Borders: frontiers of identity, nation and state

TLDR

Borders function both as conflict zones and cultural bridges, shaping national identity and influencing how people perceive self and other. The book aims to provide a comparative analysis of cultural dynamics at state borders through case studies from the US‑Mexico, Northern Ireland, Israel‑Palestine, Spain‑Morocco, and parts of Southeast Asia and Africa. The authors analyze the interplay of state power, ethnicity, transnationalism, border symbols, rituals, and identity by examining the everyday interactions of soldiers, customs agents, smugglers, tourists, athletes, shoppers, and prostitutes. The book concludes that borders are crucial for constructing identity and culture, making it an essential resource for scholars in anthropology, sociology, political science, geography, nationalism, and immigration studies.

Abstract

Borders are where wars start, as Primo Levi once wrote. But they are also bridges - that is, sites for ongoing cultural exchange. Anyone studying how nations and states maintain distinct identities while adapting to new ideas and experiences knows that borders provide particularly revealing windows for the analysis of 'self' and 'other'. In representing invisible demarcations between nations and peoples who may have much or very little in common, borders exert a powerful influence and define how people think as well as what they do. Without borders, whether physical or symbolic, nationalism could not exist, nor could borders exist without nationalism. Surprisingly, there have been very few systematic or concerted efforts to review the experiences of nation and state at the local level of borders. Drawing on examples from the US and Mexico, Northern Ireland, Israel and Palestine, Spain and Morocco, as well as various parts of Southeast Asia and Africa, this timely book offers a comparative perspective on culture at state boundaries. The authors examine the role of the state, ethnicity, transnationalism, border symbols, rituals and identity in an effort to understand how nationalism informs attitudes and behaviour at local, national and international levels. Soldiers, customs agents, smugglers, tourists, athletes, shoppers, and prostitutes all provide telling insights into the power relations of everyday life and what these relations say about borders. This overview of the importance of borders to the construction of identity and culture will be an essential text for students and scholars in anthropology, sociology, political science, geography, nationalism and immigration studies.