1GEOG 4712: Political GeographyLecture 25: New ‘Lines in the Sand’, or ‘a Borderless World?’Outline1) Borders in history2) Borders in nature3) Borders in society4) Borders in transition5) Borderlands in view``Frontiers are indeed the razor's edge on which hang suspended the modern issues of waror peace, of life or death of nations ...Just as the protection of the home is the most vital careof the private citizen, so the integrity of her borders is the condition of existence of the State.''Lord Curzon (1908)2Academic Approaches to ʻBordersʼ1) POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY:– Classic: (Barriers)--descriptive boundaries, locational patterns;typologies where border is ʻoutcomeʼ (300 border types, 195 states)– Critical: (Bridges)-- institutional/social processes of demarcation;CBCs and mechanisms (EU); social implications of processesproducing uneven outcomes2) SOC + ANTH: borders define (ethnic) group binaries (in/out; us/them)3) PSCI: nature of power and ability of group to affect lines of separation4) LAW: reflect changes in ʻsovereignty, ʻjurisdictionʼ, and ʻrightsʼ5) ECON + CSCI: ʻborderless puristsʼ and ʻfirewall fetishistsʼConsensus Understandings in Contemporary Studies1) Borders are institutions2) Bordering as process3) Border terminologies as distinctions4) Top-down vs. Bottom-up5) No ʻgrand unified theoryʼ possible?Geo-morphology, IMaritime jurisdiction in the Arctic3Geo-morphology, IIBorders as wallsFig.1 – WALLS – When borders act as walls people, resources and ideas cannot exit, orenter, the war-torn country (1) and (5); displaced persons may in this case be redirected bythe authority to ʻsafe heavensʼ within the territory (7). Refugees may also be rejected (2) ornot granted asylum (3) by neighboring states, although in some instances people andresources may nevertheless be smuggled through third-parties (4), or frontier gaps, usuallyfar from the central authorityʼs reach (6).4Borders as constructsBorders as linesFig.2 – IDEAL LINES – When frontiers represent just legal lines, refugees can cross theborders (2) to flee the civil war (and eventually be relocated in other countriesʼ refugeecamps). Some barriers may exist where the authority is still present (1); but, generally,resources, representations and people can enter and exit the war-torn country (3), (4) and(5), military interventions be carried out by the international community (6), and conflictcan expand to neighboring countries (7)5Newman: Borders + BoundariesDemarcation + Communication: EU/ENP6Beefing up the borderBorder narrativeshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DuR975DEuohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC9NeJh1NhI&feature=related7BorderlandsFig.3 BORDERLANDS If borders are understood as areas, rather than lines, interactionsbetween societies on the two sides may be analyzed for their constructing role, whichcreates trans-border communities (1); borderlands can become conflict clusters whereresources and people can be easily smuggled across the frontiers (2) by rebel groups (3),which will in turn carry out combats (4) in the rest of the country, stimulating police actionsin these areas (6) and border patrolling (5); borderlands can also secede (7) after intrastateconflicts, checking the mobility of people in these areas (8); finally, borders can beconstructed by the state itself (9) to fence people in, or defend against external aggressors,as in the case of minefields (10).Conclusions1) Blurry boundaries…conceptually, academically2) Blurry visions…geographically, culturally3) Blurry histories…discursively, ethnically, nationally4) Militarized landscapes…securitization as harmonization5) De- vs. Re-Territorialization…ʼno borderless
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