Borders: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #328

by Alexander C. Diener, Joshua Hagen

First published in 2012, A Very Short Introduction began with the premise that "we live in a very bordered world." The intervening decade has witnessed a flurry of events and developments that continue to highlight the centrality of borders in contemporary domestic and international affairs, as well as the interstices between the two, including sudden surges in migrant and refugees flows; renewed emphasis on traditional border security and wall construction; growing tensions concerning maritime sovereignty; rapid advances in cybersecurity, surveillance, and biometrics; expanded detention and deportation infrastructures; proliferation of transborder organizations; revived populist and nationalist sentiments; and protectionist and integrationist trade practices, to name some prominent examples from recent headlines.

This revised edition accounts for recent developments including Brexit, the 2015 migration crisis across Europe, efforts to build a border wall between the US and Mexico, growing isolationist and nativist sentiments, demands for indigenous homelands, transnational protest movements, Russian cross-border incursions, and insurgencies and rebellions across much of North Africa and Southwest Asia.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Philosophy, Audiobook, Geography, Social Science

168 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2012

Reviews

[Joma Geneciran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more of a political theory (intro) text. As long as you know that going in, you'll enjoy it.

Minor quibbles are the ahistorical (liberal historiographical jabs at 'communist countries/figures). And it would have been a much better text had the author/editors limited the scope they tried to cover. There were points where they would just add a paragraph about a random (tangential) topic and then drop it. It would have been better without.

Still, for how short it is, it is worth a read for anyone doing work around sovereignty, statelessness, critical human geography, self-determination, the national question, transnational migration, etc.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is largely a history of national borders, but it does at least make mention of natural, ethnic, intellectual, aerospace, nautical and cultural ones. Though pretty well endowed with thought provoking claims and insights (for instance, the whole idea of fixed national borders is relatively new---only a couple-three centuries old) the discourse is pretty much composed of generalities and the prose is dry. [In support of this last, I downloaded the audiobook in 2019 and had absolutely no memory of having read it before.]

Any nonfiction authors out there looking for a subject? I see real potential for a book for young readers on this subject.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh it is a veery basic and general introduction but if you are not familiar with the topic at all it could be good

[Bryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you were an alien life form with a perfect knowledge of the English language, but no idea about borders/territories/democracies/monarchies, etc., then this would be the book for you. Otherwise, it felt not like a short introduction, as the title promises, but a long compilation of definitions of each and every word related in any sort of geographical or sociological way to borders, e.g., "The related enterprises of human smuggling and human trafficking enable illegal flows of people across borders. Human smuggling involves assisting a person to gain unauthorized entry into a foreign country, usually in exchange for payment," etc. I do think the series, "A Short Introduction," has potential, as there are definitely subjects it covers--like Choice Theory or The Blues, where I may as well be that alien life form with a strong working knowledge of English and may thus get more out of them.

[DoctorM · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well-done and nicely-crafted brief introduction to the idea of how borders--- political, but also social and ethnic ---have been constructed down the years, and how the meanings of borders have changed. Also--- Diener examines how we've changed the way we see borderlines and why borderlands and liminal zones have become so passionately embraced by academics and artists and writers over the past generation or two. One of the better books in the VSI series, and one very much worth reading.

[Stephen Heiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

video book review: https://youtu.be/3_uiknxq-pA

I always enjoy getting to learn more about subjects via Oxford's VSI series. This particular text deals with a subject perhaps more contentious today than ever before. I appreciate that the text also gives some time and space to imagining a return to less formal boundaries than we currently have.

"But borders are not 'natural' phenomena; they exist in the world only to the extent that humans regard them as meaningful." (p. 1)

"Nevertheless, it should be noted that while most people would feel relatively comfortable revising a census tract or local park boundary, the lines partitioning the colorful collage of countries on world maps convey an air of sanctity. Different perceptions of the significance and permanence of geographic boundaries are not accidental. International borders have been purposely constructed and represented to appear as though they derive from some higher logic. They are, however, no more natural or logical than obviously contrived school zones or electoral districts." (p. 12)

"As such, every geographic boundary is a symbolic representation and practical embodiment of human territoriality." (p. 12)

"[S]tates act as rigid containers that neatly partition global space into nation-state territories corresponding to distinct societies." (p. 14)

"The establishment of European colonial control over much of Africa, Asia, and the Americas brought dramatic and often destructive changes to colonial lands, societies, and economies, including the imposition of European norms of sovereignty, territoriality, and borders." (p. 46)

"From the European perspective, colonial territories were basically 'empty' lands to be claimed despite the obvious presence of established populations, societies, and governments. Preexisting systems of land ownership and resource access would be radically transformed or obliterated." (p. 47)

"Borders represent the 'scars of history' not only physically in the landscape but also symbolically and metaphorically in the minds of various populations." (p. 71)

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is certainly a text about borders. It functions well as a simple reference about borders, explaining the history of borders as well as their relevance in modern life. But this is an academic text, so it has to have an argument. I think the argument is that borders are here to stay although they will probably change in the future. I think.

