"Migration: A Multidimensional Challenge for 21st Century Policy"

BIG Policy Brief, Vol. 1 No. 11, December 2019

Borders in the 21st century are incredibly complex. Far from being the static lines on maps imagined by many, contemporary borders are highly variable, multi-dimensional constructs that are as dependant on time as they are on space. It is often easy for non-experts to forget in time of peace or relative tranquility that borders are ecen there, as their relevance can be rather easily shifted into the background; borders are a line separating one region from another, one language from another, one market from another. Yet in times of trouble, borders take on a new prominence in both policy circles and in national discourse. When natural disasters occur, or when disasters of human design threaten the stability of borders, those formally 'static lines' of public imagination become sites of tension, debate, and conflict. These periods of heightened anxiety reveal the sometimes-dizzying complexity of geo-political boundaries. 

BIG monthly briefings are short, and written in an accessible way in order to enable non-experts and border scholars alike to gain insight into the work that the Borders in Globalization project has done over the past few years. Each of the monthly briefings will be posted on their website as they are released to partners, stakeholders, and other interested groups.