Territory Ideas: Territories and Connections

W E E K 3 / 4 T E R R I T O R Y I D E A S : T E R R I T O R I E S A N D C O N N E C T I O N S

LECTURE INFORMATION

  • Date: 10/03/26
  • Presenters: Dr. Tom Western & Dr. Jared Margulies

OUTLINE

  • Becoming familiar with territory and territoriality
  • Border histories
  • ‘Border Nation’ and territory beyond the human
  • Border theory and UK case study
  • Photo: US-Mexico Border Wall, by J.D Margulies

INTRODUCTION TO TERRITORY

Conceptualization of Territory

  • Common Definition: Territory commonly refers to the spatial extent of a sovereign state.
  • Geographical Perspective: This definition is insufficient as territory is also:
    • Historical: Territory is shaped by historical contexts and events.
    • Socially Produced: It arises from collective social practices and perceptions.
    • Political Practices: The concept of territory is political and results from practices, processes, and struggles around power.
    • Power Dynamics: Territory is a spatial manifestation of power—expressing and bounding it.
  • Quotation: “…territory, and control over it, is bound up with the assertion or maintenance of power, or resistance to a dominant power” (Storey, 2018: 34).

Understanding Territoriality

  • Definition: Territoriality is the process through which power is applied via spatial practices, effectively establishing borders among people and places.
  • Characteristics:
    • Politicized space (Elden, 2013).
    • Emerging from geographic and cartographic practices—mapping, demarcating borders, and spatializing power.
    • Functions as a means to control areas or assert dominance.
    • Produces social/national coherence (a centripetal force).
    • A mix of the material and symbolic (Paasi, 2009).
    • Operates on multiple scales (from global to local neighborhoods).

CONTEMPORARY TERRITORIALITY

Current Statistics

  • Physical Barriers:
    • Year 1989: Approximately 6 physical walls or barriers existed globally between countries or occupied territories.
    • Year Present: The number has surged to roughly 63 barriers.
  • Global Movements: Despite increases in barriers,
    • Goods and capital flow across borders faster than ever.
    • “Kinetic elites” (Cresswell, 2016) can traverse borders fluidly due to advanced transnational systems.
    • Migrants, however, often face restrictions, getting “stuck” in checkpoints or detention centers.

Conceptualizing Borders

  • Quote by Yi-Fu Tuan: “space is that which allows movement, and place is a pause” (1977: 6).
  • Borders as Concepts: Discuss the dual nature of borders—as physical entities and social constructs influencing identity and belonging.

TERRITORY AND IDENTITY

Symbolism and Collective Identity

  • Political Force: Territory significantly impacts symbolism and collective identity, acting as a collective unconscious.
  • Centripetal Force: It unites communities towards common goals and aspirations.
  • Weaponization of Territory:
    • Territory can exclude and villainize those deemed ‘outside’ belonging (example: Nazi ideology).
    • Richard Walther Darré's speech on “blood and soil” illustrates how geographical identity can be manipulated politically.

DISPUTED TERRITORIES

Historical Context

  • Case Study: The disputed borders of India and China highlight the historical dimension of territorial conflict.
    • Borders are products of historical events and contestations, representing complex intersections of power, ideology, and identity.

BORDER HISTORIES

Evolution of Borders

  • Historical Insight: Borders are not natural; they predate modern nation-states.
    • Examples include the Lagash border pillar (2400 BC) demarcating city-states in present-day Iraq.
  • Development of Barriers:
    • Transition to walls and fences as technologies to enclose and control territories, while allowing for some movement.
    • Travel documents and passports have historically functioned as borders, determining movement permissions.

Nation-State System

  • Peace of Westphalia (1648): Marked the beginning of sovereign states and inviolable borders, establishing conventional understandings of territory.
  • Imperial Context: The expansion of European empires and agreements like the Sykes-Picot agreement (1916) fundamentally reshaped global borders.

