Hardened/Open Border Paradox - Coursework Example

Hardened/Open Border Paradox Question The increase in terrorist threats over the decades has motivated countries to implement radical policies to help thwart such threat. A fundamental center for concern in the modern day America, for example, is border security. The country has increasingly enhanced the security of its borders thereby limiting the movement of people in and out of the country. Free riding is a situation where immigrants could easily enter the United States, as was the case before the 9/11 incident.

Pay riding, on the other hand, is the modern situation where people must go through a number of checks and process visas thereby enter the country through legally recognized entry points. This offers the country the chance to assess every visitor thereby limiting the threat of terrorism (Kugel, 2012). Such a unilateral solution can easily turn a multilateral one if the country continues to collaborate with neighboring governments thereby establishing ways of encouraging cross-border trade while limiting illegal immigration of people.

Unilateral Question 2 It is indeed cost effective to spend whichever amount of money in protecting the country from terrorism. The United States is the world’s largest economy and largest democracy. The country covers a large geographic area and has an equally large population. Furthermore, the country has some elusive neighbors who continue to complicate the processes of border security. As such, the United States must invest more money in enhancing the security of Americans. Terrorism has adverse varied effects in an economy.

Terrorist attacks such as the 9/11 incident created fear and destabilized the American economy (Berry, 2012). The incident was a measure of the extent of terrorism. The country lost billions in dollars as investors began worrying amount their security. Such cases validate the need to spend more money in enhancing the security of the country. Border security is an equally important factor in preventing terrorism. Illegal immigrants present a number of negative effects to the American economy. Considering such factors coupled with the fact that the country’s security organs have succeeded in thwarting numerous terrorist threats to the country since the 9/11 incident makes the large amounts of money spent in enhancing the country’s security cost effective.

Question 3 Hardened border paradox refers to a situation where governments put up physical barriers such as feces and walls on the border to limit movement of people. The hardened border paradox stifles cross-border trade and interactions among countries (Thurston, 2009). Open border paradox, on the other hand, is a situation in which countries enjoy liberal border policies. Such countries encourage cross border-trade, and regulated movement of citizens from both countries. Both paradoxes present challenges to the countries hardened border paradox, for example, discourage the growth of trade while open border paradox encourages illegal immigration a feature that threatens the security of both countries.

Overcoming both paradoxes requires the formulation and implementation of strategic policies such as the open markets and closed border policy that governs most of the American borders. Such policies encourage economic activities among countries while discouraging unregulated movement of people from both countries. This maximizes profitability from the economic activities while limiting the negative effects of illegal immigration among other illicit cross-border trades. References Berry, T. (2012).

Ten Years of Waste, Immigrant Crackdowns and New Drug Wars. Friends Of Justice. Kugel, L. (2012). Terrorism and the Global Economy. E-International Relations. Thurston, M. (2009). Post-911 Security Policies On The Northern Border: Who Is At Fault? Mthuston.hubpages.com.