Boundaries
The world is full of boundaries but not all look or function the same...
A boundary is an invisible line that marks the extent of a state's territory. Boundaries are learned, accepted and occasionally challenged. But not all boundaries function the same.
Boundaries first begin by DEFINING where the lines will be set. Definition, in political geography, is the written legal description (as in a treaty-like document) of a boundary between two countries or territories.
The Berlin Conference was a conference regulating European colonization and trade in Africa, held in Berlin, Germany in 1884. It began by settling a dispute over the Congo between Belgium, France and Portugal. It resulted in the “Scramble for Africa,” and the subjugation of African nations. The "General Act of the Berlin Conference of West Africa" was the legal definition of which regions European powers had exclusive rights over.
Then boundaries are typically DELIMITED. Delimitation, means the translation of the written terms of a boundary treaty (the definition) into an official cartographic representation.
Delimitation occurs when lines are drawn on the map. This occurs across multiple scales, ranging from municipalities to counties, from electoral districts to States and from countries to supranational organizations.
Finally, some boundaries may be DEMARCATED. Demarcation is the actual placing of a political boundary on the landscape by means of barriers, fences, wall, or other markers.
Demarcated boundaries range from a fence marking the extent of a family's property to a heavily guarded wall separating two countries.
Physical boundaries are defined and delimited (and occasionally demarcated) by a prominent physical feature in the natural landscape—such as a river or the crest ridges of a mountain ridge; also known as a natural boundary.
Example: The Rio Grande separates the United States and Mexico
Geometric boundaries are defined and delimited (and occasionally demarcated) as a straight line or an arc; also known as an artificial boundary.
Example: A line of latitude (49th parallel) serves as a portion of the boundary between the United States & Canada. It is also an example of an antecedent boundary.
Antecedent boundaries are established before the area in question is well populated.
Example: The border between Malaysia and Indonesia was negotiated between English & Dutch settlers before large-scale inhabitation (but disregarding indigenous populations)
A subsequent boundary is established after the area in question has been settled and that reflects the cultural characteristics of the bounded area.
Example: The boundary between China and Vietnam is based on cultural differences. The boundary has changed incrementally over nearly 1000 years; but the border was finalized in 2009, 30 years after a brief war between the two countries.
Consequent boundaries coincide with some cultural divide, such as religion or language; also known as an ethnographic boundary.
Example: Following the end of British colonial rule, the boundaries between India & Pakistan/Bangladesh were drawn based on religious differences. India is predominantly Hindu and Pakistan & Bangladesh are predominantly Muslim.
A superimposed boundary line is placed over and ignores an existing cultural pattern.
Example: The boundaries in Africa negotiated by European powers at the Berlin Conference (right), regardless of language (left) and ethnic (middle) boundaries.
A relic (relict) boundary is a former boundary line that is still discernible and marked by some cultural landscape feature, such as a fence.
Example: The Great Wall of China
Quiz
Write the type of boundary (or boundaries) that each example represents
A. North African boundaries between Egypt, Libya and Sudan
B. Berlin Wall (photo from 2006)
C. Andes Mountains, particularly between Chile & Argentina
D. Boundary between Spain & Portugal
E. Territorial claims in Antarctica
F. Boundary between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (UK)
G. Boundaries of Iraq & Syria
H. The separation of North & South Vietnam during the Cold War
I. The boundary between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
J. The boundary between Spain & France
Impact & function of boundaries
Many people think of boundaries as horizontal lines that separate two countries' land, the way we see them on a map. But boundaries are better understood as vertical planes that extend both up into the sky and down into the earth. Disputes have arisen over how those lines are defined, delimited, and function.
Disputes
- Definitional (position)
- Locational (territorial)
- Operational (function)
- Allocational (resource)
Definitional disputes arise when two or more parties disagree over how to interpret the legal language of the boundary agreement.
Example: Chile & Argentina use the crests of the Andes mountains as the boundary but much of the southern land has never been settled or accurately mapped
Locational disputes center on where a boundary SHOULD be. This is a dispute over the delimitation of the boundary on the map. The definition of the boundary is not in dispute, but its interpretation is
Example: The western part of the boundary between Saudi Arabia and Yemen has been disputed for some time. This region is oil-rich and was a frontier region for quite some time. A frontier is an area separating two states in which neither effectively exercises political control. Recently though, Saudi Arabia has been militarizing this section of the border.
Saudi forces along the border with Yemen
Operational disputes occurs when neighboring states differ over the way their border should function.
Example: The European Union allows free movement across borders. When the Syrian refugee crisis began to spill into Europe, operational disputes began. Member states argued over whose responsibility it was to provide asylum to the refugees, while others put up walls & barriers to keep refugees out.
Border between Hungary & Serbia
Allocational disputes arise when natural resources may be used by both countries.
Example: In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait because it claimed that the Kuwaitis were drilling oblique boreholes thus breaking the vertical plane and extracting oil from the Iraqi side of the border. The Rumaylah oilfield (northern Kuwait, southern Iraq) was the major issue.
Increasingly, allocational disputes are arising over water resources. The Tigris, Nile, Colorado, and other rivers are at the center of disputes between upstream and downstream users.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has sparked conflict with Egypt over access to the Nile.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is a code of maritime law approved by the United Nations in 1982 that authorizes, among other provisions, territorial waters extending 12 nautical miles (22 km) from shore and 200-nautical-mile-wide (370-km-wide) exclusive economic zones.
