Non-Academic Fellow
Peter Swartz
Co-Founder / Chief Science Officer, Altana AI
Peter Swartz is co-founder and chief science officer at Altana AI. Altana’s mission is to power a new era of globalization defined by Trusted Networks, which span and connect governments, businesses, and civil society to shape a more resilient, secure, inclusive, and sustainable world. Peter has spoken on global trade, supply chains, and machine learning at the World Trade Organization, the World Customs Organization, the US Court of International Trade, the National Academies of Medicine, and the O’Reilly and Wolfram conferences. Previously, Peter was Head of Data Science at Panjiva (listed as one of Fast Company’s most innovative data science companies in 2018 and sold to S&P Global). He holds a number of patents in machine learning and global trade. Peter completed his undergraduate and graduate education at Yale, MIT, and the Federal Polytechnic of Lausanne (EPFL), with a focus on engineering, statistical methods, and global trade. He has high-level proficiency in both French and Chinese
Jean Monnet Network
Comparing and Contrasting EU Border and Migration Policy – Are They Exemplary?
In 2016, Director Dr. Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly at the University of Victoria was able to leverage BIG’s SSHRC funding to secure a Jean Monnet Network Grant from the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
Comparing and Contrasting EU Border and Migration Policy – Are They Exemplary? expands the BIG network to include Dr. Birte Wassenberg at the University of Strasbourg in France, Dr. Edward Boyle at Kyushu University (connected with Dr. Ken Endo and Naomi Chi at Hokkaido University) in Japan and Dr. Can Mutlu at Bilkent University in Turkey (now at Acadia University in Canada). At UVic, Dr. Brunet-Jailly works closely with EU Migration expert Dr. Oliver Schmidtke.
The Network hypothesizes that answers to the migration crisis are shaping Europe’s borders, migration and related security policies in exemplary manners and should be studied in comparative perspective and context. Activities are aimed at engaging graduate students, young researchers and professors at each partner institution, along with the policy makers in each region.
Click here for a CBC interview with Dr. Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly on migration and Europe (in French).
Network Partners
University of Victoria, Canada (lead) – Brunet-Jailly, Schmidtke
University of Strasbourg (France) – Wassenburg
Hokkaido University / Kyushu University (Japan) – Endo, Chi, Boyle
Bilkent University (Turkey) – Mutlu (now at Acadia U)
Activities:
Four workshops to meet with policy makers in each country
– The Humanitarian and Migration Crisis in Europe: A challenge for EU borders? University of Strasbourg, May 22 2017
– Brussels Workshop on Irregular Migration & External Border Security in Europe & beyond November 14 2017
– Workshop: Immigration Policy and Border Security in Japan, Hokkaido University, Japan April 22 2018
– Canada Workshop: Canada’s border and migration policies in comparative perspective, Victoria, November 13
International Conferences to present research findings and liaise with policy makers
– BIG and the Network @ The Association for Borderlands Studies Annual Conference, San Diego, April 24-27, 2019
– International Conference, Ottawa, December 7-8
Database of border, migration and related security policies, so that comparison of EU with the rest of the world is systematic and possible.
Open Online course to teach how the EU border, migration and related security policies evolved during the migration crisis. (See EUS 490 @ UVic).
Check our Opportunities page for more information – offered in Fall 2018: European Borders without Walls.
See an introductory video!
The Network also includes a grant program for students at each of the Network partners and will produce a series of publications coming out of the workshops in each region.
Jean Monnet Network 2016-2019
Comparing and Contrasting EU Migration and Border Policies
Overview
This Network of leading scholars expanded the Borders in Globalization SSHRC Partnership to include Birte Wassenberg at the University of Strasbourg in France, Edward Boyle at Kyushu University (in consultation with Ken Endo and Naomi Chi at Hokkaido University) in Japan, and Can Mutlu at Acadia University (previously with Bilkent University in Turkey). At UVic, Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly (Public Admin) works closely with EU Migration expert Oliver Schmidtke (Political Science / History).
Our Network hypothesized that answers to the migration crisis are shaping Europe’s borders, migration and related security policies in exemplary manners and should be studied in comparative perspective and context. Activities, like the four JM Network workshops, are aimed at engaging graduate students, young researchers and professors at each partner institution along with the policy makers in each community. In fact, this EU Network piggybacks directly onto the Borders in Globalization research program, thus leveraging both grants to maximize impact, outreach, and the advancement of knowledge and research comparing EU border and migration policies.
Workshops & Conferences
The Humanitarian and Migration Crisis in Europe (Strasbourg, France)
This workshop brought together a select group of border and migration experts to discuss the internal borders of Europe.
