Monday, February 13, 2017

Geopolitical Boundary Narratives, the Global War on Terror, and Border Fencing in India

This article discusses in great detail the role borders, specifically the representation of them, has gained importance during the “global war on terror” (Reece 296). Specifically, Dr. Jones focuses on the border between India and Bangladesh, and how the formal, tangible, border effectively creates otherness. In relation to GIS, Jones discusses the importance of correct border representation in ostracizing populations presupposed to be terrorists. Borders allow a state to have sovereign control over a body of land, and correct representation allows for control over the means of violence. Jones discusses the changing borders of India in the last fifty years, and increasing how “geopolitical boundary narratives” have reflected religious and cultural disputes (Reece 298). The enemy in any political disputes, Jones asserts, always exists outside of the borders of a state. However, in this case, Jones discusses how borders are created in order to ensure the enemies are removed from the sovereignty of a state. Essentially, Dr. Reece Jones creates a dialogue of using borders in order to perpetuate a “Global War on Terror” rather than a number of civil wars breaking out in decentralized states.


Image result for india bangladesh border

Jones, Reece. Geopolitical Boundary Narratives, the Global War on Terror, and Border Fencing in India. Transaction of the Institute of British Geographers, Vol. 34, No. 3, 2009.

3 comments:

  1. This is a very thought-provoking article, and is relevant to today's society. I enjoyed the unbiased opinions and the views of both arguments over walls. It would be interesting to have a graph displaying the change in religious and cultural disputes in India, as mentioned above.

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  2. I find this shockingly similar to what we are experiencing in our own country with threats of a border "wall". I am curious if this will segregate our countries leader from others and create a sense of otherness

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  3. I am curious to know how effective this wall has been in doing its job of keeping out a certain population. Also, how the wall was viewed by the population of the countries on both sides would be an interesting read.

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