Border Network Analysis for International Relations: Lessons Learned at the US-Mexico Border

Abstract

States that will rise to the top in a changing world order will be those who possess network intelligence. In this paper, I use concepts and ideas from network analysis for international relations (IR) and apply them to border studies to explore the potential for border network analysis (BNA) to inform “web strategies” for IR. Initial observations made within the US-Mexico borderlands at El Paso (Texas), Ciudad Juárez (Chihuahua), Douglas (Arizona), Agua Prieta (Sonora), and Nogales (Arizona) have led to three conclusions about border networks: border consulates in positions of centrality can act as brokers; border network resilience depends on how networks are formed and on the level of trust between entities; and central entities within border networks can be good or bad “web actors” depending on how they chose to exert their power. Lessons learned from networks that operate “on the verge of chaos” in US-Mexico borderlands can shed light on and inform strategies of connection, cooperation and network power for a changing world order increasingly in disarray.