Border Management Research Articles

Reflections on practical approaches to the implementation of the republic of Moldova’s state policy for border management to improve cross-border cooperation

Reflections on practical approaches to the implementation of the republic of Moldova’s state policy for border management to improve cross-border cooperation

Optimized Border System for Land-Based Transport

Land-based transport corridors serving landlocked developing countries experience cargo delays that are much longer than global benchmarks, reducing the competitiveness of the affected countries within an increasingly globalized economy. Improving the efficiency of such corridors is complicated by the inefficient management of border crossings. Factors contributing to long border delays include the variability of vehicle processing times and lack of sufficient capacity at service desks during peak traffic periods. We use a simulation approach to investigate improvements to current border management systems by modeling each important aspect of the cross-border process. The simulator was calibrated against data collected during cross-border surveys. This article is the first to quantify the potential for reduction in border delays through the reduced variability of process times. A dynamic adjustment model was developed to enable an optimal compromise between the number of service desks for each process; utilization levels of the available capacity; and average delay time. The novelty of our approach lies in the fact that service capacity adjustments are based on data that are collected inside the border area, rather than data that are collected from traffic in transit to the border, which is much easier to implement in practice.

Intelligence failure in countering terrorism in south Asia: a comparative analysis of Holey Artisan and Easter attacks

ABSTRACT Intelligence agencies exist to ensure national security, but the path to attain that goal is filled with numerous unexpected threats and vulnerabilities. This makes intelligence failure often highly likely. This article explores and compares the 2016 Holey Artisan (Bangladesh) and the 2019 Easter (Sri Lanka) attacks from intelligence failure perspectives to understand the fault lines in counterterrorism (CT) efforts in the south Asian context. The article summarises the causes of intelligence failures into three broad yet interconnected themes: failure due to issues within the intelligence activities and agencies, failure leading from policy or direction, and failure arising from psychological forces. This article concludes that poorly coordinated counterterrorism policy, poor internal security and border management apparatus and cognitive limits of the security forces were the causes of the intelligence failure in the Holey Artisan attack. On the other hand, the intelligence failure of the Easter Sunday attacks resulted from political leadership, miscommunication and psychological limits of top intelligence officials, and the intelligence community’s failure to adapt to the emerging security threat of Islamist extremism.

Security knowledges: circulation, control, and responsible research and innovation in EU border management

ABSTRACT The knowledge emerging from research funded by the European Union (EU) through its Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation and other funding streams is significantly shaped by different forms of epistemic control exerted by the EU itself. Through the promotion of industry-research-policy cooperation in EU-funded research, and in light of the growing importance attached to ‘impact,’ this knowledge will often contribute to bureaucratic decisions taken by the European Commission, Frontex, the EU Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems (eu-LISA), and other agencies tasked with border security and control. The circular dynamics surrounding knowledge production, from the calls for proposals to the results of the research, are intrinsically political and contribute to exposing the limits of the EU-promoted principle of Responsible Research and Innovation. Additionally, and due to the centrality of EU funding in the research outlook in contemporary Europe, these processes raise wider questions about the sociology of the academic fields that this article relates to: critical border studies, critical security studies, and science and technology studies. How can we interpret the interplays between the EU’s policies fostering development and integration of border security technologies, on the one hand, and the Union’s broader principles for free and open research and innovation? Through the use of autoethnographic vignettes, and mediated by an expanded Foucauldian understanding of circulation as a technology of control with performative effects, the article sheds light on the dynamics surrounding knowledge production in the field of border technologies in an EU context.

Migration governance in civil war: The case of the Kurdish conflict

AbstractThis article examines the management and instrumentalisation of migration and mobility as an area of contested governance in civil wars. Building on work in migration studies and rebel governance, it shows how migration and mobility regimes form part of the structure of violent armed conflicts, as both states and non-state actors seek to control processes and consequences of mobility and migration to their advantage. Governance of migration during conflict involves the strategic use of mechanisms of migration governance for the purposes of achieving conflict aims. This article develops a framework for understanding how migration governance is instrumentalised in civil war as a means of managing and controlling populations. The framework is then applied to the case of the Kurdish conflict in Turkey and beyond through an analysis of three areas of migration governance that have played significant roles in this extended regional conflict: forced migration and refugee governance; border management; and diaspora engagement. The analysis provides a challenge to dominant state-centric, securitisation and humanitarian approaches to migration and security by pointing to the political and spatial complexity of contested migration governance in situations of protracted conflict.

