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Border Wars: The Conflicts that Will Define Our Future
How are borders built in the modern world? What does Brexit mean for Ireland's border? And what would happen if Elon Musk declared himself president of the Moon?
In Border Wars , Professor Klaus Dodds takes us on a journey into the geopolitical conflict of tomorrow in an eye-opening tour of the world's best-known, most dangerous and most unexpected border conflicts from the Gaza Strip to the space race.
Along the way, we'll discover just what border truly mean in the modern how are they built; what do they mean for citizens and governments; how do they help understand our political past and, most importantly, our diplomatic future?
275 pages, Paperback
Published February 24, 2022
57 people are currently reading
705 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
November 6, 2025
This book provides ideas about current and potential conflicts that relate to borders. The issues can arise from geological, environmental, economical, cultural, or political sources. The overview of issues is interesting to read. However, it already feels a bit dated as some situations have changed since the publication of this book, such as the war in the Ukraine.
October 18, 2021
Probably the first time I give a book 1 star and definitely the first time I write a negative comment. Especially since I have been a fan of Klaus Dodds and the tradition of Critical Geopolitics for years. However, this is just sloppy scholarship. According to the author, Abkhazia and South Ossetia have Russian majorites. It's a terrible mistake at best and a copy-paste of Georgian propaganda at worst. Plenty of similar mistakes and inaccuracies. How didn't he (and the editors) filter that out!? The book makes some interesting observations particularly about modern border technologies. However, what it does really well, is engage in simplistic, one-sided bashing of anything that has to do with borders and regulation of migration. It seems that the author wants to leave the reader with the thought that it would be best to abolish all borders. After all, it's not Professor Dodds and people of his socio-economic status that would be much affected by that.
March 31, 2023
While this book was an interesting account of fluid borders in a less traditional sense, the title definitely implies it will explore potential future wars around contentious borders, which this book only does to a limited degree.
Not to say it wasn’t an eye opener in terms of those more unusual borders, such as maritime borders. However the book also felt as though it was lacking an editor, with numerous lines repeated and spelling and grammar errors occurring more often than one might expect.
Not to say it wasn’t an eye opener in terms of those more unusual borders, such as maritime borders. However the book also felt as though it was lacking an editor, with numerous lines repeated and spelling and grammar errors occurring more often than one might expect.
November 17, 2025
সীমান্ত
প্রাগৈতিহাসিক যুগ থেকেই আলোচিত বিষয়বস্তু। আগে বিভিন্ন রাজত্বের আমল থেকে শুরু করে বর্তমান প্রেক্ষাপটেও সীমান্ত অত্যন্ত গুরুত্বপূর্ণ বিষয়।
বইটাতে বিভিন্ন সময়ে পুরো বিশ্বের বিভিন্ন দেশের মধ্যকার সীমান্ত নিয়ে আলোচনা করা হয়েছে। প্রতিটা দেশই তাঁর সীমান্তে প্রভাব প্রতিপত্তি দেখাতে চায়।
সীমান্ত একটা দেশের আর্থ সামাজিক অবস্থায় গুরুত্বপূর্ণ প্রভাব ফেলে। যেমন যে-সব দেশের সীমান্ত অচিহ্নিত, সে-সব দেশের আর্থ সামাজিক অবস্থাও অনেকটা অস্থিতিশীল। আবার অনেক দেশের সীমানা চিহ্নিত হওয়ায় তাদের জীবন যাত্রা অনেকটাই স্বাভাবিক।
এ সীমান্ত রক্ষায় প্রত্যাকটা দেশ বিপুল পরিমাণ অর্থ ব্যয় করে। এছাড়াও সীমান্ত সুরক্ষায় নিত্য নতুন প্রযুক্তি ও সৈন্য মোতায়েনের মাধ্যমে রাষ্ট্রগুলো বিপুল পরিমাণ বিনিয়োগ করে।
বইয়ে বিভিন্ন ধরনের সীমান্তের ধারণা পাওয়া যায়। সবমিলিয়ে অসাধারণ একটা বই।
প্রাগৈতিহাসিক যুগ থেকেই আলোচিত বিষয়বস্তু। আগে বিভিন্ন রাজত্বের আমল থেকে শুরু করে বর্তমান প্রেক্ষাপটেও সীমান্ত অত্যন্ত গুরুত্বপূর্ণ বিষয়।
বইটাতে বিভিন্ন সময়ে পুরো বিশ্বের বিভিন্ন দেশের মধ্যকার সীমান্ত নিয়ে আলোচনা করা হয়েছে। প্রতিটা দেশই তাঁর সীমান্তে প্রভাব প্রতিপত্তি দেখাতে চায়।
সীমান্ত একটা দেশের আর্থ সামাজিক অবস্থায় গুরুত্বপূর্ণ প্রভাব ফেলে। যেমন যে-সব দেশের সীমান্ত অচিহ্নিত, সে-সব দেশের আর্থ সামাজিক অবস্থাও অনেকটা অস্থিতিশীল। আবার অনেক দেশের সীমানা চিহ্নিত হওয়ায় তাদের জীবন যাত্রা অনেকটাই স্বাভাবিক।
