Nearly 30 Years After the Berlin Wall Fell, We Are in an Era of Barricade Democracy Mark Triffitt - The Age
go to original March 13, 2016

Democracies the world over have become obsessed over the past decade with building a multitude of walls, fences and barriers behind which they are steadily retreating.

Individually, they can seem like a valid response to shutting out a particular perceived or real risk or threat.

The US wants to keep at bay illegal immigrants spilling out from northern Mexico, as well as that nation's vociferous drug trade.



Israel is constructing a 700 km wall to encircle the Palestinian West Bank and insulate itself from what it sees as a deeply alien culture.

India – the world's largest democratic nation – is busily throwing up a 3800 km barrier to surround Bangladesh and segregate itself from what it regards as a growing source of terrorism and smuggling.

Walls and fences are now snaking their way around the borders of European Union democracies. These include those built by Greece and Bulgaria to cut off crossing points from Turkey, as well as a four-metre high razor-wire fence constructed by Hungary along its border with Serbia.

In short, these walls are not one-offs, but a defining phenomenon of our times.

Read the whole article at The Age

Related: At a Time When Borders and Fences Are Going Up, Denying the Dispossessed Could Have Consequences (Reuters)

Illustration: Jim Pavlidis

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