Border Region Railway Development in Sino- Indian Geopolitical Competition

India and China share about 3,488 km long International Boundary, which has three sectors: Western, Middle and Eastern. The Eastern sector comprises two Northeastern states, that is, Arunachal Pradesh measuring 1,124 kms and Sikkim measuring 219 kms, respectively. Due to recent changes in the geopolitical relationship with China, border management and transport infrastructure development have occupied centre stage. In recent years, the Government of India has taken initiatives to develop railway infrastructure in Northeast India. The study will focus on the role of railway transportation in Sino-Indian geopolitical competition. The study is based on secondary data collected from the office of General Manager, Northeast Frontier Railway, the Census of India and reports of Memorandums of Understanding between India and China. The study reveals that railway infrastructure along the border creates geo-psychological pressures on both countries, influencing the divergent geopolitical relationship between India and China. Railway diplomacy is a tool kit of critical geopolitics which reveals the contours of geopolitical competition in borderlands.

The Humanitarian Theater in the Mediterranean and the Threat of Violence in the Balkans

ABSTRACT This article compares the Mediterranean and the Balkan routes of migration into the European Union, exploring the (in)visibility and (un)knowability of the management of European borderlands. It offers a historical overview of the hotspot approach in the Mediterranean, where securitarian concerns merged with humanitarian affects, making certain practices and subjectivities possible, but foreclosing others. Lampedusa, Italy, has been turned into a stage where “humanitarian theater” performed for European audiences has become a crucial aspect of border management. The strategy of EU border management has been different in the Balkans, where the use of violence has been concealed with a veil of official denial. Instead of a humanitarian theater, in the Balkans we can find stories of border terror, official denial of such violence, and competing claims to knowledge about it. This official denial has kept “Europe” as a political community simultaneously implicated in and innocent of the use of violence in border management. Despite their differences, the key functions of the EU border regime have been the same in these two regions. The comparative perspective illustrates the different strategies the European border regime uses to manage the perceived “crisis” of migration, while simultaneously keeping the liberal space of Europe “safe.”

EL V.2 Model for Predicting Food Safety Risks at Taiwan Border Using the Voting-Based Ensemble Method.

Border management serves as a crucial control checkpoint for governments to regulate the quality and safety of imported food. In 2020, the first-generation ensemble learning prediction model (EL V.1) was introduced to Taiwan's border food management. This model primarily assesses the risk of imported food by combining five algorithms to determine whether quality sampling should be performed on imported food at the border. In this study, a second-generation ensemble learning prediction model (EL V.2) was developed based on seven algorithms to enhance the "detection rate of unqualified cases" and improve the robustness of the model. In this study, Elastic Net was used to select the characteristic risk factors. Two algorithms were used to construct the new model: The Bagging-Gradient Boosting Machine and Bagging-Elastic Net. In addition, Fβ was used to flexibly control the sampling rate, improving the predictive performance and robustness of the model. The chi-square test was employed to compare the efficacy of "pre-launch (2019) random sampling inspection" and "post-launch (2020-2022) model prediction sampling inspection". For cases recommended for inspection by the ensemble learning model and subsequently inspected, the unqualified rates were 5.10%, 6.36%, and 4.39% in 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively, which were significantly higher (p < 0.001) compared with the random sampling rate of 2.09% in 2019. The prediction indices established by the confusion matrix were used to further evaluate the prediction effects of EL V.1 and EL V.2, and the EL V.2 model exhibited superior predictive performance compared with EL V.1, and both models outperformed random sampling.

Aggressive geopolitics and questions about the theory of space

In the 21st century, no nation is immune from the problem of forced displacement, and many countries and communities are showing extraordinary generosity and compassion towards those who are forced to flee. However, the distribution of refugees around the world is still significantly skewed towards less affluent regions. Nearly 90% of UN-mandated refugees live in low- and middle-income countries, often very close to situations of conflict. Countries that are among the least developed host a quarter of all refugees in the world. The international refugee protection system developed after World War II was designed to respond to the potentially destabilizing effects of population displacement. International solidarity and responsibility-sharing are essential but often elusive elements of this system, vital to protecting the rights of refugees wherever they are, as well as providing support to host countries. At a time when solidarity and responsibility-sharing are needed more than ever, states are concerned about the security concerns of international terrorism and are once again focusing on border controls. Hostility towards foreigners is on the rise in many countries, and physical and legal barriers designed to prevent irregular migration affect many people who are trying to find security. As the authors of this Handbook attempt to explain, border management and refugee protection are not mutually exclusive. States can and should put in place robust mechanisms to identify individuals in need of protection, just as they can and should identify individuals who may pose a security threat. On the other hand, it should be noted that the states themselves are the cause of conflicts, since aggressive geopolitics leads to wars, changes in borders, and sometimes the creation of new states and, accordingly, people are forced to leave their homes. In the study of international relations, the question of interleaving, refugees and their new space has arisen, which causes new conflicts in the new space. In the theory of territories and space, there are several views on these issues, the coverage of these issues is the task of the presented article.