Irregular Migration & External Border Security (Brussels, Belgium)
This workshop brought together experts from Canada, France, Japan, and Turkey to examine how answers to the migration crisis are shaping Europe’s border, migration, and security policies.
International Conference – Presentations (Ottawa, Canada)
The Jean Monnet Network was invited to participate in and host a panel discussion at the Borders in Globalization International Conference in 2017.
Immigration Policy & Border Security in Japan (Hokkaido, Japan)
This workshop brought together scholars and policy makers from Japan with international network partners to discuss border and migration policy in Japan.
Canada’s Border & Migration Policies (Victoria, Canada)
As the final workshop of the network, this closed session focused on exploring comparative border and migration policy related to the EU migration crisis from a Canadian perspective.
Association of Borderland Studies Conference (San Diego, USA)
In conjunction with the ABS Conference and Borders in Globalization, the network hosted its final outreach activity culminating in a series of panels.
Database Project
In collaboration with Borders in Globalization, we launched the comparative database project. As a database of border, migration, and related security policies, the project allows for a systematic comparison of the EU with the rest of the world. In 2020, we were successful in obtaining additional funding from the European Union to explore this project further. You can find more information about the database itself here and more information about the Jean Monnet Human-to-Military Security Database Network here.
Teaching & Courses
EUS 490 – European Borders without Walls
The recent and ongoing migration situation in and around Europe is forcing European policy makers to address past and future challenges to integration. The decisions they are making will have a long-standing impact on the EU. EUS 490 examines how the responses to the crisis are shaping Europe’s borders, migration, and related security policies in exemplary ways from a comparative perspective and context.
The material for this course develops from an EU funded research programme led by UVic with a network of partners in France, Turkey, Japan and Canada. This network conducts innovative and forward-looking research comparing the EU’s evolving border, migration and security policies to policies in Canada, France, Japan and Turkey. The activities in the course are aimed at engaging the greater public, undergraduate and graduate students, young researchers and professors, along with the policy makers in each community.
Introduction to EUS 490
Topics Covered
Defining Borders
Borders in history
Cultures and borders
Political communities and borders
Market and functional linkages and borders
Governments and borders
Security policies and borders
Environmental policies and borders
Immigration and borders
Border disputes
Borders as a cultural, social, or political object
Borders as a functional object
Each unit uses a video presentation by the professor and includes diverse learning activities including video-clips, short readings, quizzes, and discussion forums. Although it is highly recommended you keep pace with the course, you can follow the course material at your own pace. Participating in a timely manner will provide access to a wide range of debates on the history, culture, economics, sustainability, security and governance of borders.
European Borders without Walls was offered both as a for-credit course through the University of Victoria or for free through Continuing Studies as a non-credit option. This course was open on a non-credit basis to professionals in the public and private sector, academics, border and migration scholars, and community members with a strong interest in issues of borders and migration.
Grant Program
This network made grants available for students at each of the Network partner institutions. For more information on the students and projects funded through the grant program at UVic, visiting the European Studies webpage here!
Project Funders
International Organizations and Regional Migration Management: Reacting to Changes in Labour Migration in the Russian Federation
Daniel Stefanik | BIG Research Reports | #65
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation has emerged as a prominent destination for prospective migrants of the former Soviet republics, particularly from Central Asia. However, a substantial proportion of Central Asian labour migrants continue to remain undocumented despite previous efforts of policy reform implemented by the Russian government. As a result, this migratory phenomenon raises inquiry into the role played by international organizations (IOs) in managing and facilitating the labour migration process. An analysis of existing policies implemented by the Russian state, including the imposition of quotas on working permits and limiting the working capacity of NGOs and IOs, suggests that these efforts have failed to curtail the incentives or demand of prospective labour migrants. Furthermore, while the holding of knowledge-based activities by international organizations such as studies, conferences and information sessions have shed light on the problems affecting migration in the region, they have arguably taken for granted the level of absorptive capacity of the institutions and individuals with whom they are dealing. The current economic crisis is likely to produce similar results to those of 2008 global economic crisis, whereby an ailing Russian economy signifies more labourers returning to their country of origin, as well as increasing impetus for protectionist measures, despite the fact that the demographic and labour market issues in Russia persist. In this regard, IOs can play an important role in terms of policy implementation and coordination between countries, securing safe channels for remittances and ensuring their developmental potential is maximized, as well supporting measures to increase social tolerance that national actors alone might neither have the interest or the authority to pursue.
