ABSTRACT
According to many interested parties, citizens, business groups, NGOs, and even government agencies charged with the contemporary security and management of the Canada and US borders, the Canada/US border is to some extent “broken.” Some believe that the Canada/US border is becoming “thicker,” and indeed, such sentiments are often confirmed rather than denied by officials in both the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Particularly since 9/11, there is a perception – often empirically supported – that crossing the Canada/ US border is increasingly difficult, and the transaction costs associated with crossing the border have dramatically increased. In fact, in many cases, specifically in the area of transportation and shipping, the rewards for enrolling in registered/trusted traveler and transportation programs such as NEXUS or the commercial equivalent, FAST, continue to pale in comparison to the costs. Unfortunately, most articulations or critiques of contemporary border management stem from a rather deep-seated commitment to the notion that the complex dilemmas of contemporary border management are sufficiently captured by the tussle between the interests of liberty and security. Beholden to perceptions of the contemporary security dilemma that is characterized by articulations of the continuum between liberty and security, attempts to resolve this tension regularly focus on a combination of surveillance and identification technologies and risk management (RM).