Collaborative Governance dalam Pembangunan Masyarakat Perbatasan di Kabupaten Merauke

The development of border areas aims to realize the border paradigm as the homeland of the Republic of Indonesia and needs to be carried out comprehensively, in the sense not only through a welfare approach but also through a security and environmental approach. For this reason, collaborative governance is one of the concepts that can be applied in developing border areas. This research was conducted using a descriptive method and a qualitative approach in Sota District, which is an area directly adjacent to Papua New Guinea. The results of the study indicate that collaborative governance in the development of the RI-PNG border area in the Sota District has not gone well. Indicators of starting conditions and intermediate outcomes have been seen from several programs such as the formation of community groups for Pokos honey entrepreneurs, eucalyptus oil processors, and ant nest tea processors. However, when viewed from the indicators of the collaborative process and institutional design, there has not been an ideal collaboration between the government, the private sector, and universities. Where it can be seen that all community empowerment activities are still dominated by the government, in this case, the Regional Border Management Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Center, the Wasur National Park Center, and Merauke Regency. Ideally, in a collaborative process, universities and the community should be involved as implementers and balancers of the programs provided by the government in improving the welfare of the community.

Infrastructure and authority at the state’s edge: The Border Crossings of the World dataset

The Border Crossings of the World (BCW) dataset explores state authority spatially by collecting information about infrastructure built where highways cross internationally recognized borders. This geolocated information is recorded using high-altitude imagery from 1993 to 2020. We describe how the data were collected, demonstrate the dataset’s utility, and offer advice and best practices regarding use of the data. These data present clear evidence of visible and long-term state investments in authoritative displays of states’ intention to ‘filter’ entry into and exit out of their national jurisdiction. Researchers can use these data to test theories on the causes and consequences of border hardening for security outcomes, border management cooperation, political violence, terrorism, trade and migration flows, transnational crime patterns, and human rights conditions. Because the data are precisely geolocated, they are easy to combine with existing spatial datasets.

E-Securing the EU Borders: AI in European Integrated Border Management

In the European Union, the external borders were not always conceived as European ones. However, after experiencing a range of threats, the European policymakers identified external borders' importance to European security. Not forgetting that borders are connected with national authority, the EU through Frontex has made progressive steps towards a coordinated or even common border management. The main tools to achieve that are the shared European IT systems. Their enhanced capabilities, mostly based on Artificial Intelligence, will further establish the European Smart Borders. There is a complex "network” of IT border systems already operating or prospect automated ones that are necessary to be resilient and align with core fundamental rights.

Contesting the integration narrative: Shifting perceptions of EUrope

The European Union (EU) has long projected the vision of an integrating Europe, centred on successful regional integration, as a better geopolitical model in comparison to ‘others’, such as the Cold War superpowers, US neoconservativism or diverse autocratic regimes. The purported superiority of the ‘European model’ is thereby linked to credibly advancing the story of successful regional integration – internally as well as externally. This article suggests a narrative continuum between EU-optimism and EU-scepticism and argues that perceptions about the ‘success’ of the EU as a model for regional integration have changed between the first and the second decade of the new millennium. As part of this shift, EU-scepticism has gained in prominence over EU-optimism. This is related to a series of geopolitical ruptures since the late 2000s, in particular, the financial crisis, disputes on human mobility and border management, rising nationalism, Brexit and other right-wing populist movements across the continent. Focussing on the divisions within the EU as regards financial and migration policy, this article highlights three interrelated simultaneities. It argues (a) that process and discourse of (b) integration and disintegration have (c) internal and external dimensions. Empirically, it builds on interviews with African and European geopolitical elites that have been conducted as part of two research projects on external perceptions of the EU in East Africa between 2010 and 2018. It thus offers a snapshot on the shift of both ‘internal’ and ‘external’ perceptions of the EU against the context of wider geopolitical transformations over the course of this decisive decade.

