BIG Talk – It’s more than just the zipcode: It’s about how one’s access to reproductive services is impacted by various levels of border walls
with Andréanne Bissonnette (Postdoctoral Fellow, Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University) | Victoria, BC & Zoom | September 26, 2023
In Person: CFGS C168 (Sedgewick building, University of Victoria) or Zoom. The meeting will take place from 12:00PM to 1:30PM PST. Register in advance for this meeting here. Registration is free but required.
Along the US-Mexico border, how one perceives their access to reproductive health services is often impacted by the various levels of border walls. Women’s position along the border will impact the level of controls implemented by states, and in turn the availability of services. However, identity markers such as immigration status and ethnicity intersect with geographical positioning to impact perceptions and experiences of access to reproductive care. This presentation offers an analysis of Latinas’ perceptions and experiences of access to reproductive health services in two border states (California and Texas). Based on extensive fieldwork (observation, survey and interviews), it demonstrates how immigration status and ethnicity influences how public health policies are lived along the border.
Dr. Andréanne Bissonnette is a postdoctoral fellow at the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University, where she is part of the binational research team focused on the equity of Canada – US border measures during the pandemic. Her research focuses on reproductive health access in the United States, with a focus on the intersections of ethnicity, immigration status, and geographical position. Born along the US-Canada border, her research has brought her to the US-Mexico border several times through the years, including for a research fellowship at the University of Texas at El Paso (2019). She has published her work on reproductive healthcare and health and borders in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Quebec in Montreal.

BIG Talk – What are we all about?
Victoria, BC & Zoom | September 19, 2023
In Person: CFGS C168 (Sedgewick building, University of Victoria) or Zoom. This event will take place from 12:30PM to 1:30PM PST.
Register in advance for this event here.
Join us to learn all about BIG activities and discover how to get involved with us.

Call for Papers & Proposals: VII AEBR Cross-Border School
Košice, Slovakia | 8-10 November, 2023
The Association of European Border Regions, Radboud University of Nijmegen and University of Victoria present The VII Cross Border School, an activity led with 21st Century Borders_Lab, University of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada). The event will be held starting November 8th 2023 in Košice, Slovakia with the collaboration of the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University of Košice (Slovakia) and the Research Institute of European Territorial Cooperation of the Uzhhorod National University (Ukraine).
This event is part of the AEBR Annual Events 2023 to be held in Košice on 8-10 November.
The Association of European Border Regions (AEBR), together with the University of Victoria (Canada), offers travel grants for original research or policy papers to be presented at the AEBR Cross-Border School (CBS) on 8 November 2023 in Košice, Slovakia. Travel grants cover travelling, accommodation for three nights and meals, and participation at the AEBR Cross-Border School and the AEBR Annual Conference.
Eligibility:
– The grants are open to researchers/academics (i.e. PhD students and early career professors), decision/policy makers (i.e. senior policy officers and elected decision-makers worldwide) and managers of cross-border structures.
The AEBR Cross Border School is focusing on two broad topics:
1. Cross-border labour markets in border regions in Eastern and Western Europe. Labour Market during sixty years of EU integration and of CBC (i.e. different perspectives and views in EU eastern, western, southern or northern Member States) with a focus on, e.g.: (1) opening of labour markets for economic development or brain drain and exploitation of eastern labour force? (2) How different are the economic, social, regulatory, etc. frames for cross-border labour in the Member States (e.g. effects of cross-border commuting; the new phenomena of teleworking in a cross-border context; social security issues of crossborder workers, etc.) (3) What differences between the labour migration phenomena across internal versus external borders?
2. The role of soft or para-diplomacy in cross-border cooperation and EUisation of external borderlands. Possible topics: Is there a difference between soft (north American mode) and para (European model) diplomacy? What are most important border issues in the Slovak host region? Renewed cooperation across the EU-Ukrainian borders (I): hosting refugees and transit of humanitarian aid and other types of support. Renewed cooperation across the EU-Ukrainian borders (II): preparing and supporting Ukrainian border regions for the post-war and making their way to EU integration. Re-armed borders: what happens and what will happen at the EU-Russian borders? Strengthening border regions networking at EU external borders.
The basis for selection is an extended abstract (2000 words) with a brief introductory letter, methodology, preliminary results and conclusion and a brief application in free format on one A4 page.
The application should indicate the following:
– Name and surname
– Place of employment
– Curriculum vitae
– One-page letter of motivation explaining how the applicant will benefit from this opportunity
Please send your CV, extended abstract and application to [email protected] no later than 25 September 2023 at 12.00 noon (CEST) / 3.00 am (PTZ)
Further details: Grant recipients will be personally responsible for all arrangements and expenditure including travel, insurance, home and personal commitments. Contact: If you have any queries regarding eligibility or submission, please contact [email protected]

