementation. It requires both China and Latin America to make efforts to guide and design the direction of the bilateral relationship. It is also unavoidable that Latin America has become an arena for another round of power struggles. The US is trying to regain its influence in Latin America, while Russia, India and Japan, no matter whether out of consideration of Latin America's resources and market or the need to readjust their foreign policy, are also looking to take a share. Both traditional powers and emerging economies are looking for leverage in the region. Every major power is speculating on the changes inside Latin America. The dominant US position in this region has started to decline. Brazil is a rising power, but it is uncertain whether it can establish leadership in this region. Meanwhile, left-wing governments in Latin America are being challenged over the sustainability of their policies. And most Latin American countries are readjusting their foreign policies for a diverse system of foreign relations. Major powers are reevaluating their interests and readjusting their policies in this region to compete for influence. But whether they can live up to their own expectations depends on their national strength and future growth, and more importantly, whether they can balance their interests with Latin America's. Both China and the US have denied any intention of rivalry in Latin America, but the thriving relationship between China and Latin America has already impacted the traditional US influence over this region.

Global Times, June 03, 2013 20:13. Latin America arena for global powers, http://www.globaltimes.cn/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Print.aspx?tabid=99&tabmoduleid=94&articleId=786399&moduleId=405&PortalID=0

Latin America is no longer constrained to a US-dominated Western hemisphere, but is developing relationships with emerging economies from the rest of the world It is also unavoidable that Latin America has become an arena for another round of power struggles. The US is trying to regain its influence in Latin America, while Russia, India and Japan, no matter whether out of consideration of Latin America's resources and market or the need to readjust their foreign policy Both traditional powers and emerging economies are looking for leverage in the region. Every major power is speculating on the changes inside Latin America. Major powers are reevaluating their interests and readjusting their policies in this region to compete for influence.

Disrupting Russian influence in the regional threatens global power struggle

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

The US and Russia remain completely at loggerheads over Syria, which has become subsumed into a wider power struggle between the ‘Great Powers’ in the Middle East. Superficially, Syria’s war is between President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and rebel forces, but behind these actors lie the Shi’a powers Iran and Hizbullah, and Sunni nations Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. And behind both camps lie Russia and the US, respectively.¶ In Asia, China fears being encircled by a loose US-led network of nations including Japan, the Philippines, Australia, and most recently, Myanmar.¶ This isn’t exactly a Cold War. During the Cold War, there was a genuine ideological division worldwide between the US-led capitalist world, and the USSR-led communist world. Nowadays, there are still ideological divisions between the US, and Russia and China. The US is democratic and favours the spread of neoliberal economic policies worldwide. By contrast, Russia is a heavily managed democracy with a strong state, while China is an authoritarian state with capitalistic characteristics and a generally pragmatic streak. These differences pale in comparison to the ideological dogmatism of the Cold War.¶ Instead, disagreements between the US, Russia, and China reflect something far more basic: power. This is not new. Ever since the US emerged as the world’s sole superpower in the 1990s, Russia and China have been struggling to counterbalance the US, either individually or by cooperating loosely. In the 1990s, both were too weak to challenge America. Russia was mired in a post-Soviet depression, and China was keeping its head low while it concentrated on economic development. In 1999, the US ignored Russian and Chinese objections to NATO intervention in Serbia’s breakaway province of Kosovo, and in 2003, Washington ignored Moscow’s and Beijing’s objections to its invasion of Iraq.¶ Now, however, Russia and China feel strong enough to stand up to the US. Both are still rather weak, geopolitically speaking. For example, Russia and China have very few genuine allies, and those that are their allies are economically peripheral countries, e.g. Belarus, Armenia, and Tajikistan for Russia, and North Korea and Myanmar for China. Nonetheless, Moscow and Beijing still have the means to push back against the US. On yesterday evening’s news channels, there was considerable speculation that the US could force the flight carrying Snowden to Cuba (a stopover point en route to Ecuador, his presumed ultimate destination) to land in the US, if it passed through US airspace. But would the US really intercept a Russian civilian airliner? In any case, Snowden was not on board.¶ Meanwhile, the Snowden affair is bringing Ecuador firmly under the international spotlight again. President Rafael Correa seems to be positioning himself as the de facto successor to the late Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, as the champion of anti-Americanism in Latin America. (Wikileaks founder Julian Assange remains in limbo in the Ecuadorean embassy in London.) ¶ Overall, neither Russia nor China wants to strain relations with the US to breaking point. However, it is clear that both are prepared to be much more assertive towards Washington than was the case a decade ago. This is probably the new norm.