Daniel Stefanik
Euregio Rhine-Waal, Kleve, Germany
Monday, May 23, 2016 (All day)
On Monday, May 23, 2016 the Nijmegen Centre for Border Research of the Radboud University along with the Euregion Rhine-Waal and Seinpost Consultancy BV organized a policy-forum ‘Borders as a Creative Resource’. This forum took place in the framework of the international research-project Borders in Globalization (BIG). The Radboud University, the Euregion Rhine-Waal and Seinpost Consultancy BV form the consortium at the Dutch-German border.
The ultimate aim of this network is the comparison of border regions in order to achieve a better understanding of the effects of borders, so as to be able to formulate policy with regard to borders. In an era where borders are again gaining importance, this project tries to link the different dimensions of borders.
This policy forum wanted to set up a dialogue especially but not exclusively among European academic partners and non-academic organizations. This dialogue on the border as a resource was framed by the ‘BIG’-approach, where the six central themes or perspective will be guiding. These are in random order culture, history, security, flows, sustainability and governance. The invited participants reflected ob these themes. The forum took the form of a few presentations by keynote speakers and most importantly (plenary and/or group) discussions. This all with the aim to stimulate new research and policy in this important arena.
Program can be found here.
Dr. Martin van der Velde and Dr. Victor Konrad gave an interview in a German regional newspaper on the forum. See here.
Borders in Globalization Partnership Grant (2013-2020)
About the program:
The Borders in Globalization program began in 2013 thanks to a seven-year Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Grant. In addition to funding from SSHRC, our academic partners contributed matching funding and our non-academic partners provided cash and in-kind support. This project was directed by Dr. Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly at the University of Victoria (Victoria, Canada) and was co-directed by Dr. Victor Konrad from Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada). The academic partnership consisted of ten university partners: Carleton, école Nationale d’Administration Publique, Lethbridge, Ottawa, Regina, RMCC, Sherbrooke, Trent, Université du Québec à Montréal, and Wilfrid Laurier; and eleven from around the world: Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez (Mexico), Ben-Gurion University (Israel), Radboud University (The Netherlands), Queen’s University Belfast, University of Eastern Finland, Université de Grenoble (France), University of Luxembourg, University of Southern Denmark, The University at Buffalo (SUNY), and Western Washington University.
The Borders in Globalization (BIG) Research Partnership sought to understand the changing nature of borders through six thematic areas (culture, flows, governance, history, sustainability, security). Our outstanding colleagues, located across Canada and around the world, documented how state-centered and territorially-fixated research limits our understanding of borders. We worked with policy makers through summer institutes, conferences, policy forums, and participated in their own activities to present our comparative and policy relevant research. Over its lifespan, BIG trained and mentored about 100 senior undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral fellows; organized 11 summer institutes and three major international conferences; and produced over 100 scholarly publications and policy briefs, dozens of videos, and an ongoing open online course. These activities resulted in a strong partnership and relationships between our academic and non-academic teams who have now been working together constructively for several years. For example, a direct result of BIG is an ongoing partnership between the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the University of Victoria. This partnership features the inclusion of CBSA policy questions into coursework, the development of policy-relevant research questions for student research, and a UVic-CBSA co-hosted summer school bringing together policy-makers, public/private sector actors, academics, and students. With the funding from SSHRC, we were able to leverage over $1.8 million other funds from partners around the world, including several grants from the European Commission’s Jean Monnet Programme. Partnerships and collaborations established across our network during BIG continue into the future, including an innovative online open-source journal, The BIG_Review. BIG_Review provides a forum for academic and creative explorations of borders in the 21st century. BIG_Review publishes scholarship (academic articles, essays, research notes, book reviews, and film reviews) as well as artwork (photography, painting, poetry, short stories, and more). The journal is committed to academic peer review, public access, policy relevance, and cultural significance.
Research Agenda:
The original Borders in Globalization (BIG) partnership was an innovative, integrative, and sustainable network of academic partners from Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, which was engaged with non-academic organizations that are involved in the management of borders and borderlands in Canada and worldwide. Border studies are global in reach, and so we ground our core partnership in Canada and associate with key research centers worldwide. This provided support for a global policy-research agenda that serves Canadian interests.
The goal was to build excellence in the knowledge and understanding of borders. To this end, the partners worked together to create new policy and foster knowledge transfer in order to address such globalization forces as security, trade and migration flows, and also to understand the forces of technology, self-determination and regionalization that are affecting borders and borderlands in regions around the world. Our program of research placed Canadian scholars at the core of an international partnership, with the objectives of developing policy and knowledge from an international perspective and thus developing professional and academic training. A central tool to this end was round-tables between policy makers and academics that inform all our work from its inception; Round-tables lead to research, policy forums, summer schools, conferences, policy reports, briefs and books, and inform both theory and practice related to orders.
