ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author explores their arguments and the different paths they are taking to arrive at the same conclusion: that borders should be open. He explains on the idea that borders and cross-border migration can be approached from different angles, narrowing author focus to arguments that support “open borders.” The European Union’s Schengen Area is an example of open borders being implemented because it was seen as politically feasible and economically advantageous to grant freedom of migration to people within this territory. Despite the considerable support for open borders, there is no cohesive position on why borders should be open. Rather, the calls for open borders follow diverse and fragmented lines of reasoning. An important argument in support of open borders is that mobility constraints violate the core philosophical principles of liberalism, and thus nation states that claim to embrace these liberal principles cannot justify constraining cross-border migration.
