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About Pace
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D55 31600 | 12 hours |
The boundary between Canada and the United States, dividing the continent of North America from east to west, enjoys the reputation of beingthe longest undefended boundary in the world. This of course is an enviable claim, when many countries are still troubled by border wars and long-standing resentment about boundaries that nations or ethnic groups or religious denominations regard as unjust. The Canadian-American boundary actually has a long history and was put together step-by-step—a process that was also burdened by sentiments of suspicion and resentment, by conflicting historic claims, and by ominous international great power rivalry. However, the step-by-step process employed innovative international law, determined diplomatic negotiation, and realistic compromise. Although resolving each particular border element took roughly one hundred and twenty years, the Canadian-American boundary has emerged as one of the world’s most peaceful and least contested frontiers, if not without its ironies. Certainly the 9/11 crisis has complicated the matter of crossing the border, but it has not challenged its stability. Perhaps the whole boundary itself can be described by what in 1842 Lord Ashburton called, “a good and wise measure.”