Our research was interdisciplinary across all social sciences, and was organized around a few critical themes that frame key discussions: self-determination, governance complexity, local culture, political clout, market and migration flows, and borders in motion. Policy makers, policy activists and social scientists needed more than the existing partial – narrowly defined or territorially limited – explanations of border issues that are available. They needed to go beyond, for example, the study of the internal and external borders of the European Union or the study of the maritime borders of Japan. This research program moved the field forward by developing a global scholarship to theoretical conceptual thinking on borders, while privileging the practical issues that policy-makers face daily.
You can view all events and outputs from this project on the events and outputs page. You can find more information on each research themes including research questions and background information at the links below. The regional studies covered each of the six themes and the goal of each regional study was to be comparable across regions and remain policy relevant within each region.
Themes
Regions
Project Reports
2018-2020
Final Report
We are currently drafting our final report. Expected publication date: Winter 2022.
2016-2017
Program Report
2013-2015
Program Report
Research Affiliates
The Borders in Globalization research partnership included over 100 scholars from around the world working with us on our research agenda. We would like to thank them all for their contributions to the Borders in Globalization grant and to helping further the field of border studies.
Akihiro Iwashita (Hokkaido University, Japan); Amael Cattaruzza (Centre de recherches des Ecoles de Coëtquidan, France); Barry Prentice (University of Manitoba); Ben Muller (King’s College, University of Western Ontario); Bernard Reitel (Institut des Frontières et des Discontinuités (IFD), Université d’Artois, France); Beverly Diamond (Memorial University); Bidisha Biswas (Western Washington University, USA); Brennan Gillis (Mitacs, Atlantic); Bruno Dupeyron (University of Regina); Cathal McCall (Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland); Cedric Parizot (Aix-Marseille University, France); Charles-Philippe David (L’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)); Christopher Kukucha (University of Lethbridge); Colin Howell (Saint Mary’s University); Dan Lynch (Dalhousie University); Danny Blair (University of Winnipeg); David Atkinson (Purdue University, USA); David Black (Dalhousie University); David Davidson (Western Washington University, USA); David Good (University of Victoria); David Grondin (University of Ottawa); David Long (Carleton University); David Miller (University of Regina); Donna Townley (University of Lethbridge); Doug Ramsey (Brandon University); Edward Boyle (Kyushu University, Japan); Emily Gilbert (University of Toronto); Evelyn Mayer (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany); Heather Exner-Pirot (University of Saskatchewan); Francois Moullé (Institut des Frontières et des Discontinuités (IFD), Université d’Artois, France); Frédéric Giraut (Université de Genève, Switzerland); Frédéric Lasserre (Université Laval); Greg Anderson (University of Alberta); Grégory Hamez (Université de Lorraine, France); Guy Saez (Sciences Po Grenoble, France); Hastings Donnan (Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland); Heidi Weigand (Saint Mary’s University); Himanshu Grover (State University New York, Buffalo, USA); James Scott (University of Eastern Finland, Finland); JC Boucher (Dalhousie University); Jeff Corntassel (University of Victoria); Jennifer Andrews (University of New Brunswick); Jessica Shadian (University of Lapland, Finland); Jill Hobbs (University of Saskatchewan); Jill Kerr (University of Saskatchewan); Jiyoung Park (SUNY Buffalo); Joël Plouffe (L’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)); John Lehr (University of Winnipeg); John Reid (Saint Mary’s University); John Schoales (Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sport); Joseph Nyemah (Nova Scotia Economic, Rural, Tourism Development); Cedric Juillet (Trent University); Kathryn Friedman (SUNY Buffalo); Katy Hayward (Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland); Kevin Quigley (Dalhousie University); Laetitia Rouviere (Carleton University); Lassi Heininen (University of Lapland, Finland); Laura MacDonald (Carleton University); Lee Rodney (University of Windsor); Marie-Christine Fourny (Université Joseph Fourier (Grenoble 1), France); Martin Geiger (Carleton University); Martin Pratt (Bordermap Consulting); Matthew Schnurr (Dalhousie University); Melissa Kelly (Carleton University -former BIG Post-Doc); Michael Darroch (University of Windsor); Michael Ircha (Carleton University); Oliver Schmidtke (University of Victoria); Paul Storer (Western Washington University); Peter Nyers (McMaster University); Peter Stoett (Concordia University); Richard Mueller (University of Lethbridge); Rob Huebert (University of Calgary); Rob McInnes (Port of Halifax); Robert Lecker (McGill University); Robert Young (University of Western Ontario); Rod Dobell (University of Victoria); Ron Williamson (ASI); Ross Burkhart (Boise State University); Ruben Zaiotti (Dalhousie University); Sarah Mekdjian (Universite Pierre-Mendes France, France); Sarah Zell (University of British Columbia); Stephane Paquin (ENAP); Steven Schwinghammer (Pier 21 Immigration Museum); Susan Gray (Arizona State); Suzanne Lalonde (Université de Montréal); Thomas Cantens (World Customs Organization); Tim Porter (Council of Atlantic Premiers); Todd Hately (Royal Military College); Whitney Lackenbauer (University of Waterloo); William Anderson (University of Windsor); William Kerr (University of Saskatchewan); William Straw (McGill University); William Walters (Carleton University); Yale Belanger (University of Lethbridge); Yukari Takai (York University).
