Security, trade, and data capital: private corporations in us Canada border surveillance architecture

Abstract

This article examines how security, trade, and data capital intersect in shaping the contemporary U.S.–Canada border, with particular attention to the increasingly prominent role of private corporations in digital surveillance systems. Drawing on a qualitative and critical approach, the study analyzes public policy documents, corporate reports, and regional initiatives, supported by a theoretical framework that engages concepts such as governmentality and biopolitics. The findings show that corporations are not merely technology providers, but also active participants in the design and expansion of surveillance infrastructures, where tools such as biometrics, data-sharing platforms, and algorithmic monitoring are justified through discourses of efficiency, security, and economic competitiveness. In this context, the border is reconfigured as a space increasingly driven by data, one that facilitates trade while simultaneously intensifying mechanisms of control and classification of mobility. Consequently, the article argues that this convergence of interests reflects a broader shift toward more privatized and data-centered forms of governance, raising important questions about accountability, transparency, and the protection of rights in an increasingly digitized border environment.