Borders and Breakdowns: Exploring Boundary Types and Dysfunctions

“A Political Geographer’s Take on Territorial Boundaries and Their Disruptive Effects, Focusing on Africa”

Submitted by Meryl McBride (aka Merrill Johnson, Ph.D., Professor of Geography [Ret.], Colorado State University)

Boundaries are everywhere and everyone is subject to them, both to their benefit and to their detriment.  Boundaries divide people’s spaces at all levels, from their personal-space envelopes to the corporate spaces that we call states.  The purpose of this presentation is to examine the meaning of the territorial boundary, its types, its benefits and detriments, and how it is constructed, with emphasis on the disruptive effects of Europe’s superimposed African boundaries.