Risk Watchdog, Business Monitor International, Jun 25, 2013. Edward Snowden, Russia, And China: Implications, http://www.riskwatchdog.com/2013/06/25/edward-snowden-russia-and-china-implications/

The US and Russia remain completely at loggerheads over Syria, which has become subsumed into a wider power struggle between the ‘Great Powers’ in the Middle East , Syria’s war is between President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and rebel forces behind both camps lie Russia and the US, respectively. there are still ideological divisions between the US, and Russia The US is democratic and favours the spread of neoliberal economic policies worldwide. Russia is a heavily managed democracy with a strong state disagreements between the US, Russia reflect something far more basic: power Ever since the US emerged as the world’s sole superpower in the 1990s Russia and China have been struggling to counterbalance the US Now, however, Russia and China feel strong enough to stand up to the US. Russia is prepared to be much more assertive towards Washington than was the case a decade ago.

Challenging Russia encourages threatens global stability

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013

China is Cuba’s second largest trading partner after Venezuela, and Cuba is China’s largest trading partner in the Caribbean, with bilateral trade now standing at around $2 billion. Beijing wants to help Cuba push through market-oriented economic reforms, knowing from its own experience over the past three decades that private sector entrepreneurial activity can stimulate foreign investment, build national capital and promote domestic consumption. To this end, China has granted Cuba numerous long-term low or interest-free loans to support development and maintain financial and social stability through the reform process. It has also undertaken significant technology transfers and entered into joint ventures in farming, light industry, and tourism. Cuba has started the reform process focused on its biggest export industries. It has, for example, begun restructuring its ailing sugar industry by abolishing the sugar ministry and creating Azcuba, a state holding company consisting of 13 provincial sugar companies that operate 56 sugar mills and 850 sugarcane farms. Azcuba signed foreign investment agreements with companies from Brazil and Britain in 2012 to modernize harvesting equipment and build biomass energy plants. Cuba exports about 400,000 tonnes of sugar annually to China, more than half the amount it produces for domestic consumption. China’s interest in Cuba is, of course, inseparable from the Caribbean’s natural resources and those of Latin America more broadly. The Sino-Cuban economic fraternity, from Beijing’s viewpoint, is largely pragmatic rather than idealistic. Beijing has demonstrated that it will conduct business with left-leaning governments like Venezuela and Ecuador as readily as with right-leaning governments like Chile and Colombia. The Sino-Cuban partnership may represent a lost opportunity for the United States in promoting liberal democracy in the Western Hemisphere. But it may also represent a path to normalized relations if China can help Cuba’s economy reform such that it, like Vietnam’s, no longer justifies the continuation of a decades-old U.S. trade embargo on the basis that Cuba’s economy is “dominated or controlled by international communism.”

Nash 13 (Paul Nash. Contributor to the “Diplomatic Courier's.” 24 May 2013. Web. 6 July 2013. “How the Chinese are Helping to Transform Cuba, Again” http://www.diplomaticourier.com/news/regions/brics/1465-how-the-chinese-are-helping-to-transform-cuba-again)

China is Cuba’s second largest trading partner and Cuba is China’s largest trading partner with bilateral trade now standing at around $2 billion. Beijing wants to help Cuba push through market-oriented economic reforms, China has granted Cuba numerous long-term low or interest-free loans to support development and maintain financial and social stability through the reform process. It has also undertaken significant technology transfers and entered into joint ventures in farming Cuba has started the reform process focused on its biggest export industries. It has, for example, begun restructuring its ailing sugar industry by abolishing the sugar ministry Cuba exports about 400,000 tonnes of sugar annually to China, more than half the amount it produces for domestic consumption. The Sino-Cuban partnership may represent a lost opportunity for the United States in promoting liberal democracy in the Western Hemisphere

Existing Sino-Cuban partnership will continue to grow, providing an obstacle for U.S. involvement

Cuba Sugar Ethanol Negative - JDI 2013.html5

Kansas (JDI)

Case Negatives

2013