Border walls : security and the war on terror in the United States, India and Israel / Reece Jones.

Two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, why are leading democracies like the United States, India, and Israel building massive walls and fences on their borders? Despite predictions of a borderless world through globalization, these three countries alone have built an astonishing combined total of 5,700 kilometers of security barriers. In this groundbreaking work, Reece Jones analyzes how these controversial border security projects were justified in their respective countries, what consequences these physical barriers have on the lives of those living in these newly securitized spaces, and what long-term effects the hardening of political borders will have in these societies and globally. Border Walls is a bold, important intervention that demonstrates that the exclusion and violence necessary to secure the borders of the modern state often undermine the very ideals of freedom and democracy they are meant to protect.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 188-203) and index.

Introduction: fortress democracy -- Borders, barriers, and the war on terror -- Securing the 'homeland' in the United States -- Border fencing and the global war on terror in India -- 'Arafat is our bin Laden' : territory and terrorism in Israel and Palestine -- Building up, rippling out : enforcement practices at the US-Mexican border -- The agents of exception in the Indian borderlands -- The practices of insecurity : the barrier in the West Bank -- The enduring significance of borders.