PSC380.23 Borders in Latin America: Globalization and Spatial Restructuring

Taught in Spanish. The course will examine the different border situations that characterize the landscapes of contemporary Latin American societies. We will study both the emergence of internal borders as a consequence of the socio-spatial fragmentation that takes place, as well as the processes of re-functionalization of international border regimes and the emergence of cross-border regions. In this sense, the course goes beyond the geopolitical view of borders as lines of separation and emphasizes them as complex social spaces from which a methodology of sociological and political analysis of value is derived. Students successfully completing the class will:

  • Evaluate the influence of globalization on changing socio-spatial organization and on the configuration of new borders as critical data for contemporary sociology and political science.
  • Become familiar with specifics of border situations in contemporary societies and their uses as a methodological resource for the analysis of social situations.
  • Understand the complexities of contemporary international borders and the formation of cross-border spaces and transnational urban complexes as distinctive spaces of international relations.
  • Analyze, compare, and evaluate international experiences in establishing and managing borders with respect to the European Union, NAFTA, and Latin America in particular, based on a series of relevant variables such as the socio-historical fabric, environment, security, trade, migration, institutionalism, etc.
  • Understand Chile’s border situations and evaluate the opportunities and risks they present.

(ICP0339)

This course is taught at the Pontificia Universidad Católica and may not be offered every semester.

Department: Political Science

Location: Santiago

Credits: 3