Territorial waters is the area of sea around a country’s coast recognized as being under that country’s jurisdiction, set at 12 nautical miles in 1982. This is water that is subject to the complete sovereignty of that country. But other countries have the right of "safe passage."
So a Saudi oil tanker can pass through American territorial waters. The U.S. Coast Guard could stop the tanker to make sure it complying with American environmental laws, but they cannot attack the tanker.
Key point: Countries have sovereignty above & below the water (complete sovereignty) in the territorial waters.
The Exclusive Economic Zone or EEZ is the sea zone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources stretching 200 nautical miles from the coast.
States can have exclusive rights to explore, manage, conserve or exploit the living and non-living resources of the water, seabed, and subsoil.
Key point: Countries have economic sovereignty below the waterline.
While UNCLOS lists 12 nm of territorial waters and 200 nm of EEZ, those are MAXIMUMS. Countries could have less than that.
The median-line principle is part of the UNCLOS that directs countries to meet in the MIDDLE if the bodies of water between them is LESS than the stated maximum distance.
For example, if two countries have 20 nm between them, each country would be entitled to 10 nm of territorial waters.
Border Case Studies
Spratly Islands
Sao Paulo's walled communities
The DMZ
Brazil/Bolivia
European Union
Northern Ireland
Arctic Ocean
The Aegean Sea
Sahrawi Republic
Native American Reservations
India/Bangladesh
Cyprus
West Bank wall
Melilla, Spain
U.S./Mexico border
Border Case Studies
For the final section of this StoryMap, read through the first six case studies, taking notes on a specific section of ESPN+DC. Then choose TWO more case studies and take more general notes, again looking for aspects of ESPN+DC.
Spratly Islands
The Spratly Islands are claimed by Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and China. These countries have overlapping territorial (as claimed by China) or EEZ waters.
The dispute centers on issues of sovereignty, but what economic factors might impact these claims as well?
Sao Paulo's walled communities
Walled communities in Sao Paulo separate the wealthy residents of the city from the poor residents. Notice the rich community and the poor communities in the picture above and the satellite imagery on the right.
What other aspects of society are impacted by these divisions?
The DMZ
The Demilitarized Zone or DMZ separates North and South Korea. It was established as part of the ceasefire that ended fighting during the Korean War.
How do the military and governments on both sides handle the division of the Korea peninsula?
Brazil/Bolivia
Deforestation in the Amazon has been increasing in recent years. In parts of Bolivia, the border with Brazil is visible due to differences in policy regarding deforestation.
More recently, however, policies regarding the environment and agriculture have begun to change in both Brazil and Bolivia.
European Union
The European Union is one of the most recognizable supranational organizations in the world. And freedom of movement is one of the most well-known features of the EU. People & goods are free to move across international borders without stopping for security checks.
One town is split almost evenly between Belgium and the Netherlands, but when a global pandemic hit, movement and epidemiology policies were enforced differently in this border town.
"The Troubles" were a period of intense violence between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. The "Loyalist" Protestants fought with "Nationalist" Catholics over a period of 30 years.
While the Troubles ended in 1998, walls still stand throughout Belfast where most of the fighting took place. What role did culture have in the Troubles and how has it influenced the community since?
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean has been an area of intense competition in recent years. A supranational organization, called the Arctic Council , has been established to coordinate disparate claims to the region.
Why is there such intense competition for this region and why now? What political or cultural groups have claims to this area?
The Aegean Sea
Since the 1930s, Greece & Turkey have only claimed 6 nautical miles of water in the Aegean Sea. But in 2018, Greece said it was ready to extend to the 12 nautical miles, thereby increasing their control of the Aegean from 43% to 71%. Turkey has threatened that if Greece does this, it is grounds for war. More recently, the two NATO allies have agreed to talks .
What might Greece stand to gain from this? Is it permissible? What could it mean for other countries in the region?
Sahrawi Republic
The Western Sahara or Sahrawi Republic lies on the west coast of Africa, just south of Morocco. In the past, Morocco built massive berms of sand across the territory in attempt to stake their claim to the land.
How has this conflict affected the people of this region? What other groups are involved in this dispute? Why might they be involved?
Native American Reservations
Native American reservations are semiautonomous regions within the United States. Other countries have granted greater autonomy and recognized the sovereignty of indigenous peoples, to varying degrees.
How does sovereignty differ between federal, state and tribal areas? What issues might be of importance to Native Americans that can be resolved at the tribal scale?
India/Bangladesh
India and Bangladesh exchanged over 150 enclaves between the two countries. Residents were given the choice of retaining or changing their nationality as a result of the deal.
In addition to legal recognition , how did the exchange of these territories impact individuals' lives?
Cyprus
The island of Cyprus is occupied by Greece & Turkey but separate by a UN buffer zone called the "Green Line."
In addition, Cyprus is culturally diverse, with history of colonial occupation. How do the dynamics of Cyprus, along with the two countries that occupy it, affect any potential peace deals?
West Bank wall
There has been centuries of conflict over territory in the eastern Mediterranean. The current conflict centers on the fact Israel is a state and Palestine isn't. Israel has constructed a wall around the Palestinian territory of the West Bank.
While the political questions are numerous, there are many other problems dealing with workers, schooling and housing.
Melilla, Spain
Melilla remains part of Europe on the African continent. Fences separate the Spanish exclave from the rest of Morocco.
How might workers on both side of the fence view one of the only land borders between Europe & Africa ?
U.S./Mexico border
A barrier along the U.S. and Mexico border has been constructed in primarily over the last 30 years.
Consider the economic, social, political, environmental, demographic and cultural impacts of a border fence that separates two countries.
