Barriers to Entry: Who Builds Fortified Boundaries and Are They Likely to Work?

A conference paper about the building physical barriers and fences on country borders is presented which is prepared for presentation at the Annual Meetings of the American Political Science Association, in Toronto, Ontario, from September 3-6, 2009. The paper discusses topics including fortified boundaries on borders to prevent the flow of people or goods into a territory, and U.S. President George W. Bush's bill authorizing the construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.