A Research Agenda for Border Studies

Elgar Research Agendas

Edited by James W. Scott, Professor of Regional and Border Studies, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland

This innovative Research Agenda uncovers links between different levels of border-making processes, or bordering, from the political to the cognitive, and connects everyday processes and experiences of border-making to the wider social world. It addresses the question of how everyday bordering practices and discourses can be productively linked to different aspects of social relations.

‘A Research Agenda for Border Studies, edited by James W. Scott, is a timely and concise sweep of border theory as it has developed over the past two decades. Drawing upon a number of theoretical perspectives and case studies, this engaging book provides a clear understanding of the state of borders in global perspective. Chapters are written by both established and emerging border scholars, and each provides a careful examination of border theory and analysis at different scales and in different locations. The result is a study of borders from multiple perspectives and through very different lenses. A must read if you want to know why borders matter more and more in a contemporary world and networked world.’
– Heather Nicol, Trent University, Canada

‘This book ably answers a necessary question: what is a relevant research agenda for border studies in an age of post-disciplinary scholarly inquiry? The contributors to this volume, individually and collectively, show that while borders today may be seen to be inescapably political, they are also inescapably cultural, social and economic. This is a must-read book for those who seek both a starting point and inspiration for their own study of borders in the contemporary world.’
– Thomas M Wilson, Binghamton University, State University of New York, US

‘At a pivotal time when right-wing populists and responses to a global pandemic are erecting new borders, Scott and a diverse team of international and interdisciplinary critical scholars are setting a new agenda for critical border studies. An important book giving hope for a brighter future.’
– Harald Bauder, Ryerson University, Canada