People believe that the world is more open and a much smaller place especially since the US won the Cold War in 1991 and the old Communist barriers (ie the Berlin Wall, the Inner Germany barrier, etc) came down. The truth is that more countries today have built barriers along their borders since 1991. Some are to combat illegal immigration, some to combat terrorism, some to combat smuggling and some to stop foreign militaries from invading.
Some of the barriers that are currently in-place include:
1. Botswana and Zimbabwe have a barrier (since 2003) on the 500 km Botswana/Zimbabwe border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
2. Brunei and Malaysia have a barrier (since 2005) on the 20 km Brunei/Malaysia border for ant-illegal immigration reasons
3. Bulgaria has a barrier (since 2014) on the 30 km Bulgaria/Turkey border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
4. Spain has a barrier (since 2001) on the 8 km Ceuta/Morocco border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
5. Egypt has a barrier (since 1979) on the 3.1 km Egypt/Gaza border for anti-illegal immigration and anti-terrorism reasons
6. Spain has a barrier (since 1998) on the 11 km Melilla/Morocco border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
7. Hungary has a barrier (since 2015) on the 175 km Hungary/Serbia border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
8. Hungary has a barrier (since 2015) on the 41 km Hungary/Croatia border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
9. India has a barrier (since 2004) on the 550 km India/Kashmir border for a disputed territory and anti-terrorism reasons
10. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have a barrier (since 2006) on the 45 km Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan border for anti-smuggling reasons
11. North Korea and South Korea have a barrier (since 1953) on the 248 km North Korea/South Korea border because it's a conflict zone
12. South Africa and Mozambique have a barrier (since 1975) on the 120 km South Africa/Mozambique border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
13. South Africa has a barrier (since the 2000s) on the 2,900 km South Africa/Zimbabwe border for anti-illegal immigration, anti-drug smuggling and anti weapon smuggling reasons
14. Kuwait has a barrier (since 1991) on the 193 km Kuwait/Iraq border because it's a conflict zone
15. Saudi Arabia and Yemen have a barrier (since 2004) on the 75 km Saudi Arabia/Yemen border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
16. Saudi Arabia has a barrier (since 2006) on the 900 km Saudi Arabia/Iraq border for anti-illegal immigration reasons and because it's a conflict zone
17. Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have a barrier (since 2001) on the 1,700 km Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
18. Uzbekistan has a barrier (since 2001) on the 209 km Uzbekistan/Afghanistan border because it's a conflict zone
19. Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have a barrier (since 1999) on the 870 km Uzbekistan/Kyrgyzstan border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
20. Austria has a barrier (since 2015) on the 15 km Austria/Slovenia border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
21. Greece has a barrier (since 2011) on part of the Greece/Turkey border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
22. Iran has a barrier on the 700 km Iran/Pakistan border for anti-illegal immigration, anti-terrorism and anti-smuggling reasons
23. Israel has a barrier on the Israel/Lebanon border because it's a conflict zone
24. Israel has a barrier on the Israel/Syria border because it's a conflict zone
25. Israel has a barrier (since 1994) on the Israel/Gaza border for anti-illegal immigration, anti-terrorism and anti-smuggling reasons and because it's a conflict zone
26. Israel has a barrier (since 2000) on the 700 km Israel/West Bank border for anti-illegal immigration, anti-terrorism and anti-smuggling reasons
27. Morocco has a barrier (since 1981) on the 2,700 km Morocco/Western Sahara border for anti-illegal immigration and anti-terrorism reasons
28. Northern Ireland has numerous barriers inside Londonderry/Derry, Belfast and other major cities (since 1969) because it's a conflict zone
Some of the barriers being constructed include:
1. China and North Korea are building a barrier on the 1,416 km China/North Korea border for anti-immigration reason.
2. India is building a barrier on the 3,268 km India/Bangladesh border for anti-immigration reasons
3. India is building a barrier on the 1,624 km India/Burma border for anti-drug smuggling and anti-terrorism reasoms
4. United Arab Emirates and Oman are building a barrier on the 410 km United Arab Emirates/Oman border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
5. The United States is building a barrier on the 3,360 km United States/Mexico border for anti-illegal immigration and drug smuggling reasons
6. Ukraine is building a barrier on the 2,000 km Ukraine/Russia border for anti-weapon smuggling and because it's a conflict zone
7. Bulgaria is building a barrier on the 130 km Bulgaria/Turkey border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
Some of the proposed barriers include:
1. Belize wants to build a barrier on the Belize-Guatemala border due to disputed territory and for anti-illegal immigration reasons
2. Costa Rica wants to build a barrier on the Costa Rica/Nicaragua border for anti-illegal immigration reasons
3. Thailand and Malaysia want to build a barrier on the 650 km Malaysia/Thailand border for anti-terrorism reasons
4. Pakistan wants to build a barrier on the 2,400 km Pakistan/Afghanistan border for anti-terrorism reasons
5. Estonia wants to build a barrier on the 108 km Estonia/Russia border for anti-Russian intrusion, anti-illegal trade and anti-illegal immigration reasons
^ As you can see the world is more divided now than ever before. During the Cold War it was "easy" to know who your enemy was. If you were a Communist your enemy was a Capitalist and if you were a Capitalist your enemy was a Communist (ie the USA and their Allies vs. the USSR and their Allies.) In the 21st Century it is a lot more difficult to know who your enemy is because the threat of terrorism is much greater. Also with the recent world economic crisis countries don't have the resources for their own citizens much less refugees fleeing poverty or war. It's a sad state that more and more countries around the world have to build these barriers, but that is the reality we now face. Unlike the Communist barriers/walls of the Cold War which were built only to keep their own people from escaping to a better life the current barriers seem to be built to keep others (ie terrorists, smugglers and illegal immigrants) from entering the respected countries and not from keeping their own citizens from leaving. ^
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