Often times, in the analysis of globalization, there is a presupposed duality in which the national and the global are “two mutually exclusive spaces” (Saskia Sassen, 2001). However, as Saskia Sassen points out in “The City: Strategic Site/ New Frontier,” this assumption is fundamentally wrong, in that the global manifests itself in specific local spaces and institutions and thus, the local and the global are inextricably linked (Sassen, 2001). It is through this link that we can begin to examine and understand the how the geographical and cultural borders are transcended in a way that instead creates a singular social field (i.e. not geographically continuous, yet socially apart of the same picture)

To further understand borders, I chose to go to an international marketplace called Mekong plaza in Mesa, Arizona. The name “Mekong” alone exemplifies the existence of transnationalism in Mesa in that it is also the name of a transboundary river which crosses several borders in Southeast Asia. Self-described as a place which “allows you to enjoy a bit of Asian culture right in the heart of the Valley,” Mekong is a conglomerate of Asian shops, restaurants, salons, people and cultures. However, despite the majority of goods and services originating from Asia, I noticed there was still an element of Western as well as Latinx culture and language that was evident not only in the choice of merchandise and services, but also with the demographic of the customers. 

Thus, although Mekong highlighted Asian cultures, it also existed within a larger Western/American city and culture. In other words, it exists at an intersection of the local/national and the global: several cultures, nations and people (not only the U.S. and Asia, but with Mexico and Latin American countries as well) coming together and transcending cultural and national borders. The borders, although still evident and pervasive, become blurred and transformed, further exemplifying globalization and the importance of thinking dialectically about the local and global: just as Mekong is an example of transnationalism, so too is the rest of the greater Phoenix area and arguably the rest of the world. Thus, in order to truly hone our understanding of globalization and how it affects migration, we must change the way we think about the local and the global (i.e. as a duality) by seeing them as inextricably linked pieces of the same singular social field.