Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Deborah Waller Meyers, editors

Price: $24.95 Paperback, 339 pp. ISBN: 0-87003-185-6 Publisher: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 2001 Order the Book

About the Book:
In a world where the flow of goods and people is growing by leaps and bounds, little attention has been paid to the communities through which these goods and people pass. Caught in the Middle is the result of a two-year study of border communities throughout the world. It provides a fascinating look into the inner workings and realities of border communities along five international borders: United States-Canada, United States-Mexico, Germany-Poland, Russia-China, and Russia-Kazakhstan.

The extensive field-based case studies focus on innovative cross-border initiatives and contribute unique insights into the daily lives and local perspectives of border communities. They also bring a better understanding of the border management issues faced by countries worldwide and of the nature of relationships between and among federal and local governments, community leaders, government officials, and local communities. By shedding light on existing "best practices" and providing a comparative framework for the analysis of the challenges and opportunities faced by communities, this volume provides valuable lessons for federal, state, and local policy makers, border residents, and researchers alike.

"Drawing from case studies that reveal the wide range of situations encountered in the world at large, Papademetriou and Meyers elaborate guidelines for an approach to border management that will effectively promote North American integration."

--Aristide R. Zolberg, New School University

"Gives an excellent analysis of the issues of governance, cross-border initiative and cooperation, international migration, and the tension that is inherent in the interplay of national and local policy perspectives . . . and an imaginative vision of a new NAFTA border regime . . . "

--Peter Karl Kresl, Bucknell University

"Of outstanding importance to anyone who is interested in feasible alternatives to defensive and at times inefficient border controls."

--Dilek Cinar, European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Reseach, Austria