Introduction: Border, Frontier and the Geography of Rule at the Margins of the State

Abstract

Published in cooperation with the African Borderlands Research Network and the European Science Foundation African borderlands are among the continent's most creative and most rapidly changing social spaces, acting as theaters of identity formation and cultural exchange, of violent conflict and regional integration, of economic growth and sudden stagnation , of state building and state failure. Because their unique position at the margins of social and legal spaces offers more flexibility to social actors, borderlands reflect changes on the national level more quickly and more radically than most inland regions. They thus become hot spots of social activity and, on an academic level, ideal places to study social, political and economic change. The Palgrave Series in African Borderlands Studies is the first series dedicated to the exploration and theoretical interpretation of African borderlands. It contributes to core debates in a number of disciplines-namely political science, geography, economics, anthropology, history, sociology and law-and provides vital insights for practical politics in border-related issues, ranging from migration and regional integration to conflict resolution and peace-building.