11 June 2024, NIICE Commentary 9211
Dr. Prithivi Bahadur Bogati

The environment of increasing insecurity around the world causes the mounting of border security and developing coalitions in smaller groups in changing security dynamics. Secured and developed borders are symbolic of national development, power and security. Border security is a crucial aspect of national security and plays a critical role in keeping the country safe. Unsecured borders have created many challenges like; territorial issues, illegal migration, cross-border terrorism and illegal smuggling, to name a few. Despite several reasons, there is an argument that border walls do not secure the border in this modern technology-driven era. Although, border and territorial disputes claim lives each year thereby weakening stability in regions across the world.

The first walls were city walls and they originated with the emergence of cities, like Jericho, the city of the Bible, which was first constructed in the 10th millennium B.C. In ancient times, walls were built for more defensive purposes. However, in today’s context, the border walls are being built to prevent immigration, illegal and criminal activities and terrorism as well. There is a common relation, which is the idea of keeping outsiders out. There were two different lifestyles developing: a lifestyle of the people called wallers, comprising workers who build things and identify themselves by their civilian occupation.

They sought to secure themselves by building structures that would protect them even when they were sleeping at night. Outside the walls, they had a very different sort of society, people inured to the dangers of living in an un-walled world. Another was non-Wallers who were generally referred to historically as barbarians, like the Huns, the Goths, or the Mongo. They were viewed with fear by the wall-builders. And that’s what inspired the construction of the early walls. The ancient human need for security is one of the fundamentals of life. It was walls that gave people the security to sit and think. Until a society achieves security, it can’t think about anything except the dangers all around it. In 1648, the concept of borders emerged in the modern period with the signing of the Treaties of Westphalia

The border circumstances after the Second World War and particularly after the post-9/11 environment have given rise to a securitization of border discourses that support the militarization of the borderline.

Increasing Border Fortification

A border barrier separating territories is not new to the world. In fact, before geographical positioning, technology, physical features or human-made walls were used to separate different territories for protection and other reasons. The Great Wall of China was built many years ago to separate the country from the empires of the north, and the Berlin Wall was erected to separate the ideologically different West and East Berlin. Today, there are several types of barriers at the border. There are many reasons as to why these boundaries exist with the most common being, the need to control who goes in or out of the country.

At a global level, the number of border fortifications has multiplied. There were only a dozen border walls at the end of the Cold War, but the number has increased sixfold, ever since. The fortification of borders has accelerated throughout every corner of the world.

Figure 1: Number of Walls

Mini-lateralism as a tool for Balancing International Relations and Restraining External Interference

Several countries are developing multilateral and mini-lateral collaborations for the common interest and also to balance against rival states. Minilateralism is not a new concept. Minilateralism’s notable characteristics are an emphasis on shared interest instead of shared values or ideological alignment. As a result, nations can collaborate on critical issues without having to agree on everything or hold the same worldview. One of the advantages of minilateralism is that it can be more agile and adaptable than traditional diplomatic channels. In 2021, India, Israel, the UAE, and the US announced a “Partnership for the Future” that soon became known as the I2U2 format. Likewise, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), US, UK and Australia’s alignment (AUKUS) are some examples of mini lateralism.

History has proved that the safety of small countries has never been secure; however, this has been more emphasized during the Cold War Period through the rivalry of the superpowers, ideological conflicts, as well as the clashes between their geopolitical and Geo-strategic interests. For the Superpowers, it is very easy to manipulate these countries’ economic and military aspects. They can’t handle a conflict with their strengths, while for small power states the only way is a diplomatic war to avoid or decrease the danger of conflict. To avoid insecurity, which for the small countries in the international relationships is bigger than for the big countries, the only safety alternative is their association with the international institutions.

Realism is a predominant theory in International Relations (IR) that explains the reality of international politics.  The key concepts found in realist theory are anarchy, balance of power and national interest. Power protects states because less powerful states might fear those with more power and therefore be less likely to attack them. It shows powerful countries might have conflicting interests against the smaller countries, but smaller countries should maintain a balanced foreign policy for cordial relations in the long term. The neorealist Kenneth Waltz argues that in a situation of structural anarchy, the best chance states have for surviving is to maximize their power. Cooperation can never be guaranteed and conflict is always a serious possibility. However, small power countries have no option to settle the issues peacefully with bilateral talks. Nepal has to accept the neo-realist proposition, because the geo-political competition between India and China may be advantageous to us.

Conclusion

Insecurity has been simmering in different parts of the globe. Insecurity, in the sense, of insecurity of border encroachment and external intervention claiming the territory, insecurity of illegal migration, insecurity of terrorism, insecurity of illegal smuggling and small arms. Primarily, border security issues constitute a grave concern around the world. There are several border security issues like; Russia-Ukraine, Nepal-India, India-Bangladesh, India-Pakistan, and India- China, Israel-Gaza and West Bank, and US-Mexico are some of the examples of the major border security issues.

The border security issue is an issue of pride and sovereignty. A small spark of border security issues can wreak great havoc. If a territorial dispute cannot be satisfactorily settled via peaceful measures, then historically, there are plenty of cases in which the states are engaged in armed conflicts. Small-power countries have seemed more protective and defensive against the great-power neighbouring states.

Data shows that the construction of border walls was rapid after the Cold War for various purposes. Therefore, evidence is clear that the construction of border fortifications is a new phenomenon that has rapidly emerged on a global scale in the 21st century. In conclusion, increasing insecurity in international relations has increased the border securitization process and engagement in soft power policy.

Dr. Prithivi Bahadur Bogati is a Regional Instructor of Disaster Management, a Researcher on Border Security Discipline and currently working in the Armed Police Force Nepal as Deputy Superintendent.