Toward a Comparative History of Borderlands

The historical study of borderlands has been unduly restricted by an emphasis on the legal, political, and geographical aspects of borders and by a state-centered approach. Too often, the question has been how states have dealt with their borderlands rather than how borderlands have dealt with their...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of world history 1997-10, Vol.8 (2), p.211-242
Main Authors: Baud, Michiel, Van Schendel, Willem
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Borderlands
Borders
Comparative Analysis
Comparative history
Cross Cultural Studies
Cultural Exchange
Cultural Influences
Cultural Interrelationships
Culture Contact
Economic development
Ethnic minorities
Geographic Regions
Higher Education
Historiography
History
Human Geography
Intercultural Communication
International borders
International politics
International Relations
Minorities
Nation state
Physical Geography
Political Divisions (Geographic)
Political History
Regional Characteristics
Smuggling
Social History
State
State formation
Territoriality
Territories
Territory
Treaties
United States history
World History
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Summary:The historical study of borderlands has been unduly restricted by an emphasis on the legal, political, and geographical aspects of borders and by a state-centered approach. Too often, the question has been how states have dealt with their borderlands rather than how borderlands have dealt with their states--culturally, economically, and politically. This article outlines a comparative approach to the social dynamics (struggles, adaptations, and cross-border alliances) in regions bisected by borders, and it argues that borderland studies provide an indispensable corrective to historical narratives that accept the territoriality to which all modern states lay claim.
ISSN:1045-6007
1527-8050
1527-8050
DOI:10.1353/jwh.2005.0061