Border Games: Policing the U.S.- Mexico Divide (Cornell Studies in Political Economy)
In recent years, the United States and Mexico significantly liberalized trade regulations via the NAFTA treaty while also increasing the policing of the border area to stop the smuggling of people, drugs, and illegal goods. Andreas (Drug War Politics: The Price of Denial) argues that this contradiction serves less to prevent smuggling than to provide a stage for both America and Mexico to reaffirm national identities by demonstrating the ability to protect borders. Individuals in both countries use smuggling and illegal immigration for political gain, while neither nation does much to diminish the demand for drugs or the low-cost labor of illegal aliens. The author provides an excellent overview of the topic of smuggling and makes interesting comparisons between U.S.-Mexico border control and policing in Eastern and Southern Europe. This well-written work adds to the social and cultural focus provided in David Spener and Kathleen Staudt's The U.S.-Mexico Border: Transcending Divisions, Contesting Identities (Lynne Rienne Pub.,1998). Recommended for larger public and academic libraries.DStephen L. Hupp, Urbana Univ., OHCopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.