Call for Proposals: XV International Congress on Regional Integration, Borders and Globalization in the American Continent

Monday, June 15, 2015 (All day)
Proposals to participate in the XV International Congress on Regional Integration, Borders and Globalization in the American Continent are currently being accepted.
The congress will be held jointly with the IV International Congress of Border Cities On 28, 29 and 30 October 2015 At the Institute of Social Sciences and Management Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez (UACJ) In Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México
DESCRIPTION: The International Congress on Regional Integration, Borders and Globalization in the American Continent has been since 1996 a space that encourages critical reflection in order to contribute to a greater understanding of our reality. It has also fostered action research and the construction of a critical stands vis-à-vis the most pressing problems of the American continent. To continue this reflection, its 15th Congress is jointly held with the 4th International Conference on Border Cities, held since 2009 at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez (UACJ). This joint conference seeks to integrate various discussions and debates which have taken place for nearly twenty years through our project and research program on Regional Integration, Borders and Globalization in the Americas. This conference’s purpose is primarily to establish new mechanisms for interdisciplinary teamwork and comparative work. On this occasion, we seek to emphasize a critical view of the concept of borders and their economic, political, social, psychological, cultural, legal and territorial manifestations. Further, we seek to question the very existence of borders in a globalized world. This conference will include a visit to the border town of El Paso, Texas. The call for proposals includes papers, roundtable discussions, full panels, book presentations, video conferences, documentaries and academic exchanges with open discussions on the following
THEMES
- THE PROCESS OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN FRONT OF THE GLOBAL CRISIS
- Regional integration, free trade and globalization
- Productive and service sectors in globalization
- Neoliberalism, globalization and limits of national sovereignty
- Political and geopolitical thinking of globalization and integration
- FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS AND GEOSTRATEGY
- Regionalization and extraction of strategic natural resources
- Regional integration, megaprojects and environmental impacts
- The emergence of new integration processes in the region
- MILITARIZATION AND REGIONAL SECURITY
- Militarization, armaments and repression
- Regional security and multidimensional security
- “War on Terror and the “War on Drugs”
- Insecurity and organized crime
- MIGRATION, FORCED DISPLACEMENT AND REFUGEES
- New migration flows
- Forced migration and human trafficking
- Displacement of peoples and exile
- Refugee Policies
- NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND EXPERIENCES OF ORGANIZATION
- Ethnicities in the face of globalization
- Emerging social networks
- Social conflict and resistance
- THE BORDERS IN THE FACE OF INTEGRATION
- Borders as global and transnational spaces
- Regional integration, cooperation and border development
- Economic transactions and cross-border labor markets
- The construction of cross-border social networks
- SECURITY AND BORDER MILITARIZATION
- Borders and bio-politics
- Border Crossing Controls
- Material expressions of border security (walls, canals, fences, prisons and detention centers, etc.)
- Dehumanization of borders and democratic responses to terrorism and insecurity
- CROSS-BORDER CULTURE
- Culture, history and border narratives
- New identities and cross-border subjects
- Border, inter-ethnic territories and ethno-development
- Universal citizenship, cosmopolitanism and cross-border mobility
- Cultural heritage and border landscape
- BORDER CITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
- Political processes and public policy
- Violence and Public Safety
- Environment, public health and welfare
- Social vulnerability on the borders
- CONSTRUCTING AN AGENDA OF CRITICAL STUDIES OF THE BORDER
- Construction, de-construction and reconstruction of the concept of borders
- Internal and external Borders (borders within borders)
- Boundaries within the nation-state
OBJECTIVES
- Examine the impact of the global economic crises on the political and social landscape in the Western Hemisphere
- Develop networks to analyze ways of working jointly on globalization and borders
- Provide methodological tools to articulate resistance processes and reflection on regional integration alternatives
- Strengthen the link social movements—academia
- Encourage and promote comparative approaches between countries in the region to discuss common issues
- Promote the study and critical reflection of the concepts of borders and boundaries as well as knowledge of the social reality of the border cities
PARTICIPANTS Researchers, teachers, students, activists and members of civil society organizations
PRACTICAL INFORMATION Transportation, accommodations and food costs will be paid by the participants. Because the campus of the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez is located in an area where food services (restaurants) are not close by, the Local Organizing Committee agreed to retain the services of a restaurant which will provide meals at a cost of $ 30.00 (thirty US dollars) or $ 400.00 (four hundred pesos) for the three days. A participant wishing to utilize this service must pay all $400 pesos upon registration. At the end of the congress, there will be a visit to the border town of El Paso, Texas. The costs shall also be paid for by the participants. Please send a note next to the abstract of the paper if you are interested in this activity. All participants are responsible for having a valid visa issued by the United States to cross the border.
DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS Please, turn in your proposals by June 15, 2015, with an extension of one page maximum, double spacing, Times New Roman 12 font. The deadline to receive submissions for those interested in publishing their paper in a Memory CD version of the conference is September 30, 2015. The length of the paper is 20-25 pages, double spacing, Times New Roman 12 front, in Word format. The deadline for submission of papers to the Organizing Committee for its review and possible publication in a book is December 5, 2015. Please send abstracts and papers to the following three addresses:
- Dr. Juan Manuel Sandoval Palacios: [email protected]
- Dr. Hector Padilla Antonio Delgado: [email protected]
- Dr. Consuelo Pequeño. [email protected]
Publication of papers in the book: The papers will be submitted to a review committee and those that are selected will be published. The Committee will provide the editorial guidelines for all papers to be published. Depending on the amount of selected materials and resources available will be publishing one or more thematic books.
#9 BIG Podcast – “Geopolitics of Borders and Border Walls”
featuring Elisabeth Vallet – Professeur de Géographie et d’Etudes Internationales, Montréal, Québec
Globalization is a complex and plural phenomenon. Some have been able to evoke a world without borders and the disappearance of States, but we rather observe the construction of many walls and barriers. Some flows can cross territorial boundaries without problem while some borders become places of violence for humans. What geopolitics of borders and border walls at a time of a plurality of globalizations?
La globalisation est un phénomène complexe et pluriel. Certains ont pu évoquer un monde sans frontière et la disparition des Etats, mais on observe plutôt la construction de nombreux murs et barrières autour des territoires. Certains flux peuvent franchir les limites territoriales sans problème alors que certaines frontières deviennent des lieux de violence pour les humains. Quelle géopolitique des frontières et des murs frontières à l’heure d’une pluralité de globalisations?
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and the Podcast App!