Funders & Academic Partners
Migration and Borders in China
Kunming, China | August 27-30, 2016
The 2016 International Geographical Congress in Beijing was preceded and followed by several specialty conferences and workshops throughout China. One of these meetings focused on Migration and Borders, and engaged mainly geographers from China and abroad in a conference designed to develop a dialogue on migration and borders between specialists in both migration and border studies. Furthermore, the conference focused on migration and borders research in Southeast Asia while it gained perspective from both borders and migration research in other world regions. Participants were selected through a call for participation distributed widely in 2015. Foreign and Chinese presentations were paired in both plenary and concurrent sessions beginning in the evening of August 27 and ending after a field excursion on August 29. The result was a convivial and stimulating meeting of 30 Chinese and 15 international participants, including a representation of leaders in the two fields, emerging scholars and graduate students. The impact promises to be greater collaboration and joint research among border and migration specialists, and between Chinese and international partners.
Borders in Globalization, led by Dr. Victor Konrad and Carleton University, co-sponsored the event.
Borders as a Creative Resource
Euregio Rhine-Waal, Kleve, Germany | May 23, 2016
The Nijmegen Centre for Border Research of the Radboud University along with the Euregion Rhine-Waal and Seinpost Consultancy BV organized a policy-forum ‘Borders as a Creative Resource’. This forum took place in the framework of the international research-project Borders in Globalization (BIG). The Radboud University, the Euregion Rhine-Waal and Seinpost Consultancy BV form the consortium at the Dutch-German border.
The ultimate aim of this network is the comparison of border regions in order to achieve a better understanding of the effects of borders, so as to be able to formulate policy with regard to borders. In an era where borders are again gaining importance, this project tries to link the different dimensions of borders.
This policy forum set up a dialogue especially but not exclusively among European academic partners and non-academic organizations. This dialogue on the border as a resource was framed by the ‘BIG’-approach, where the six central themes or perspective will be guiding. These are in random order culture, history, security, flows, sustainability and governance. The invited participants reflected ob these themes. The forum took the form of a few presentations by keynote speakers and most importantly (plenary and/or group) discussions. This all with the aim to stimulate new research and policy in this important arena.
Program can be found here.
Dr. Martin van der Velde and Dr. Victor Konrad gave an interview in a German regional newspaper on the forum. See here.
Borders in the North: Yukon Summer Conference
Whitehorse, Canada | June 17-18, 2015
Borders in the North was hosted at Yukon College and brought together international border experts, government leaders, private sector partners and graduate students to discuss the challenges and opportunities for the economies and societies of the North as related to the six project themes: culture, flows, governance, history, security and sustainability.
About the Conference
The conference explored cross-border issues in the North, culture and heritage of the Northern borders, the evolution of indigenous governments and territoriality, border governance in the North, and the changing impacts of borders on security and geopolitics in the region. By working with government partners, we can find solutions to common border challenges, and ensure that the BIG partnership fulfills its potential to conduct meaningful and policy-relevant research. Those in both the private and public sector to attended to learn from and share ideas with international experts and government officials working on cross-border issues.
Click here for the CBC coverage of the conference.
Conference Objective
Borders in Globalization (BIG) Borders in the North: Yukon Summer Conference was the first of ten summer conferences or summer schools in the seven-year project. The purpose was to mobilize research, connect graduate students to policy-makers and border professionals, and create a network of experts and professionals working on trans-boundary and border issues. The Yukon Summer Conference on Canada’s Northern borders focused on issues of importance to Canada’s North and the Yukon Territory. Experts from Europe’s Arctic countries attended to share their expertise and knowledge of EU border policies and their implications for Canada’s Arctic regions.
For more information on BIG’s work in the Arctic click here.
The Borders in the North conference was made possible thanks to support from European Union Centre of Excellence (EUCE) at the University of Victoria.
