Borders and Boundaries

Boundaries and borders signify limits or discontinuities in space. While they are most often encountered today in their political meaning as territorial lines of division, the terms can be applied in a range of situations such as cultural (i.e., language), economic (i.e., class), or legal (i.e., property) contexts. Typically, there is no distinction between the terms boundary and border in everyday language. Specifically, many authors use border to designate the formal political division line between territorial units, such as states, and boundary to signify the cultural and social group difference that may or may not be marked on the ground by division lines.

In a geographical sense, boundary and border making is about marking difference in space and is closely associated with notions of identity and power. The erection of spatial borders and boundaries amounts to the territorialization of differences between human groups, thus using territory to determine who belongs where and who is and who is not a member of the group. This can be interpreted as a principle of organizing social life, where boundaries and borders are used to regulate movement in space as a mean of ordering the society. However, boundary making is a highly complex and problematic process. There is no fixed or “natural” meaning of boundaries and [Page 293]borders. The fact that boundaries have long been employed by societies in one form or another seems to suggest that they are universal concepts. At the same time, the fact that their meaning has varied widely both geographically and historically suggests that humans have always been in charge of establishing the criteria used to erect boundaries and borders. The difference that boundaries express is a relative category that is circumstantially produced by human perceptions, symbolism, and stereotypes. This indicates that boundaries and borders are best understood as social phenomena made by humans to help them organize their lives.

South Korean soldier stands guard on the demilitarized zone (DMZ). North Korea is in the background.

Source: Eric Foltz/iStockphoto.

Spatial boundaries and borders are today most often associated with political borders. Among these, state borders play key roles in the organization of modern societies. They are territorial and symbolic at the same time, marking the geographical limits of the state, as well as suggesting the cohesiveness of the delineated state space. Accordingly, modern state borders establish a purported congruence between the territory of the state and the society they enclose, as the term nation-state implies. This view has obscured the complexities that state borders invoke and has contributed to a belief that the 200 or so nation-states currently existing in the world are natural divisions of human society. In reality, social relations have never been fully circumscribed by state borders; for example, religious and language boundaries often transcend state borders. Another essential aspect of state borders derives from their double meaning as territorial lines of separation and contact. A line drawn between two groups performs simultaneously these two functions, making it impossible to address them separately. State borders are never totally closed or open. They have various degrees of permeability that allow for some exchange with the neighboring spaces while restricting others. In this sense, they are best understood as filters.

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