What makes borders cold

And indeed, to paraphrase Renan and Ancel, neither nature nor society knows rigid lines separating one part from another. As a result, no suggestion is made of a unilateral dependence of borderlands development upon the characteristics of state borders.

Indeed, any temptation of deterministic explanation is avoided. The focus on borders and borderlands as lived spaces has also emerged as an important area of border studies research. Although formal state boundaries often serve as a reference point in discussions of territory, identity and Europe, it is not just the physical border itself but its various representations that are at issue.

Zhurzhenko demonstrates how states, language, ethnicity and regional-local identity interact in complex ways within the context of Ukrainian nation-building. She also investigates processes of border construction; these clearly show that a priori attempts to define foundationalist conditions of national belonging have in the case of Ukraine collided with emerging local identities. State symbols, signs, narratives are extremely important in bordering.

In many regions of the world the situation in border areas is determined by the geopolitics of memory. Cultivating certain representations they distinguish key periods of common history with neighbouring countries or regions. A negative interpretation of such periods helps to oppose an identity under construction to the identity dominating on another side of the boundary, to deepen a new cleavage, while a positive attitude forges feelings of solidarity or reconciliation with the neighbour.

Geopolitics of memory can include what can be seen in museums, the erection or the destruction of monuments and the renaming of streets or even towns. As one example of this, the world geopolitical vision can be defined as a normative mental political map of the world or of a region in combination with the representations about political actors, elements of political space, national security, the advantages and the shortcomings of different strategies in foreign policy Dijkink, , These representations are diffused in the process of political discourse summarizing some information on international affairs or political situation attached to a territory.

The first one is shaped by political leaders, academics, journalists and other professionals dealing with international relations. The second one represents a set of social representations about the place of a country in the world, the principles and the orientation of its foreign policy, potential allies and external threats to its security, symbols and images.

The world geopolitical vision involves a comparison of the situation in the country with which an individual associates himself and in other countries, particularly the neighbours: here and there, good and bad. The geopolitical situation of a country is changing under the impact of various global and other external processes but also because people revisit their attitude to different levels of power.

Therefore, the discourse about state boundaries is a basis of state-building. The state creates its iconography — the system of symbols, images, national holidays, regular parades, festivals, public ceremonies, traditions, and manifestations — of all which can help to cement national solidarity The world geopolitical vision involves a comparison of the situation in the country with which an individual associates himself and in other countries, particularly the neighbours on different sides of a state boundary Paasi, It is known that nationalism looks inwards in order to unify the nation and its constituent territory and outwards to divide one nation and territory from another Anderson, National stereotypes necessarily include images of space: regions incorporated into the state territory by the national consciousness get their codes, and many of them became national symbols like Kosovo for Serbia.

Contemporary border studies focus both on border management as control and confirmation and border crossing as contestation and transcendence as parallel and simultaneous processes. The crossing and control of borders compete with each other for hegemony: open and more flexible borders are vital for economic reasons, while tighter and more closed borders are seen as important security measures. This process has elicited much research attention; first in North America e.

Public opinion has an intrinsic tendency to irrationally perceive political boundaries as the major barrier to any undesirable influence from the outside world. Globalization, economic instability and the increasing speed of social transformations put securitization of boundaries and control over migrations in the focus of public debates in most countries. Paradoxically, flows are the main feature of globalization and at the same time they are the major cause of insecurity and instability.

The securitization discourse has also been used as a means of re-closing borders, which had become more porous in the previous two decades, against flows of illegal immigrants from poorer to richer countries, seeking better work opportunities and improved quality of life conditions.

Paradoxically, only Biometric control is combined with the creation of huge databases. Fighting against criminal networks implies control and networking of the entire territory, not only the borders. These systems contribute to the ubiquity or mobility of contemporary borders.

Even a successful crossing of a border may result in the erection of new borders as an individual can become a member of a discriminated minority who has no access to social services and welfare benefits. Indeed, the resurgence of ethical issues in more contemporary border studies is characteristic of the critical turn in the social sciences since the s.

The contemporary ethical focus in border studies challenges the militarization and securitization of everyday life as a result of increasing disparities between cultures and societies but also of ideological cleavages. In addition, discriminatory and often even racist exploitations of the border through official border regimes, visa regulations, immigration policies and treatment of asylum seekers are investigated.

As such contemporary research demonstrates how borders lend themselves symbolically and physically in the form of barriers and controls to xenophobic exploitation of fear and the reproduction of negative cultural stereotypes Gallardo, Borders also receive critical scrutiny as they are unevenly permeable for different groups depending on origin, citizenship, material situations and socio-professional background; borders are thus inevitably related with discrimination and social injustice.

New technologies marked the transition in the bordering logics from securing territories and properly borders to securing and filtrating flows. Paradoxically, technological progress did not facilitate human mobility but created new obstacles for it and, moreover, generated new risks on human rights abuse and new moral and ethical problems.

Borders not only have a different meaning for different actors but are a manifestation of power relations in society at different scales. In particular, they reflect the normative power of international organizations, including the EU and the power asymmetry between states in different fields.

A review of recent publications shows the lack of comparative and quantitative approaches in border studies. Borders are a crucial condition for openness and cooperation. But these can be achieved only through multilevel, multi-sectoral and long-term approaches that involve transformation at the international, national and local levels. This, in turn, demands cultural changes and new kinds of thinking on both sides of any given border.

Anderson B. Ancel J. Anderson J. Andreas P. Archer J. Balibar E. Ballif F. Beaverstock J. Bechev D. London, Tauris Academic Studies.

Beck U. Berg E. Bigo D. Brewer P. Brunet-Jailly E. Castells M. Clarke R. Cunningham H. Dalby S. Dijkink G. Dodds K. Elden S. Flint C. Thus, state borders in a socio-political context are continuously changing in terms of challenging traditional forms of politics, governance and identity. This makes borders both subjective and socially significant.

How these changes have prompted social, economic, cultural and geopolitical transformations in the past decades is worth examining. This entailed adopting the notion that borders emerge as a result of socio-political processes happening in society.

Specifically, the project looked at how borders reflect change in society and what differences they make in the lives of groups and individuals. The project's consortium highlighted the themes and concepts that are developing in studies on the topic, providing a new way to view borders. It also identified issues that have been addressed in specific reports and policy-oriented material. Some of these issues are relevant to gender, migration, identity politics, cross-border cooperation and conflict amelioration.

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You cannot download interactives. A political boundary is an imaginary line separating one political unit, such as a country or state, from another. Sometimes these align with a natural geographic feature like a river to form a border or barrier between nations.

Occasionally, two countries may contest where a particular border is drawn. These disputes might arise due to a natural resource both groups want, like in the case of Sudan and South Sudan, or in an attempt to gain more political power, as in the case of Pakistan and India in the Kashmir region. Use these resources to explore more about political boundaries.

Students think about regions and borders by determining where they would place borders in an artificial continent, based on a set of physical and cultural features of the area. Encyclopedic entry. A border is a real or artificial line that separates geographic areas. Borders are political boundaries. Students examine maps that show physical and cultural features of a fictitious area. Students draw borders based on how they think the land should be divided. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students.

Skip to content. Photograph by Scott S. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Have small groups present and compare borders. If needed, use the following prompts: How many countries do you have?

What did you mostly base your borders on? How did you decide to create your borders? What made drawing the borders challenging? How did the physical features factor into your decision? How might the physical features affect the development of your countries? Possible response: Mountain s and river s are a key factor because if countries had to split a physical feature between them, each country would try to gain the part that is most valuable, such as freshwater. How did the cultural features factor into your decision?

How might the cultural features affect the development of your countries?