Afternoon Panel: Globalization and Changing Nature of Borders: Is Borderless world Possible or Desirable?

In the era of globalization a strong border wall may not necessarily secure a bounded territory. The old maxim, “Good Fences Make Good Neighbors,” seems out of date. While tough border walls may impede some unauthorized border crossings, traditional border walls appear powerless to safeguard against “invisible intruders” that may easily transcend a well-built border wall. Nowadays, transnational companies have been building a uniform global culture by offering identical products, services, processes and work culture. The proliferation of supranational organizations and resultant trans-boundary transactions, coupled with other effects of globalization, like global financial services, the emerging digital technology, terrorism, cyber-crime and so forth have been fueling the widespread speculation of the elimination of borders. A borderless world, in turn means, territorial sovereignty is insignificant, as global actors appear more powerful and rapidly moving toward controlling the whole global phenomena. This increasingly global way of life has potency to penetrate all forms of boundaries thereby making traditional border functions “out-of-date.” Nowadays, it is not impossible to attack vital resources situated in San Francisco without the perpetrator’s physical presence in the United States or in the nearby regions. A terrorist, hiding elsewhere in the globe, can stretch destructive hands that may not easily detected by border guards or curtailed by border walls. Similarly, a cyber-thief, residing at a far distance, can get access to bank accounts without physically crossing borders, or a terrorist at a remote location can disrupt utility plants at any part of the world. Similarly, the ever-changing communication and transportation technology has avoided barriers of distance thereby making the world reachable to all at a given time. Therefore, it appears logically correct to suppose that traditional border walls are being obsolete as “bad neighbors” are emerging despite well-built border walls. With regard to borders, the world is experiencing two conflicting realities that the modern socio-political system has to tackle. The uncontrollable nature of globalization that appears to overpass traditional border walls easily and the interests of territorial states and governments to protect their subjects against threats of security by closing borders or restricting border contacts and mobility. Now the question is how to reconcile these conflicting realties? Various research works and the prevailing national and international reality proves the possibility of reconciling the conflicting global scenario by transforming the nature of border from barriers to bridges. This can happen by de-territorizing the old territories and de-bordering the old borders with a view to re-territorize and re-border it to accommodate global actors and the interest of states to safeguard sovereignty and address the quest for security. The new border walls will be designed in such a way it would allow quick and free mobility of friendly (good) people while filtering undesired ones (the enemy, strangers or others) through global cooperation and networking