Rethinking Borders

ABSTRACT

Across a number of issues, nation-state borders work to reduce feelings (imaginations) of mutual belonging and shared fate, and together with this, reduce equitable and practical collective decision-making and action requiring these basic assumptions. I proceed by identifying specific processes and mechanisms by which nation-state borders produce separation. I also address processes of mutual recognition that occur at borders, arguably because borders concentrate people and activities that favor or even require creation frameworks for mutual decision-making and action. This would involve dialogues, decisions, and practical administrative interactions suited to the phenomenon, rather than arbitrarily limited and obstructed by singular bounded state institutions. By creating diverse arenas and spaces of interested participants having shared practical concerns, and by imbuing these with a social imaginary of being a commons, it might be possible to address these problematic effects of bounded nation-states.

KEYWORDS:

• Alternative borders
• commons
• jurisdictions
• arenas
• cross-border issues
• no borders

Acknowledgements

This work was not directly funded. There are no financial interests or benefits from the direct applications of this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).