Representing Geopolitics of (Hydro) Borders in S outh A sia

Abstract

In the tradition of political geography, the concept of boundary/border has been of major importance where researchers have understood it mainly as an empirical manifestation of political processes and particularly of the sovereignty of the state. But borders not only represent a ‘fixed line’ in space or time, rather, they need to be understood as being produced and reproduced in the socio‐spatial consciousness of society a (broader form of consciousness that reflects the ideological and hegemonic structures). Therefore, it is argued here that boundaries, apart from being located on terra‐firma as a physical line, also exist metaphorically, symbolically in many ways as a manifestation of socio‐spatial consciousness and as ‘plays of power’ that generate and exert various codes, rules and procedures of ‘distinction’ in the process of Othering such as us/them, sacred/profane, inclusive/exclusive, to impose specific understanding through the construction of knowledge in sociocultural practices and discourses in politics, administration, economics, or the organization of ethnic relations on various scales.

Wounds that won't heal: cartographic anxieties and the quest for territorial integrity in Georgia

“…Many have examined the concept of cartographic anxiety, with a particular emphasis on examining various aspects within Indian society (Dodds 2000, Ramaswamy 2002, Saroch 2003, Saroch 2005, Brosius 2005, Das 2008a, Das 2008b, Smith 2011. Others have pointed out important similarities and connections with the concept of cartographic anxieties, though without a sustained discussion of the concept (for example, Campbell 1999, Corbridge 1999, Peckham 2000, Weiss 2002, Korf 2006, Agnew 2010, Koch 2011.…”