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Bordering along the supply chain: The border as place or political construction?

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  • Spencer Louis Potiker

Abstract

This paper complicates our understanding of borders as lines of separation instead analyzing their complex forms and uses for the reproduction and accumulation of capital; division, surveillance, and disciplining of the working class; and the mitigation of costs along the supply chain. The paper focuses on the mobility regimes that cross the Otay Mesa port of entry between San Diego and Tijuana in particular migrant labor and supply chains. The paper gives analytic attention to how the cross-border supply chains and labor markets are politically constructed as well as how the geography of the border is a malleable concept that can be changed to facilitate the accumulation of capital. It is argued that the border is sometimes a line of demarcation seen on a map while other times the border geographically shifts to mitigate costs associated with international trade.

Suggested Citation

  • Spencer Louis Potiker, 2026. "Bordering along the supply chain: The border as place or political construction?," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 44(1), pages 142-158, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:44:y:2026:i:1:p:142-158
    DOI: 10.1177/23996544251353633
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