এ সীমান্ত রক্ষায় প্রত্যাকটা দেশ বিপুল পরিমাণ অর্থ ব্যয় করে। এছাড়াও সীমান্ত সুরক্ষায় নিত্য নতুন প্রযুক্তি ও সৈন্য মোতায়েনের মাধ্যমে রাষ্ট্রগুলো বিপুল পরিমাণ বিনিয়োগ করে।
বইয়ে বিভিন্ন ধরনের সীমান্তের ধারণা পাওয়া যায়। সবমিলিয়ে অসাধারণ একটা বই।
June 7, 2022
For many years I followed Klaus Dodds’ ‘geopolitical hotspots’ column in the Geographical Magazine. It was one of my most favourite features of the Royal Geographical Society’s monthly magazine because the column always managed to give the relevant background, elucidating specific events in current affairs which I might otherwise know very little or nothing about. Often it would furnish a new angle on an issue or a region which I was unaware of, or which I had not thought to consider before, looking at places such as Cyprus, Kashmir, Sudan, the Falklands/Malvinas, or the Antarctic. Dodds’ column also managed to make interesting connections or comparisons which either broadened or sharpened the focus on regional and global geopolitical matters. As such, I was really pleased to hear of the publication of this book and eagerly sought it out. And in reading it, I was not disappointed.
Dodds uses this relatively compact tome to quite literally cover a lot of ground. He gives a comprehensive global overview of the key themes and issues affecting borders and borderland studies – as such, Border Wars is an excellent introduction which should appeal to students starting out on the study of geography and geopolitics as well as interested lay-persons, such as me, who have an interest in such matters. Dodds writes with a wonderfully clear and lucid style which seems to find and maintain an effortless balance between a deeply informed academic grounding and an open, horizon-scanning tone of commentary. Consequently, Border Wars is an eminently accessible and highly readable book which comes with handy ‘recommended reading’ suggestions accompanying the themes explored in each chapter (collected at the end of the book) which will certainly help launch the interested reader onto deeper avenues of enquiry as seems only fitting for a book on such a dynamic and constantly changing topic as borders.
My only quibble is that the reader’s eye is often tripped up by quite a few typos and copyediting errors, although happily these aren’t so bad as to disrupt or confuse the actual gist or meaning of the text itself – it’s a real shame though that so many of these errors have made it through to the final publication which I think has one of the most wonderful and characteristically-iconic cover designs that have long been the hallmark of Penguin paperbacks.
Dodds’ Border Wars is a snapshot in time. As much as it is a tool for us to look at and understand the ever-evolving geopolitics of our changing world – right now it should serve to give us pause to think and anticipate what directions the future might take, and how such changes will affect us individually and collectively. But, in the future it will be the sort of book which retains its value as a ‘history of the present.’ Border Wars shall undoubtedly become a document which will remind us of how we anticipated the future in the light of how such things eventually turned out. As such, I hope it helps to guide us today by its clarity and insight, because it speaks to an openness which borders and borderland issues are all too often used nowadays to deny us.
Borders serve to manipulate and constrain us in ways which we might not see so readily or so clearly when we allow the parameters around us to be drawn in uncompromisingly straight lines, lines on maps which so often ignore the subtleties and complexities which genuinely define the natural and cultural contours that demarcate and differentiate our lives (especially those which were drawn all too hastily as part of the rapid process of recent post-colonial retreats following on from the end of WW2). Depending on whether we see borders as lines of division and separation, or borderlands as zones in which cultures meet, merge and exchange, the ways in which we perceive borders are the issues which ultimately define us.
