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Administrative Surveillance And Fear: Implications For U.S.-Mexico Border Relations And Governance, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, Terence Garrett, Michelle Keck

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Fear has struck the people along the U.S.-Mexico border. Government authorities of the two nations have implemented techniques to secure the Rio Grande against drug trafficking, immigration, and terrorism. This article explores the issues and policies that have led to the escalation of violence on the U.S.-Mexico border and the ‘politics of fear’. Firstly, Mexican and U.S. governmental authorities are examined in the context of their actions against the various drug cartels. Secondly, the impact of such actions on the nations’ publics is analysed. The authors combine the theoretical conceptions of the ‘media spectacle’ and the politics of fear that …