Academic Partner – University of Quebec at Montreal
Élisabeth Vallet
2013-Present
Élisabeth Vallet is associate professor at RMCC-Saint Jean, director of the Center for Geopolitical Studies of the Raoul-Dandurand Chair in Strategic and Diplomatic Studies, affiliate professor at the Department of Geography at the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM). She has been the Quebec lead for the Borders in Globalization program and is currently a co-researcher for the Borders in the 21th Century Program (University of Victoria). She is the recipient of the 2017 Richard Morrill Outreach Award from the AAG’s Political Geography Specialty Group. She is a regular columnist for the Canadian National Network (Radio-Canada) and for the newspaper Le Devoir. Her current research focuses on borders and globalization, border walls and governance.

BIG Highlights
BIG Leads Interviews
Élisabeth Vallet on the Québec region
ABS Conference 2019
Quebec: Fontière sous tension
The Canadian Geographer – Special Issue
Frontiérités québécoises
Frontiérités québécoises : Représentations de la zone transfrontalière québéco-américaine au Congrès des États-Unis, 2001–2016 (Vincent Boucher, Christophe Cloutier-Roy, and Élisabeth Vallet).
“The So-Called 2015 Migration Crisis and Euroscepticism in Border Regions: Facing ReBordering Trends in the Danish-German Borderlands”
Martin Klatt | Geopolitics | 2018
This paper examines the role of Euroscepticism on regional cross-border cooperation between Germany and Denmark. It demonstrates that Euroscepticism, while absent from local mainstream politicians, had already caused civic unrest in the 1997 attempts to construct a return to history Euro-region Schleswig. It resulted in a re-scaling of the Euro-Region to Region and Schleswig to “Sønderjylland/Schleswig”, omitting any reference to Europe, European identity or a commitment to a closer European union in the relevant agreements. Border controls, on the agenda in 2011 and again since 2015, have demonstrated the institutional weakness of cross-border politics when faced with determined initiatives from the national center. Furthermore, the Eurosceptic Danish People’s Party had its best results in the border precincts both at the latest European and Danish national elections. Euroscepticism, even though difficult to measure on a regional level, seems to have been an ever present underneath current despite a political rhetoric of successful cooperation and cross-border reconciliation. The Danish-German case’s development might be more distinct, but nonetheless representative for European border (and cross-border) regions. While European metropolises develop into thriving cosmopolitan post-nation state societies, this is not necessary the case at Europe’s borders, where categorization and bordering remain common social practices by the large majority of national borderlanders with only a small portion of transnational borderlanders or ‘regionauts’ getting involved in border crossing social practices on a larger scale.
Klatt, Martin. “The So-Called 2015 Migration Crisis and Euroscepticism in Border Regions: Facing ReBordering Trends in the Danish-German Borderlands.” Geopolitics 23, (2018).

Video by Chorong Kim