Dodds uses this relatively compact tome to quite literally cover a lot of ground. He gives a comprehensive global overview of the key themes and issues affecting borders and borderland studies – as such, Border Wars is an excellent introduction which should appeal to students starting out on the study of geography and geopolitics as well as interested lay-persons, such as me, who have an interest in such matters. Dodds writes with a wonderfully clear and lucid style which seems to find and maintain an effortless balance between a deeply informed academic grounding and an open, horizon-scanning tone of commentary. Consequently, Border Wars is an eminently accessible and highly readable book which comes with handy ‘recommended reading’ suggestions accompanying the themes explored in each chapter (collected at the end of the book) which will certainly help launch the interested reader onto deeper avenues of enquiry as seems only fitting for a book on such a dynamic and constantly changing topic as borders.
My only quibble is that the reader’s eye is often tripped up by quite a few typos and copyediting errors, although happily these aren’t so bad as to disrupt or confuse the actual gist or meaning of the text itself – it’s a real shame though that so many of these errors have made it through to the final publication which I think has one of the most wonderful and characteristically-iconic cover designs that have long been the hallmark of Penguin paperbacks.
Dodds’ Border Wars is a snapshot in time. As much as it is a tool for us to look at and understand the ever-evolving geopolitics of our changing world – right now it should serve to give us pause to think and anticipate what directions the future might take, and how such changes will affect us individually and collectively. But, in the future it will be the sort of book which retains its value as a ‘history of the present.’ Border Wars shall undoubtedly become a document which will remind us of how we anticipated the future in the light of how such things eventually turned out. As such, I hope it helps to guide us today by its clarity and insight, because it speaks to an openness which borders and borderland issues are all too often used nowadays to deny us.
Borders serve to manipulate and constrain us in ways which we might not see so readily or so clearly when we allow the parameters around us to be drawn in uncompromisingly straight lines, lines on maps which so often ignore the subtleties and complexities which genuinely define the natural and cultural contours that demarcate and differentiate our lives (especially those which were drawn all too hastily as part of the rapid process of recent post-colonial retreats following on from the end of WW2). Depending on whether we see borders as lines of division and separation, or borderlands as zones in which cultures meet, merge and exchange, the ways in which we perceive borders are the issues which ultimately define us.
June 4, 2022
Book about borders; zero maps provided. Forced myself through it, though some issues like maritime borders were very well described.
December 26, 2022
A thorough, multi-faceted, and riveting account of the various border conflicts that plague modern-day geopolitics.
Everything was explained clearly and concisely, a wide range of topics was covered and there was a plethora of intriguing discussion points. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about geopolitics.
Everything was explained clearly and concisely, a wide range of topics was covered and there was a plethora of intriguing discussion points. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about geopolitics.
July 9, 2022
The book systematically examines different kinds of borders around the world, including borders that shift as the earth changes, water borders, smart borders etc. It looks briefly at specific current and past conflicts for each type of border and describes how the situation is changing both as a result of climate change and other factors and also changes in geopolitics. The author then speculates on the possibilities that the near future holds, especially for escalating conflict.
The book is informative and I learned a lot. The author has chosen to write the book more as a 'survey' which briefly dips into numerous conflicts and potential conflicts rather than going deeply into a smaller number of conflicts to illustrate his points. Personally I found this a little superficial and unsatisfying. I would have found a deeper analysis of a smaller number of conflicts a more enjoyable read, but that's my personal take.
The book is informative and I learned a lot. The author has chosen to write the book more as a 'survey' which briefly dips into numerous conflicts and potential conflicts rather than going deeply into a smaller number of conflicts to illustrate his points. Personally I found this a little superficial and unsatisfying. I would have found a deeper analysis of a smaller number of conflicts a more enjoyable read, but that's my personal take.
September 9, 2024
Informative if not repetitive.
May 31, 2025
Nothing new.
July 9, 2022
I didn’t enjoy this book. There are some good points buried within it. Most of it though is rambling and poorly structured and verbose in the extreme. There is also not much justification or explanation behind the views being expressed. Disappointing.
May 15, 2022
The book helped make me more aware of border issues around the world, since local news and conversations only limit awareness to my own country.
However, the book didn’t seem too structured with several parts being repeated several time and most of it seeming like an endless paragraph, often losing the reader’s interest halfway.
However, the book didn’t seem too structured with several parts being repeated several time and most of it seeming like an endless paragraph, often losing the reader’s interest halfway.
August 21, 2023
Border Wars - The Conflicts That Will Define Our Future
By
Klaus Dodds
What are borders beyond being the physical representations of the extent of a country’s sovereignty?
