Over the course of the book, Schain explores the evolution of border policy on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as how these policies have been enforced in Europe and the US. In both cases, problems related to migration and global interconnectedness have been framed by a complex web of interest groups, political parties, and federal competition. Perhaps Schain's most important point is that in all cases border policy has become more demanding for migrants seeking
entry into nations with heavily guarded borders, but for different reasons. European nations tend to focus on questions of potential integration, while US concerns focus more on unauthorized entry and residence. Territoriality thus persists in the globalized, digitally connected world.
Martin A. Schain is Professor of Politics, Emeritus, at New York University. He is the founder and former director of the Center for European Studies at New York University, former chair of the European Union Studies Association, and co-editor of Comparative European Politics. He has authored or edited multiple books, including The Politics of Immigration in France, Britain and the United States and Comparative Federalism: The European
Union and the United States in Comparative Perspective, co-edited with Anand Menon (Oxford).