The Borders and Boundaries Project

The Borders and Boundaries Project at Perry World House is researching how political life both affects and is affected by international borders and border security policies. This interdisciplinary, multi-method effort is directed by Professor Beth Simmons and is composed of research teams studying border politics across a variety of different research areas. These include: a geo-spatial analysis of whether, where, and why some states choose to project their presence at international border crossings; a textual analysis of the discourse surrounding international borders; and an investigation of how public opinion is both shaping and shaped by border policies around the world. 

Read more about the project’s research foci, meet the Borders and Boundaries team, and explore ongoing projects.

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Personnel

Principle Investigator

Beth Simmons is an Andrea Mitchell Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor of Law, Political Science and Business Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania. Supported by the National Science Foundation and the Carnegie Foundation, Simmons is currently researching the paradox of hardening international borders in an era of globalization. Two of her books, Who Adjusts? Domestic Sources of Foreign Economic Policy During the Interwar Years (2004) and Mobilizing for Human Rights: International Law in Domestic Politics (2009) won the American Political Science Association’s Woodrow Wilson Award for the best book published in the United States on government, politics, or international affairs. The latter was also recognized by the American Society for International Law, the International Social Science Council and the International Studies Association as the best book of the year in 2010. Simmons directed the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard, is a past president of the International Studies Association, and has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. Simmons leads the Borders and Boundaries Project, part of our Global Shifts theme, at Perry World House. Her research group is documenting and will explain the paradox of hardening international borders between states in an era of globalization using satellite imagery as evidence of state presence at international border crossings.

Associated Faculty Partners

Michael Kenwick is an assistant professor of political science at Rutgers University. He studies international security with an emphasis on civil-military relations and international border politics. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and has appeared in a variety of journals including the American Journal of Political Science, International Organization, and the Journal of Politics. From 2017 to 2019, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Perry World House, where he played an active role in establishing the Borders and Boundaries Project, a multidisciplinary initiative exploring the causes and consequences of intensified border control efforts. He received his PhD in political science from the Pennsylvania State University, and his BA in political science and history from the University of Illinois.

Gino Pauselli is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, specializing in the intersection of human rights, global governance, and transnational advocacy. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University (2023-2024). His research uses rigorous statistical methods to analyze the dynamics of norms adoption and resistance within global governance systems, with a focus on how international actors (including NGOs, intergovernmental organizations, and transnational networks) shape policy reform and accountability mechanisms. His research has been awarded by the American Political Science Association and the International Studies Association.

Rachel Ann Hulvey is an incoming Assistant Professor at Indiana University. Rachel researches China’s influence on international order with an empirical focus on cyberspace. She graduated with a PhD from the Department of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania in 2024. Her book project, Mobilizing for Sovereignty: How China Gains Global Influence, examines China’s rise and influence on world order. How does China attempt to impact international order, and what strategies does it pursue to gain influence? Given these strategies, when is China successful? As China seeks to establish new rules of the game, would some countries join the proposals it advances, and, if so, which ones?

Postdoctoral Fellows

Muhib Rahman’s research focuses on the use, diffusion, and evolving impacts of border technologies, particularly the transformation of borders into increasingly “smart” systems over time. His broader research interests include armed conflict, border security, security cooperation, and civil-military relations. His dissertation investigated how institutionalized defense cooperation and border fortification affected domestic politics, focusing on elite defection and anti-government armed uprisings. He also explores the intersections of political violence and foreign policy, with implications for democratic backsliding in the Global South. Rahman holds an M.A. in Political Science from McGill University and a Ph.D. in Government from the University of Texas at Austin.

Eric (Keun Woo) Jeong’s research explores how geopolitical disruptions influence creativity and innovation. From the innovation race int he United States following World War II to Renaissance Italy following the Dark Ages, throughout history, many breakthrough ideas that revolutionized our thinking and society were born in times of disruption. His research focuses on the historical occurrences of such disruptions, revealing distinct channels through which disruptions stimulate creativity and innovation in the contexts of painting, classical music, and literary art

Postdoctoral Fellows Alumni

• Suji Kang (2023-2025) Assistant Professor, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
• Biz (Elizabeth) Herman (2022-2024), Researcher, International Rescue Committee
• Junghyun Kim (2022-2024), Assistant Professor, UNC Chapel Hill
• Bailee Donahue (2021-2023), Writing Center, Naval War College
• Richard McAlexander (2020-2022), Data Scientist, Instacart
• Lauren Pinson  (2019-2021), Research Scientists, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
• Robert Shaffer (2018-2020), Data Scientist, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
• Benjamin Laughlin (2017-2019), Assistant Professor, NYU Abu Dhabi 
• Michael Kenwick (2017-2019), Associate Professor, Rutgers University