Communicating Across Borders is an introductory textbook for customs and border-management education that explains how psychology, culture and communication shape frontline interaction in border security. It shows how cognitive shortcuts influence judgement, how emotion and personality affect behaviour under pressure, and how verbal and nonverbal cues can either build trust or escalate conflict in encounters marked by uncertainty and institutional authority.

The book equips readers with a teachable framework for professional practice. It connects core ideas from social psychology, communication studies, intercultural competence and societal safety with applied border contexts such as customs inspection and risk-based decision-making. Chapters address stereotypes and bias, the Big Five personality framework, communication models, nonverbal behaviour and elicitation, examining their implications for professional judgement and interaction. They also introduce evidence-based approaches to information-gathering and de-escalation adapted from investigative interviewing.

A substantial focus is placed on intercultural values and interaction, and on the ethical and legal dimensions of power, fairness and proportionality in border governance. The book also introduces contemporary challenges associated with digital borders, including biometric systems and emotion-recognition technologies, and explains why human judgement and accountability remain central.

Written for bachelor’s students, with relevance for early-stage master’s students and professional training contexts, the book includes learning objectives, activities and further reading lists to support course adoption and independent study across border management, societal safety studies, public administration and related programmes.

Paulo Rocha is Associate Professor in the Department of Safety, Economics and Planning at the University of Stavanger, Norway, where he leads the practice-based Bachelor’s in Customs, Movement of Goods and Border Control and teaches Sociology, Communication and Intercultural Understanding. Dr Rocha is also section editor for intercultural communication at the Journal of Intercultural Communication and an editor of the World Customs Journal. His research interests include customs education, intercultural communication, risk management, societal safety and organisational culture.