ABSTRACT
The border wall that Argentina built in 2015 on its Paraguayan border was doubly enigmatic: It was ambiguous in Argentine society and difficult to explain with predominant border theories. This wall was constructed without prior explanation from the government of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, whose general policy facilitated immigration from neighboring countries. In contrast, the government of Mauricio Macri, who took office in 2016 and adopted an unfriendly stance toward regional immigrants, criticized the wall on the Paraguayan border while rejecting proposals for additional border walls. This otherwise puzzling process resulted from the developmentalist background to the Argentine wall’s construction, the relative success of grassroots opposition to Argentine walls, and the continental resonance of border walls as shameful structures. For Border Studies, explaining this case requires a multifarious concept of globalization’s impact on nation-state boundaries and a nuanced reading of how governments and citizens respond to transnational forces.
