Boundary geopolitics: Towards a theory of territorial lines?

This chapter looks at the main themes, which have emerged out of the boundary narratives, in an attempt to draw the parallels between the different discourses and laying the foundations for a single conceptual framework for future study. Gaining membership, the crossing of the boundary, requires acceptance by those who are already enclosed by the line, a process, which, in many cases, is far more difficult than crossing the territorial line separating one state from another. The most notable form of boundary management concerns entry procedures for migrants. The impact of globalization is associated with notions relating to the 'end of the nation state' thesis and, by association, notions of a deterritorialized and borderless world. Thus, a solid conceptual framework for the understanding of boundaries must link the territorial with the non-territorial ways through which the process of compartmentalization takes place. The complexity and proximity of municipal and administrative boundaries gives rise to trans-boundary externalities, spill-overs and free rides.