I don‘t think that most of us realize how complex the realities surrounding our borders actually are. These complexities are not limited to theory. In fact, the geopolitics of borders are the cause behind people literally dying trying to cross or defend borders everyday. Conflicts involving borders are further complicated by the discrepancies in the perception of what the true border is or is supposed to look like.
Borders are tied to historical agreements. They are also tied to past limitations in technology that, in part, do not exist any longer. We now increasingly take to the depths of the oceans or launch rockets into outer space more or less successfully. With the emerging accessibility of new frontiers, there needs to be global cooperation on how to deal with scarce resources and actions that may affect all of humanity.
National borders are also relevant when discussing bodies of water that travers multiple countries (i.e. rivers) or that cannot be encompassed entirely within one, like the oceans. The questions of who a river belongs to, what countries upstream may or may not do to the river or to what extent the oceans are subject to supranational regulations become tricky legal conundrums. And what makes it worse is that the landscape (or waterscape) is changing. Waning glaciers and rising ocean levels open up new problems, as some nations will gain access to certain geographic locations and others will lose them.
Borders are anything but clear cut and definite. They are dynamic and at the heart of decades long conflicts that don‘t seem to have a simple solution. How we think about borders and deal with these problems is how we will face each other in the coming decade, in which humanity will need the cooperation of everyone involved or earth might be rid of Homo sapiens pretty soon.
By
Klaus Dodds
What are borders beyond being the physical representations of the extent of a country’s sovereignty?
I don‘t think that most of us realize how complex the realities surrounding our borders actually are. These complexities are not limited to theory. In fact, the geopolitics of borders are the cause behind people literally dying trying to cross or defend borders everyday. Conflicts involving borders are further complicated by the discrepancies in the perception of what the true border is or is supposed to look like.
Borders are tied to historical agreements. They are also tied to past limitations in technology that, in part, do not exist any longer. We now increasingly take to the depths of the oceans or launch rockets into outer space more or less successfully. With the emerging accessibility of new frontiers, there needs to be global cooperation on how to deal with scarce resources and actions that may affect all of humanity.
National borders are also relevant when discussing bodies of water that travers multiple countries (i.e. rivers) or that cannot be encompassed entirely within one, like the oceans. The questions of who a river belongs to, what countries upstream may or may not do to the river or to what extent the oceans are subject to supranational regulations become tricky legal conundrums. And what makes it worse is that the landscape (or waterscape) is changing. Waning glaciers and rising ocean levels open up new problems, as some nations will gain access to certain geographic locations and others will lose them.
Borders are anything but clear cut and definite. They are dynamic and at the heart of decades long conflicts that don‘t seem to have a simple solution. How we think about borders and deal with these problems is how we will face each other in the coming decade, in which humanity will need the cooperation of everyone involved or earth might be rid of Homo sapiens pretty soon.
November 30, 2024
I finally got around to reading Klaus Dodds' "Border Wars." It's quite a dense read, to be honest, but I'm glad I persevered. Dodds presents a compelling argument about how border disputes, not just physical lines on a map, but also ideological and even environmental ones and will shape the conflicts of the 21st century. He effectively highlights the interconnectedness of various factors: climate change impacting migration, migration impacting political stability, and so on. The book is full of examples, which is helpful, but at times it felt like an overwhelming amount of information.
His section on "virtual borders," the digital spaces where control and conflict increasingly play out, was particularly thought-provoking. This felt remarkably insightful, especially given current concerns about cybersecurity and disinformation. However, some parts were overly academic and I confess I skimmed a few sections due to the dense jargon. Some critics felt Dodds focused too heavily on certain regions while neglecting others.
Nevertheless, Dodds' work prompts critical thinking about how we define borders in the modern world. Even if his predictions prove inaccurate, the underlying questions he raises remain highly relevant and important.
His section on "virtual borders," the digital spaces where control and conflict increasingly play out, was particularly thought-provoking. This felt remarkably insightful, especially given current concerns about cybersecurity and disinformation. However, some parts were overly academic and I confess I skimmed a few sections due to the dense jargon. Some critics felt Dodds focused too heavily on certain regions while neglecting others.
Nevertheless, Dodds' work prompts critical thinking about how we define borders in the modern world. Even if his predictions prove inaccurate, the underlying questions he raises remain highly relevant and important.