This textbook writes with a certain measured neutrality, weighing both the good and bad things about borders, as well as the arguments for and against borders. Which makes it feel so weird when it suddenly doesn’t get neutral, which is mostly opinions about geopolitics. Saying that Israel’s and Palestine’s borders reflect ethno-religious segregation is an opinion, not a carefully measured fact like so many others in this volume.

This is the 2nd edition of this textbook, and some of the updates feel tacked-on. Mentions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 BLM protests, and Russia invading Ukraine don’t feel well-integrated. This textbook also uses the word “cyber” to refer to Internet spaces, which feels painfully eighties to me.

Although I did learn a lot about borders from this textbook. I especially like the historical material. I think the two writers did a good job at incorporating possibly different perspectives. I think one is pro-border and one is anti-border, and they both agree that the world of borders is complex. But not all that interesting.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

As the title suggests, this book was a brief overview of borders. It began by detailing the varying perspectives on borders, frontiers, territory, and sovereignty that occurred throughout history; later chapters discussed contemporary issues surrounding borders.

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed two other Very Short Introduction books, I had high expectations going into this one, but it failed to live up to them. The writing was dull, and I found some of the sections to be slightly repetitive, which is kind of a bummer for a book of such a short length. On the plus side, I love the size and design of the books in this series.

If you have a burning desire to learn a little bit about border studies and collect a few neat facts along the way, then maybe this book is for you. I can't think of any other reason to read it though.

[brendan]

Very brief if not exceptionally broad and REALLY all over the place. Somehow felt like stuff I already knew which is equally parts self-fulfilling and annoying. Then again I never really thought of borders this much so net positive reading experience?

[Elias Janssens · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Len Zapalowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been better, 60% of the book is taken up categorizing and presenting historical context. Only briefly discusses the current issues: space, the digital world, melting ices caps...

[Jb · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you start looking, borders are everywhere, and mostly not physical. Borders are more permeable and fluid (like in the Middle Ages actually) but more iniquitous.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful, quick, and with great examples

[Rhea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lives up to the name! Brief and easy to read, yet packed with valuable and insightful information.

[Son Tung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, the topic of "Borders" is a huge one. A short introduction to the subject is enough to overwhelm me due to its breath (even with not much depth involved)

It is really hard to sum this up. Let me try. The author talked about historical development of borders, its current forms, roles, also mentioned air/outer space, cyber world as borders, borders means very much to human existance and also environmental, ecological issues...uhm...ooo. Roman Patrician wall, Chinese Great Wall, Summerians civilization, Persian empire, modern International Law, The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Talibans, Somalia, South Americas,uhmm...ooo, oh sh*t, you blundering idiot !

Read the book's description maybe more helpful, please do it.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solidly written book and should be useful as an introductory resource to those (probably not too many) who would like to pursue research into borders in the context of political science, economics or general international studies. Like good academics, the authors were careful to maintain multilateralism, neutrality, and some rigor throughout the book (although I felt I encountered the word “unprecedented” too many times in their description of our modern era), which, on the other hand, made the book rather dry and humorless which probably will disappoint those who picked up this book for a quick entertainment or intellectual stimulus.

[Madeleine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first "Very Short Introduction" I've read, and I was impressed. I've regarded the series as a slightly more intellectual "Complete Idiots Guide to _____," but this was much better than *slightly* more intellectual. A lot of theoretical groundwork, and a very interdisciplinary look at bordering/border studies. One thing I would have liked to have seen more of was borders in art/literature...this topic gets an interesting mention in the epilogue, but could be worth a chapter or section of its own.

[Colin Anton · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a 150-page book, was hoping for more pages on very modern border issues. Felt like more than half the book centered the history of borders and feudal systems and stuff about which I didn't want to read.

My review reflects my expectations, but I'm sure there are people who'll read it and thoroughly enjoy it.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, clear introduction to border studies. It can be a bit vague at times, but I appreciated that it wasn't overly academic.

[Elizabeth]

As seen in The New Yorker .

[Howard Mansfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fast-paced introduction that will have you thinking in new ways about international borders, immigrants, illegal aliens, and international organizations like the UN and the EU.

[Mills College Library]

320.12 D562 2012

[Christoph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts out as an interesting rumination on bordering, and then drifts into dull descriptions of border policy.

[Evgeniy Vasilev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts too dry and academic but gets better near the end.