Conceptualizing borders and borderlands in a globalizing world

Abstract

Borders and borderlands mutually define one another. The existence of the border constitutes the borderland. Whereas borders are important to demarcate the physical boundaries of state territories, they are in daily practice even more important to the people living along the borders. Most of these borderlands suffer neglects from the states that share these borders. This paper examines borders and borderlands and their importance in international relations. It argues that despite claims by globalization literature that transnational political and economic process are rendering borders obsolete, they remain highly relevant in international relations