Venue

: The Wyncote NW Forum
: 1119 8th Ave (Entrance off Seneca St.)
Seattle, 98101 United States + Google Map

Note: Town Hall events are approximately 75 minutes long.

From left to right: Headshots of Edward Alden (with short brown hair and glasses) and Laurie Trautman (with curly brown hair and blue earrings)

Civics

The way we live has continued to extend further across the world over time, with more people traveling internationally in 2019 than any year in history. This relationship with international reach was forever changed by the global outbreak and rapid spread of COVID-19. Citizens of nearly every country in the world watched policies swiftly transform and restrictions lock into place at a jarring, and for many of the more privileged, unfamiliar intensity. In their new book When The World Closed Its Doors: The Covid-19 Tragedy and the Future of Borders, journalist Edward Alden and researcher Laurie Trautman explore the shock of international government responses to the pandemic, the stories of some of the most affected, and the importance of protecting global mobility.

In When the World Closed Its Borders, Alden and Trautman combine detailed analysis of the government measures thrown into effect and the collateral damage experienced around the world, but especially among already vulnerable communities. While border policy often gets seen through a lens focused specifically on immigration, Alden and Trautman draw attention to the array of human consequences of the COVID-19 restrictions. The aftermath of 2020 saw drastically increased challenges to asylum seekers, container ship workers moving essential goods trapped at sea, couples separated for years and children blocked from reuniting with their parents – all while the pandemic continued to spread. These stories along with interviews with government officials provide a greater context to how harsh and reactive border policy can create complex impacts on public health as well as political, economic, and social levels. When The World Closed Its Borders aims to stress the importance of how vulnerable international travel relations are and why protecting global mobility keeps crucial doors open for humanity.

Edward Alden is a journalist and author specializing in U.S. economic competitiveness, trade, and immigration policy. He is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Ross Distinguished Professor in Business and Economics at Western Washington University. His previous publications include Failure to Adjust: How Americans Got Left Behind in the Global Economy and The Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration and Security Since 9/11.

Laurie Trautman is a researcher who works in the private sector and with government agencies regarding trade, transportation, security, and human mobility. She is a Fellow with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and a Global Fellow with the Woodrow Wilson Center. She currently serves as the Director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University.

Presented by Town Hall Seattle.