Lock ‘em out.

That’s a political tactic that seems to be having a moment in vogue right about now. Are you a government that wants to make some kind of political statement? Then why not find some vauguely important foreigner who is planning a visit to your country — one who could be seen to symbolise views you oppose – and simply deny them entry.

Even better, approve their entry in advance, and then revoke it at the last minute.

The best known Canadian incidents of this kind revolved around British MP George Galloway, who was denied entry to Canada, and Canadian MP Bob Rae who was issued a visa to, and then subsequently denied entry to Sri Lanka.

But we need at least three incidences to make a trend, which brings us to the dancefloor …

Less well known than Galloway and Rae is the case of Dancehall/Reggae star Sizzla. Last April, the performer was denied a visa to enter Canada in order to put on a concert, allegedly because of the violently anti-gay lyrics in some of his hits (Sizzla officially claims that he did not get his visa in time because of an administrative bungle by his management).

And before Galloway got the cold shoulder from the True North, Dutch MP Geert Wilders was denied entry to Old Blighty, because of his oft-repeated statements  against Islam.

One — well, this writer, anyway – can’t help but feel a touch of glee when globe-trotting professional loudmouths like Wilders, Sizzla and Galloway smash into an invisible bureaucratic border wall like so many perplexed mimes. (Rae is hardly a loudmouth, but picturing him po-faced in pancake make-up and beret does conjur a few chuckles.)

The thing about this tactic, this banning of random notables, is that the country or government that pulls the trick almost always comes off as both petty and capricious, at best, the loudmouths are almost never silenced, and all international travellers are made to feel that little bit less secure. In democracies at least, well co-ordinated publicity campaigns (like the one by Stop Murder Music (Canada) in 2007, which succefully caused the cancellation of a Sizzla concert), as well as existing laws against incitement to violence and other crimes, offer both more effective and more ethical means for thwarting the unpalatable. So despite the pleasure it may give me to watch it in action, I must come down against this practice of treehouse diplomacy. Let everyone stop by the country for a short visit, no matter how irritating they may be. We can take it.

Still, given their diverse and conflicting political views, it’s fun to picture Wilders, Galloway, Rae and Sizzla forced by chance to make small talk in some cramped airport detention room…

“So, what are you in here for?”