Border Multiplicities: At the Cross-Roads between Improvisation and Regulation in the Andes

Focusing on illicit trade between Peru and Bolivia, this article is concerned with border-work as it unfolds at the cross-roads between improvisation and regulation. The argument of the article is two-fold. First, it argues that cross-border trade in this context must be understood as socially and spatially embedded. The trade involves a sense of local autonomy and networks of cooperation and exchange that not only facilitate illicit trade, but also adds legitimacy and value to cross-border trade, despite its illegal dimensions. Second, the article argues that commodity flows in this context actualize questions about what, where and when the border is. Due to the social and spatial embeddedness of cross-border trade and the authorities’ difficulties to limit the smuggling, border-work is multiplied, taking place in various sites beyond the delineated border. The article illustrates how the flow of a particular commodity, namely fuel, has resulted in an intensification and multiplication of border-work due to smuggling.