Purdue University Regional Development of Countries in USA Questions Discussion

Write 150 words for each = 450 words TOTAL

Use only own words.

Borders dramatize the clash between national sovereignty and international cooperation. The baseline condition is always national sovereignty: countries get to control what happens within their borders, and that mean regulating who and what crosses. At the same time, countries benefit from and thus enable international flows of people and goods. The objective of this week’s assignment is to deepen our understanding of the relationship between national sovereignty and international cooperation.

(1) Using Google Maps Street View, visit an international border and cross from one side to the other. (Feel free to choose any international border around the world that Google Maps will allow you to see.) Identify the place, and share with us what you see there. How is the border marked, and how stark are the differences between the two sides? (If you do not have access to Google Maps Street View, use a border crossing video from YouTube.)

(2) Articulate one argument in favor of restricted borders. Under what conditions should a country shun people from its territory? Articulate another argument in favor of free borders. Under what conditions should a country welcome into its territory?

(3a) Do you think the youth in the YouTube should be welcomed into the U.S.? Why or why not?

(3b) Describe one way the recent intensification and militarization of the U.S. border has transformed life in Mexico according to On the Plain of Snakes.

for each big question (1,2,3), the answer should be around 100 – 150 words