TY - JOUR
T1 - Picking and Choosing the ‘Sovereign’Border
T2 - A Theory of Changing State Bordering Practices
AU - Parker, Noel
AU - Adler-Nissen, Rebecca
PY - 2012/10
Y1 - 2012/10
N2 - We argue that the continued persistence of borders is an effect of their constitutive role for the many dimensions of a social particular. States cannot choose to have a border; but they can and do make choices amongst the materials available on the various planes of inscription for bordering. For contemporary states the planes have become increasingly disaggregated, in the sense that they do not fall into place at one and the same border. Thus, states have to pick and choose different articulations (often inconsistently) on different planes. We illustrate these ideas with instances, present-day and historical, of bordering. A corollary of there being more need to pick and choose is that articulations of sovereignty change. So, sovereignty is increasingly the material of 'sovereignty games', where sovereignty is used as a political instrument. In sum, our theory directs attention to state bordering on different planes of inscription.
AB - We argue that the continued persistence of borders is an effect of their constitutive role for the many dimensions of a social particular. States cannot choose to have a border; but they can and do make choices amongst the materials available on the various planes of inscription for bordering. For contemporary states the planes have become increasingly disaggregated, in the sense that they do not fall into place at one and the same border. Thus, states have to pick and choose different articulations (often inconsistently) on different planes. We illustrate these ideas with instances, present-day and historical, of bordering. A corollary of there being more need to pick and choose is that articulations of sovereignty change. So, sovereignty is increasingly the material of 'sovereignty games', where sovereignty is used as a political instrument. In sum, our theory directs attention to state bordering on different planes of inscription.
U2 - 10.1080/14650045.2012.660582
DO - 10.1080/14650045.2012.660582
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1465-0045
VL - 17
SP - 773
EP - 796
JO - Geopolitics
JF - Geopolitics
IS - 4
ER -