The Social Construction of a Border: The US–Canada Border

Abstract

This study argues that boundaries represent socially and politically constructed policy realities and that media policy narratives play an important role in this construction. Traditionally borders are described, and their image is created or at least reified, via traditional media sources such as newspapers and television. In today’s world of increasing access to new media, this trend appears to be shifting. Thus, it is timely to ask, What is the image of the US–Canada border as presented through new media outlets such as YouTube? Does YouTube present narratives that discuss topics different from those in the traditional media? And, Do these narratives describe the issues and people of the border in a deserving or undeserving light? This paper uses the Narrative Policy Framework and Schneider and Ingram’s Social Construction of Policy Design to analyze how YouTube videos construct the US–Canada border. A total of 56 YouTube videos, posted between February 2009 and May 2015, were analyzed. Results show the most common issue within videos involved security on the border. Most frequently viewed were videos involving life on the border and security. Characters common in the videos were villains and victims, rather than heroes. Overall, the analysis found 64% of videos presented a deserving construction of the border and 36% presented an undeserving construction. The implications of these findings for the study of the US and Canada border are discussed.

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