Telling the Past, Drawing the Borders, Imagining the Nations

In the statement that opens the second part of the Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men, J.J. Rousseau establishes a strong relationship between the formation of civil society and the creation of borders. In Rousseau's reasoning, the success of the demarcation of a territory depends on putting forward arguments convincing enough to persuade a certain number of individuals to believe in the legitimacy of that action. From 1755 to the present day, reflection on these issues has developed considerably, especially since the second half of the 20th century. The formation-process of the European Union; decolonisation and the debate over the principle of the inviolability of borders between African states; the intensification of exchanges in the world of globalisation; the stresses provoked by questions of citizenship rights and levels of migration; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the emergence of new states in Eastern Europe and in general the proliferation of borders between states in the world; these are but some of the many processes that have favoured a constant presence of borders in political discourse and the prominence of border studies in cultural and academic debate. Rousseau's argument on the relationship between the agents involved in the phenomenon of bordering remains valid: simplifying greatly, we can say that whoever asserts or claims any right over a territory, and thus asserts the legitimacy of a border, must do so convincingly; otherwise that claim falters. The strategies and instruments employed in this demonstration of legitimacy are manifold, although in most cases they are conveyed by violence. Our project takes place, at least in the intentions that led us to conceive it, in this arena. The historical question around which we hope to inspire debate concerns the role of the ideological use of the past in the strategies put in place to enhance the existence, the construction, the redefinition of certain national borders; or, on the contrary, to question them. The possible declinations of this theme are innumerable, both because of the multiplicity of places affected by these phenomena, and because of the chronological interconnections that the political use of history can sometimes bring into focus. For this reason, our proposal can only explore a limited sample of cases within a potentially enormous range. We have chosen to select a number of case studies from a broad, global-historical perspective, in order to compare different intellectual experiences and historical specificities.

Start typing to search

Telling the Past, Drawing the Borders, Imagining the Nations

Abstract

Convenor

Panelists

Papers

The border debate between Italy and France

The theoretical assumptions and the formation of the idea of a Greater Germany

The Balkans and Panslavism

Eastern Europe and Russification

The transformation of borders in the decolonisation of the African continent

The ideological use of the pre-Columbian past in the debate between Pan-Americanism and the formation of nation states

Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigation