Psychoanalytic theory and border security

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2397933
AutoresMark B Salter (0000-0002-3379-1107, University of Ottawa, autor de correspondencia), Can E Mutlu (0000-0001-6681-8751, University of Ottawa)
Año2012
Volumen15
Número2
Páginas179-195
Fecha de publicación2012-05-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaEuropean Journal of Social Theory (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1368-4310 • E-ISSN: 1461-7137
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1368431011423594
OpenAlexW2099939260
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas31

Freezing is a common sign of panic, a response to accidents or events that overflow our capacity to react. Just as all civil airspace was cleared after the 9/11 attacks, the US-Canada border was also frozen, causing economic slowdowns. Border policies are caught between these two panics: security failures and economic crisis. To escape this paradox, American and Canadian authorities have implemented a series of security measures to make the border 'smarter', notably the implementation of biometric identity documents and surveillance by UAV Predator drones. Psychoanalytic theory can help us explain why the Canadian and American governments have invested so much money for so little evident or measurable increase in either security or economic flows. The article uses the notion of phantastic objects to explain these (over-)reactions to risk management at the US-Canada border

Border Security · Clearance · Economics · Law and economics · National security · Political economy · Political science · Psychoanalytic theory · Sociology · Global Security and Public Health · Gothic Literature and Media Analysis · Law · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration