A WORLD WITHOUT BORDERS

Globalisation can be defined as the process in which the connectivity and interdependence between markets and businesses increases. It means that as economies become more interconnected, more opportunities arise. This process has been questioning the idea of national boundaries. Should there be boundaries between countries? Are they necessary? Boundaries have certain functions such as demarcating the territorial limits of a state’s jurisdiction and authority, the regulation of movement of people, capital, commodities and information between state territories and the assignation of an identity and citizenship. Are these functions being replaced by globalisation and business movements? The end of boundaries is not nigh.

Firstly, one of the main functions of boundaries or national borders is, as said, the demarcation of the territorial limits of a state’s jurisdiction and authority. A state is sovereign by right. Borders are powerful symbols of the state’s power. It means that the government has the legitimate right to exercise coercion. When it comes to globalisation differences arise such as the meaning of sovereign to nations inside different territories. It is usually seen by national institutions with different points of view as to what sovereign means and depending of what constraints they might have. Boundaries cannot be erased to create a global community when there is no agreement about who is sovereign, where and how. Businesses would certainly be benefited by this as there would be no constraints for their transactions. No taxations and no sticking by national rules when having a company abroad.

The second function of boundaries is the regulation of movement of people, capital, commodities and information that goes inside or outside territories. It is true that due to globalisation many barriers are not efficient to regulate the movement of capital, and mostly information, but when it comes to the regulation of the movement of people, especially in the most developed countries that receive large quantities of inmigrants willing to work and improve their quality of life, the government is very effective and strict. If the idea of national boundaries was abandoned this would not happen and for example, Mexicans could freely move to America, find a job and start and new life, whereas reality tells something else (a wall, a fence being built to contain illegal inmigration). Does that tell us something? Is that the idea of a global community? Or is it the instalment of more and more constraints?

Last but not least, boundaries give us a certain identity and citizenship. Citizenship is attached to states. We exercise our rights and obligations that are circumscribed by the borders of the state we belong to. Our citizenship gives us access to social welfare, health programs, education, legal entitlements. These things cannot be separated from the territorial state. Our identity gives us a certain culture and customs, a certain view of the world surrounding us, our environment.

That is also something we cannot separate from territory. Obviously, businesses would be benefited from the disappearance of these things, because with no legal constraints at all inside the different territories they work in, they could manage themselves. There would be an invisible hand regulating economies and letting things naturally be, laissez faire. This benefit is on the short run, because if the government didn’t regulate economic activity, competition would be very savage and many producers, many companies would disappear. Who or what would be in charge of social equilibrium? What happens with the poor, the needy, the less fortunate?

In conclusion, the end of boundaries is not even close. Being true that many of the functions of boundaries are not working properly because of the free flow of capitals, commodities and information, new technologies that make communications and trade faster and easier and transnational companies among others, territories are still well defined by their own internal laws and a sovereign government that has the legitimate exercise of coercion. Wars are being fought in the name of identity and territory, an example is the Palestinian cause against Israel. If all these things are still happening in the world today after all the technological advances, how can we think of a global community and the disappearance of national boundaries? Businesses are waiting for this happy ending for them, but nowadays there is one thing for sure: the end is not nigh.