November 3, 2023
Some interesting ideas, and good accounts of some things I hadn't seriously thought about, such as undersea and space borders. Earlier chapters interestingly written although got more repetitive later.
2 big problems... First, editing. Repeated duplication, sometimes even on consecutive pages, let alone across chapters. Second, a very naive pro UN stance, and some sections appearing to praise China. Inclusion of chapter on Covid understandable given when written, but has dated badly, and failed to forsee the backlash against catastrophic lockdown measures and the collapse of such ideas even in China. Also appears to have been entirely taken in by Chinese government lies re the origins of Covid.
2 big problems... First, editing. Repeated duplication, sometimes even on consecutive pages, let alone across chapters. Second, a very naive pro UN stance, and some sections appearing to praise China. Inclusion of chapter on Covid understandable given when written, but has dated badly, and failed to forsee the backlash against catastrophic lockdown measures and the collapse of such ideas even in China. Also appears to have been entirely taken in by Chinese government lies re the origins of Covid.
dnf
June 7, 2024Dnf'd under the guise of life is too short to keep holding on to boring books. Although I find the topic very interesting, the style of writing didn't really capture my interest. I found myself losing track a lot of times and as far as I've read, it seems it wasn't really going anywhere yet. I will still keep the book on the shelf. Maybe when I'm older, I'll get to reading it again, because I still find the subject highly interesting, but for now, nah.
February 24, 2022
Desgraciadamente muy interesante. Y digo desgraciadamente porque ya hemos visto lo que ha pasado ayer en Ucrania.
Hay muchas razones que llevarán a las naciones a conflictos bélicos debido al agua, los fondos marinos, Marte, La Luna...... El futuro no es nada bueno salvo un acuerdo mundial sobre estas cuestiones, pero no va a ser fácil.
Hay muchas razones que llevarán a las naciones a conflictos bélicos debido al agua, los fondos marinos, Marte, La Luna...... El futuro no es nada bueno salvo un acuerdo mundial sobre estas cuestiones, pero no va a ser fácil.
January 6, 2023
The title gave me a lot of great expectations. And I ended up disapointed. I feel lile each chapter should have been an independent little book. Here I felt faced with multiple repetitions about things discussed previously, which eventually bored me...
In a nutshell, great subject, but way too many words spent discussing it...
In a nutshell, great subject, but way too many words spent discussing it...
Read
May 19, 2023Velger å ikke rate den, gir den ikke null stjerner altså!!! Jeg bare klarer ikke å nyte sakprosa så joke’s on me. Hadde vært urettferdig mot forfatteren å rate boka hans når mitt eneste mål var å bli ferdig med den og kunne plassere den i bokhylla og begynne på Happy Place 🥹 Det var interessant når jeg kom ordentlig inn i det av og til tho.
I’m the problem, it’s me!
I’m the problem, it’s me!
March 28, 2023
Good in parts, but provides a very superficial overview of topics without going into any detail
The writing style was also very clunky, jumping from one conflict to another. Far too many spelling mistakes as well!
The writing style was also very clunky, jumping from one conflict to another. Far too many spelling mistakes as well!
May 21, 2023
I learned a little about borders outside the traditional sense, but really didn't actually talk that much about what the title alludes too - conflicts of tomorrow. There was also a decent amount of typos which I've never seen before, and read like a grad school book.
February 24, 2025
Very interesting sections on water borders and the oceans/law surrounding rights to the high seas. Complements Tim Marshall's Prisoners of Geography series quite well and is reasonably up to date in 2025.
July 19, 2021
Good book. Brings out new perspectives on how borders work and how they will evolve and cause stress and conflicts in the future, with new technology, future pandemics and scarce resourses.
May 21, 2022
لم يضف لي جديد في الجيوبوليتيكا
July 14, 2022
Inte läsvärd
July 16, 2022
Presents a good introduction to a host of legal and political issues on various old and new borders.
September 19, 2022
Interesting concepts were raised but rarely did the author follow with enough detail to be satisfying. Also a number of obvious typos which is a shame.
March 29, 2023
Really enjoyed reading Border Wars. Much of the geopolitics and the different border conflicts described are incredibly interesting and makes me want to learn more about them
June 25, 2023
People know that Mountains , Oceans and Deserts are not hard barrier but only obstacles. Four type of wars are expected in future.
September 19, 2023
This book deserves a firm 1/5 rating – a regrettable choice that I wouldn't recommend to anyone. Save your precious time and pick up something else.
Dnf
Dnf
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews