Problem Representation and the Externalization of Borders in the Canadian Electronic Travel Authorization and Interactive Advanced Passenger Initiative

Abstract: This paper analyzes two policies published by the Canadian Government, the Electronic Travel Visa and the Interactive Advance Passenger Information. These policies were initiated to close an integrity gap and to fight security issues resulting from globalization. These two documents are problematized by using Carol Bacchi’s analytical framework, What’s the Problem Represented to be, to dissect the underlying problem representations, the historical developments and the effects of these policies on migrants and travellers. Globalization, securitization and externalization in connection to Critical Border Studies are used for theoretical development. The results show that these policies have altered Canadian border management by pushing screening processes outside of physical sovereign boundaries and traps migrants in a web of offshore policing and securitization.