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In the last couple of weeks, a number of flights were either diverted or had suspicious passengers eased out of the plane. Many Asian travelers found themselves getting unwanted attention from fellow passengers and authorities. Last week, 12 Indians on a NW flight from Amsterdam to Mumbai were detained and then released without charges. The flight had entered the German air space when the crew diverted it back to Amsterdam due to suspicious passenger behavior. Similar incidents elsewhere in Europe have led to strong protests in Asia and charges of racial profiling. A lot of people I have talked to in India since that incident have told me they will avoid traveling to Europe if they can. Even for travelers inside EU and across the Atlantic, UK authorities are enforcing strict measures for cabin baggage. So much that RyanAir is planning to sue them for flight delays!Most governments around the world already use tough security measures while screening in-bound cargo. It has added both costs and delays to international cargo movements. Are all these security measures hurting trade? On first pass, it does not seem so. However, a closer look paints a different picture. World trade and globalization were facilitated by a softening of state sovereignty that allowed a less restrictive flow of goods, ideas, information, money and people across borders. The onset of internet facilitated it further through a free flow of information across the world. The stringent security measures, whether necessary or not, works to re-erect some of these barriers. As the states try to reassert their sovereignty, free flow of goods and people is the first casualty. There have also been efforts in some parts of the world to restrict access to internet in order to deny terrorists an opportunity to use the web. What’s next- a national internet that filters out users from other countries?Globalization, while raising fears in some parts of the world, is also responsible for enabling millions of people around the world and bringing prosperity. So while Boeing is buying cheaper IT services from India, it is also selling the finished planes by the dozens to India. The same money that reaches Indian workers then creates demand for air travel leading to orders for new planes. These orders, in turn, help create new jobs or sustain the existing ones in the US. If the world trade becomes a casualty of terrorism (or anti-terror measures), then we would have handed the terrorists a real big victory. What do you think? Join the discussion on our forum.

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