Infrastructure and authority at the state’s edge: The Border Crossings of the World dataset
| Published date | 01 May 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00223433221145582 |
| Author | Michael R Kenwick,Beth A Simmons,Richard J McAlexander |
| Date | 01 May 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Special Data Features |
Journal of Peace Research
2024, Vol. 61(3) 500 –510
© The Author(s) 2023
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DOI: 10.1177/00223433221145582
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1225162JPR0010.1177/00223433221145582Journal of Peace ResearchKenwick et al.
research-article2023
Special Data Feature
Infrastructure and authority at the state’s
edge: The Border Crossings of the
World dataset
Michael R Kenwick
Department of Political Science, Rutgers University
Beth A Simmons
Penn Carey Law School and Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania
Richard J McAlexander
Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania
Abstract
The Border Crossings of the World (BCW) dataset explores state authority spatially by collecting information about
infrastructure built where highways cross internationally recognized borders. This geolocated information is recorded
using high-altitude imagery from 1993 to 2020. We describe how the data were collected, demonstrate the dataset’s
utility, and offer advice and best practices regarding use of the data. These data present clear evidence of visible and
long-term state investments in authoritative displays of states’ intention to ‘filter’ entry into and exit out of their
national jurisdiction. Researchers can use these data to test theories on the causes and consequences of border
hardening for security outcomes, border management cooperation, political violence, terrorism, trade and migration
flows, transnational crime patterns, and human rights conditions. Because the data are precisely geolocated, they are
easy to combine with existing spatial datasets.
Keywords
borders, data, globalization, infrastructure, state capacity
The last several years have seen an upsurge of interest in
international borders. The integration of markets,
human mobility, and the perception of intensifying
transnational crime and political violence likely have all
contributed to the salience of border security as a crucial
political and policy issue. States have always been con-
cerned about their international borders because they
delimit territorial sovereignty. While the 20th century
witnessed a decline of the most extreme forms of terri-
torial conquest (Altman, 2020), the salience of border-
related issues has grown significantly.
Surprisingly, little work has been done to conceptua-
lize trends in border security, broadly understood, on a
worldwide scale. International relations research has
focused on the onset and resolution of militarized
disputes, rather than the managemen t of cross-border
challenges (but see Andreas, 2003). Recent research has
documented the growing number of land border barriers
(Simmons & Kenwick, 2022), revealing the irony of
thickening borders in a supposedly borderless world
(Ohmae, 1990). This irony signals the importance of
investing in data for exploring measures that states adopt
to filter the entry and exit of people, goods, and violence
across borders. To filter at the border requires developing
the means to distinguish wanted from unwanted goods,
persons, and transactions. In practice this often requires
Corresponding author:
Michael.Kenwick@rutgers.edu
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