Data Culture, the Obstacle to SMART Customs in the Face of Disruptive Innovations – a Jamaican Perspective

An immature, underdeveloped data culture limits a digitised strategy (which has been seen as the best approach to treat the complexities of e-commerce and ‘fast couriers’) and stands in the way of the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) developing its capacity as a truly SMART (Secure, Measurable, Automated, Risk management based, Technology driven) administration. A commitment to paper-centric processes, disjointed legacy systems, fear and mistrust of technology, a lack of regard for data integrity and an underdeveloped appreciation for the need for advanced technology that facilitates necessary cooperation and collaboration of internal and external data flows are evident oppositions to data proficiency, and a foothold on e-commerce. JCA’s information management and border professionals have shed light on the challenges that disruptive innovations in the form of e-commerce and ‘fast couriers’ present to border management, and expressly identifies big data as a hopeful strategy to overcome current challenges. However, there is an acceptance of the fact that stakeholders need to develop an appreciation for data and its relevance in modern customs operations, as this is the key to a proactive Customs that can conduct intelligent targeting and make decisions based on evidence. Current trends in cross-border e-commerce and the legal and technological adaptations that have been necessary in Europe, Africa, Middle East and parts of the Caribbean have been cited as models for policy adjustments that the JCA could consider. In addition to its development of local standards for data management and technology that would foster the appetite of internal stakeholders, the JCA also needs to look to national technocrats for policy provisions to facilitate data use and flows among Border Regulatory Agencies (BRAs). The JCA should also appeal to national technocrats to institute policies related to and provide the requisite technological infrastructure to facilitate big data management locally and cross-border.

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum: Another Step in the EU Migration-Security Continuum or Preservation of the Status Quo?

Abstract In 2020 the New Pact on Migration and Asylum was presented as a normalization of EU migration, asylum and border management policies in the EU, a much-needed reform which is supposed to strike a balance between security, solidarity and protection of human lives. The aim of this article is to investigate to what extent the proposed reform is changing the modes and trajectories of the securitization of migration in the EU. In doing so, it focuses on specific security logics promoted in the text, discussing how different iterations of security are strengthened and/or marginalized in the EU securitizing framework. Building on the approach of ‘securitization as the work of framing’, the article indicates that the pact has strengthened the risk-management and resilience-centred security logics while at the same time downplaying the role of humanitarianism. It also reveals a strong role for ‘exceptionality’ as a security logic, which has gained prominence especially in relation to crisis management and a wider application of militarized and robust measures.

FOREIGN (TERRORIST) FIGHTERS AND THEIR FAMILIES: CHALLENGES FOR STATE INSTITUTIONS AND THE BORDER MANAGEMENT OF ESTONIA AND THE EU

Foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) returning with their families to the countries of origin in the EU after the fall of ISIS caliphate in Iraq and Syria, as well as foreign fighters (FFs) returning to the EU after combating in the conflict zones in (Eastern) Ukraine present a significant challenge for public institutions and border management of the EU member states. While there is differing legislation across member states regarding the treatment of foreign fighters in Ukraine, there are largely common views on and framework for prosecution of FTFs, deradicalisation and reintegration of them and their families, which requires a remarkable multi-agency effort as exemplified by member states like Finland and Sweden. Having served their sentences, FTFs and, possibly, also FFs have a clean profile, but there remains a risk that some of them may resume terrorism-related activities. In this article, questionnaire as well as semi-structured interviews were used to establish how Finland, Sweden, and the Baltic States are handling the issue of FTFs and FFs; also, the impact of the FTFs and FFs on Estonia’s as well as the EU’s border management is analysed. Major conclusions of the study include the suggestion to use smart gates for the biometric verification of all passengers within the Schengen area as well as the suggestion for the Baltic States to create and develop multi-agency framework for treatment of returnees and refugees from conflict zones.

