The Pros And Cons Of Border Control

1342 Words3 Pages

Many issues today have multiple sides to them that can be argued very well for both sides. This topic on border control, I believe, can be well argued for both sides because there is plenty of evidence and information that would help further that side’s argument. Now, in the context of which side furthers democracy the most, can be a different story. According to an article by Arash Abizadeh (2008), the regime of boundary control must be democratically justified to foreigners as well as to citizens, in political institutions in which both foreigners and citizens can participate. The statement is in argument to the claim that a democratic state has the right to unilaterally control and close off its borders to outsiders. In order to further …show more content…

The border’s existence and control of the border must not be confused into the same thing. The existence of a border dividing states or regions apart does not necessarily say anything about the rules of controlling it, which would be the entry policy (how open or closed the border is, who can get in and get out and who can’t) and who controls that entry policy. An example would be the border between Ontario and Manitoba. It exists, but the entry policy is pretty open and jointly run through federal …show more content…

This argument is made by the democratic principle of self-determination, and it is claimed that this intrinsically requires unilateral border control. In another article found, Whelan says, according to democratic theory , “the operation of democratic institutions should amount to ‘self-determination,’ or control by the people over all matters that affect their common interests,” and if the “admission of new members into the democratic group counts as such a matter affecting the quality of their public life and the character of the community,” then it seems from this statement that the democratic principle of self-determination has the right and also requires the right to unilaterally control borders. This paper is challenging that the democratic theory of self-determination has a right to unilaterally control one’s own borders. The first question that comes to mind is whether there are any considerations within the democratic theory that create a decision either in favor of unilateral domestic border control or in favor of joint control by citizens and outsiders. The answer depends on who is owed democratic justification, because we cannot know whether a closed border entry policy under the unilateral control of citizens is democratically legitimate unless we know that. But, the democratic justification for a regime of border control is ultimately owed to both members and nonmembers

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