Why We Build Border Walls
Borders & Belonging
Borders & Belonging
Why We Build Border Walls
Oct 25, 2022 Season 1 Episode 1
Toronto Metropolitan University and openDemocracy

Since the 1990s, the world has seen a spike in border wall construction.  What is driving the increase?  The episode begins with a reflection from journalist Todd Miller on the dangers facing undocumented migrants along the Mexican border. Maggie Perzyna (researcher with the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration and Integration program) is then joined by Douglas Massey (Princeton University) and Elisabeth Vallet (University of Quebec at Montreal).

Borders & Belonging, produced by CERC Migration and openDemocracy, considers both the individual experience – the difficult decisions and many challenges faced by migrants on their journey—plus the global processes – the national policies, international agreements, trends of war, climate change, employment and more – that affect the movement of people.

Through interviews with leading experts from around the world, Borders & Belonging brings together the hard evidence with stories of the human experience to shift the common discourse and kindle new thinking in advocacy, policy and research.    

A group of top researchers contribute articles that complement each podcast with a deeper dive into the themes discussed.