Border closures don’t always produce the intended objectives. The idea is usually to control illegal movements and prohibited goods, lessen informal trade, reinforce customs operations, and regain control of national borders. But history shows that in cases as diverse as England, the Asante Kingdom, the US and colonial Nigeria/Benin, stiffer border regulations can instead bring about smuggling and multiply criminal networks.
Where people share ethnic, language and kinship ties across state boundaries, closures disrupt everyday livelihood structures. Where state institutions are weak, corruption disrupts the enforcement processes. The rules become a means of private gain. Closures create artificial scarcity, inflate operational hurdles and drive demand towards underground operators and networks.
