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Title: Pandemic Response as Border Politics
Abstract Pandemics are imbued with the politics of bordering. For centuries, border closures and restrictions on foreign travelers have been the most persistent and pervasive means by which states have responded to global health crises. The ubiquity of these policies is not driven by any clear scientific consensus about their utility in the face of myriad pandemic threats. Instead, we show they are influenced by public opinion and preexisting commitments to invest in the symbols and structures of state efforts to control their borders, a concept we call border orientation . Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, border orientation was already generally on the rise worldwide. This trend has made it convenient for governments to “contain” the virus by externalizing it, rather than taking costly but ultimately more effective domestic mitigation measures. We argue that the pervasive use of external border controls in the face of the coronavirus reflects growing anxieties about border security in the modern international system. To a great extent, fears relating to border security have become a resource in domestic politics—a finding that does not bode well for designing and implementing effective public health policy.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1917573
PAR ID:
10281872
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
International Organization
Volume:
74
Issue:
S1
ISSN:
0020-8183
Page Range / eLocation ID:
E36 to E58
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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