| International relations scholarship has maintained that international boundaries are static entities that reflect state-to-state interaction. By contrast, this dissertation argues that international boundaries are institutions that are imbued with a relatively stable set of rules and behaviours that at a minimum set the context within which border policy choices are determined. The institutional character or nature of a state's border is the result of the unique border building experience of each state, a phase known as the 'bordering process.' The bordering process is reflected in the development of a stable set of border rules and behaviours that remains constant over time. More importantly, the development and maintenance of the border institution are the result of pressures internal to the state and not state-to-state interaction. Finally, border institutions are not limited to the physical border line, but rather fluid in nature occurring both within and beyond the limits of the state. In the context of the Canada-United States border, this dissertation illustrates three important points. First, the choices made by each state in the development of border policies have been consistent across time. Second, those choices have been determined within the domestic setting, reflecting the values and beliefs of the respective societies which the borders enclose. Third, historically, and in the contemporary context of the war on terror, the United States has been successful in shaping the Canadian border agenda, raising questions about Canadian sovereignty and the 'Americanization' of Canadian values. |