CHANGING IDEAS OF BORDERS

Philosophical Reflection

  • Quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau: His reflections on property and civilization highlight the foundational violence of territory creation:
    • “The first man who, having fenced off a plot of land, thought of saying, this is mine…you are lost if you forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all” (Rousseau, 1754).

Social Integration and Division

  • Border Functions:
    • National borders not only divide but also define and preserve social constructs; they interact with ethnic and linguistic complexities.
    • Historically, the organization of communities has often failed to align with the fluid nature of cultures and languages.

Non-fixity of Borders

  • Borders cannot completely seal a society; they constantly evolve, reflecting power struggles.
  • Societal Integration: Borders are embedded in everyday life and cultural practices, demonstrating their dynamic nature.

STUDYING TERRITORIES AND BORDERS

Analytical Framework

  • Social and Historical Production: Both territory and borders are shaped through historical contexts and social practices.
  • Territory as Practice: Engages with ideas regarding the relationship between place and power.
  • Considerations: Political, geographical, legal, technical, and relational aspects in understanding territories and borders.
  • Dynamic Processes:
    • Regularly contested, shaped, and reshaped through governance and societal actions.
    • Borders emerge as technologies through which these dynamics are enforced.
  • Research Imperative: Understanding territories and borders necessitates a historical perspective, scrutinizing their specificities.

BORDER NATION: VISUAL EXERCISE

Example: Ambos Nogales

  • Overview of the border between Arizona and Mexico, exploring historical and contemporary implications for identity and belonging.

TERRITORY BEYOND THE HUMAN

Ecological Considerations

  • Political Ecology of Borders: Rossiter (2011) emphasizes the integration of socio-material networks in understanding border spaces.
  • Nonhuman Agency:
    • Entities classified as nonhuman (both living and inert) significantly influence geopolitical dynamics (Sundberg, 2011).
    • Climate and geographical features complicate border enforcement measures (Boyce, 2016).

Expanded Listening

  • Encourages a broader perspective on borders as socio-political entities, integrating sound as a critical aspect of understanding territorial dynamics (Kun, 2011).

BORDER THEORY

Historical Perspectives

  • Post-WW2 scholarship frames borders as artifacts, primarily researched as physical separators.
    • Assumes spatial and social interactions coincide, viewing borders as natural divisions.
  • John Agnew’s Analysis:
    1. Territorial Trap: Fundamental assumptions of sovereignty and security demand bounded space.
    2. Internal/External Dichotomy: Internal and external state affairs are seen as oppositional.
    3. Geographical Container: States considered as geographic containers for societal aspects.

Border Dynamics

  • Borders, treated as processes of separation, are alive with socio-political significance.
  • They manifest power dynamics, facilitating capital flow while limiting access for others, producing inequalities.
    • Quotes: Borders as “finely tuned instruments for managing…global passages of people, money, and things” (Mezzadra and Nielsen, 2013).

CONTINUOUS MAINTENANCE OF BORDERS

  • Borders are not static; they are always shifting and being contest, influenced by social dynamics.
  • Natural borders (oceans, mountains) also transform over time, highlighting the fluid nature of the concept of territory.

RACE AND EMPIRE IN BRITAIN

Racialized Borderness

  • Contemporary British borders reflect historical imperial logics, ongoing through immigration controls and racialization.
    • “It is our duty to seize every opportunity of acquiring more territory…” (Cecil Rhodes, 2020: 22).

From Empire to Nation-State

  • The move to create distinct borders around Britain marked a significant shift from a colonial empire to defined territorial sovereignty (1981 British Nationality Act).
  • Postcolonial Context: Britain maintains an inner space of privilege and structure relative to its former colonies, presenting inequalities.

KEY POINTS

  • Territory is the product of political practices and is spatially imagined to reflect power relations.
  • Territoriality is the exercise of power through spatial practices, leading to the construction of territories.
  • Borders serve both to divide and to define social realities, and are never fixed or complete.