Borderlines and Borderlands: Political Oddities at the Edge of the Nation-stateAlexander C. Diener, Joshua Hagen From our earliest schooldays, we are shown the world as a colorful collage of countries, each defined by their own immutable borders. What we often don't realize is that every political boundary was created by people. No political border is more natural or real than another, yet some international borders make no apparent sense at all. While focusing on some of these unusual border shapes, this fascinating book highlights the important truth that all borders, even those that appear "normal," are social constructions. In an era where the continued relevance of the nation state is being questioned and where transnationalism is altering the degree to which borders effectively demarcate spaces of belonging, the contributors argue that this point is vital to our understanding of the world. The unique and compelling histories of some of the world's oddest borders provide an ideal context for this group of experts to offer accessible and enlightening discussions of cultural globalization, economic integration, international migration, imperialism, postcolonialism, global terrorism, nationalism, and supranationalism. Each author's regional expertise enriches a textured account of the historical context in which these borders came into existence as well as their historical and ongoing influence on the people and states they bound. To view more maps from the David Rumsey Map Collection, visit www.davidrumsey.com. Contributions by: Eric D. Carter, Karen Culcasi, Alexander C. Diener, Joshua Hagen, Reece Jones, Robert Lloyd, Nick Megoran, Julian V. Minghi, David Newman, Robert Ostergren, and William C. Rowe. |
Contents
Introduction Borders Identity and Geopolitics | 1 |
The Border Enclaves of India and Bangladesh The Forgotten Lands | 15 |
The UzbekistanKyrgyzstan Boundary Stalins Cartography PostSoviet Geography | 33 |
The Wakhan Corridor Endgame of the Great Game | 53 |
The Caprivi Strip of Namibia Shifting Sovereignty and the Negotiation of Boundaries | 69 |
The Renaissance of a Border That Never Died The Green Line between Israel and the West Bank | 87 |
Locating Kurdistan Contextualizing the Regions Ambiguous Boundaries | 107 |
Russias Kaliningrad Exclave Discontinuity as a Threat to Sovereignty | 121 |
Misiones Province Argentina How Borders Shape Political Identity | 155 |
Point Roberts Washington Boundary Problems of an American Exclave | 173 |
Conclusion Borders in a Changing Global Context | 189 |
Notes | 195 |
Glossary | 229 |
Bibliography | 237 |
259 | |
About the Contributors | 279 |
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Borderlines and Borderlands: Political Oddities at the Edge of the Nation-State Alexander C. Diener No preview available - 2010 |
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administrative Afghanistan American Argentina autonomy Baltic Bangladesh borderland borderless boundary Britain British Canadian Caprivi Strip Central Asia century chapter claims colonial conflict continued Cooch Behar Cory Johnson created cross-border cultural David Newman demarcation disputes East Prussia eastern economic enclaves established ethnic Europe European fence Ferghana Valley figure frontier geopolitical German global Green Line groups identity independent India integrated international borders Iraq Israel Israeli Jesuit Johnson of XNR Kaliningrad kilometers Kurdish Kurdistan Kurds Kyrgyz Kyrgyzstan land landscape Liechtenstein London military Minghi Misioneros Misiones Misiones Province Muslim Namibia negotiations neighboring northern official Ottoman Empire Pakistan Palestinian Pamir percent Point Roberts Poland Political Geography population princely problems province region Republic River role Russian settlement side South Africa South-West Africa southern sovereign sovereignty Soviet Union Swiss Tajikistan territory tion Treaty Turkey United University Press Uzbek Uzbekistan Wakhan Corridor Wakhi West Bank World York