EUROPEAN BORDER AND COAST GUARD STANDING CORPS CATEGORY 1 BASIC TRAINING TOPICALITIES IN ENSURING THE EU BORDER SECURITY

Establishment of the European Border and Coast Guard Standing Corps Category 1 has been recently the most visible change in the European approach in the management of the EU external borders. The political decision of the EU to have its own law enforcement officers for border protection and migration management and return-related tasks, has manifested a paradigm shift, also in training and education. The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) has a leading role in capacity building, for example in terms of providing training for the members of the Category 1. The Agency Regulation provides a legal basis for the statutory staff of the Standing Corps, in particular highlighting the importance of training based on common values and culture, and respect of fundamental rights. The European dimension of the Standing Corps training is underpinned by the legal and ethical responsibilities of the Agency to ensure that the members of the Standing Corps are well trained and fully prepared to perform tasks with executive powers. The main aim of the paper is to explore the establishment of standing corps from the perspective of basic training. The context presented supports the thesis that the initial training serves as the foundation of public agreement and investment for common safety and security. The paper builds upon hands-on experience of the author and draws the general conclusion to prove the thesis based on the legal instruments presented and implementation of basic training editions.

BORDER CHECKS OF PERSONS DURING A PANDEMIC PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

The article is a study of border checks (hereinafter BCs) of persons during a pandemic – a study of problems and possible solutions. BC problems at different border crossing points (BCPs) are analysed in the study – their importance and possible solutions. In this article, the authors study the influence of a pandemic on efficient performance of the duties of the State Border Guard (hereinafter the SBG) and design recommendations to improve the work of the SBG. The research aim is to study BCs of persons during a pandemic, associated problems and possible solutions, make an evaluation, conclusions, and recommendations. Research objectives: - Analyse the legal regulations for BCs of persons during a pandemic; - Study the specifications of BCs of persons during the Covid-19 pandemic; - Study the problems associated with BCs of persons during the Covid-19 pandemic at different types of border crossing points, perform an analysis and suggest possible solutions. Primary methods used: Analysis and qualitative methods. Main results – find possible solutions to the problems associated with BCs of persons during a pandemic. The European Union (hereinafter the EU) is striving to improve the protection of its external borders by suggesting various modern solutions. The EU border management policies are met with the influx of refugees and migrants in unprecedented numbers, which has also uncovered deficiencies in the EU policy concerning external borders and migration. The EU is also facing the Covid-19 pandemic and the increase in security problems. The State Border Guard officers have to adapt to new and strained working conditions, have to be able to provide themselves with all the necessary personal protection equipment; if necessary, send officers to serve in other units and test their ability to cooperate with other institutions at a completely different level. They have to be able to successfully ensure the security of the state border in accordance with the requirements of the EU, as well as perform priority tasks in accordance with the situation in any conditions.

All Roads Lead to Beijing? Shifts in Chinese Labour and Capital During the COVID-19 Pandemic

AbstractThe unprecedented global pandemic has shaken the world's foundations – upending legal institutions, toppling established principles of transnational governance, and limiting mobility between nations. In the People's Republic of China (the PRC or China), one of the most significant legal developments is the major reconfiguration of the state's labour and capital policies oriented towards its economic partners with emerging economies and economies in transition. These policies have changed dramatically, especially given the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on lower-income states. China's domestic situation and its need to meet evolving transnational demands also contribute to the reformation of these economic ties, and perhaps precede further changes to be implemented in the future. To provide much-needed insight into this ongoing transformation, this Article investigates how China's labour and capital policies towards its key international partners have developed in response to the pandemic. Drawing on three case studies, we use a socio-legal approach to analyse the status of migrants from African countries in China, labour immigration to China from its southwestern border regions, and the emigration of Chinese nationals to Serbia and the Balkans for the purposes of labour and investment. Through these representative developments, this Article unveils new trends in China's post-pandemic labour and capital policies, including enhanced responsiveness; a security-centric approach to border management; and an improving regulatory approach to ordinary migration channels.

Introducing the Idea of Border Governance for Nepal-India Open Border

The process of globalization, with the flow of people, merchandise, and capital, has invited different challenges, threats, and insecurities. Thus, the idea of border governance has emerged among the states, calling for a collaborative approach to border management systems between the neighboring states. As a qualitative study adhering to the "practice turn" in International Relations (IR) and considering human actions responsible for constructing social realities, the study has focused on the Nepal-India open border. As a unique border, the study has pointed out different threats and challenges faced by Nepal and India because of their openness. The article has briefly elucidated the emerging concept of border governance. Likewise, it has introduced the idea of border governance for Nepal-India open borders, outlining its principles and strategies. Overall, the study emphasized the importance of border governance for Nepal-India borders, recognizing border disputes and enormous challenges.