Borders: An International Comparative Analysis of Social Work's Response

Borders play a profound role in human life. In many settings, land borders are highly permeable and provide little barrier to movement, communication and interaction. In other circumstances, borders are highly rigid, difficult to cross and can demarcate vast economic and social disparities. The widely differing circumstances related to border creation and maintenance have deep effects that are worthy of social work attention and engagement. There has been serious attention to issues of globalisation, immigration and human rights in the social work literature. Our focus on borders is related to, but distinct from these issues, and therefore, has something unique to offer. Increased globalisation has led to a major reconceptualisation in our understanding of borders. The COVID-19 epidemic demonstrates the limited relevance of borders in some circumstances (spreading of the virus) but the heightened relevance of borders in other circumstances (travel restrictions). Social work practitioners have a role in framing the understanding of borders and resulting policies. Our focus is to address the question: How has social work engaged with border issues? We examine three international cases and conduct a comparative analysis to examine similarities and differences. From the analysis, we draw conclusions to further understanding for social work. Borders play a profound role in human life. This paper aims to examine how social work has engaged with borders. Conducting a comparative analysis of three international borders we describe impacts on practice and the profession. Noting similarities and differences we also assert generalisable conclusions and welcome engagement to further refine the analysis. Never before has it felt so timely to reflect on the issue of borders. The places that we come from have all been sharply affected by having land borders with neighbouring countries. At the time of writing, the contours of division that have marked our territorial separateness have come to the fore with COVID-19 restrictions impacting the movements of populations. Against this backdrop, social work has at its core an international definition and attendant global identity. Historically less clear is social work's position and stance adopted in dealing with borders. This paper is our attempt to bring attention to salient issues. First, by way of context, this topic will be examined within the context of key messages from literature.