Homology of social and spatial borders

Abstract

Borders naturally create distinctions between groups or systems. Drawing boundaries helps organize space and separate what is “inside” from what is “outside” the nation-state, social groups, organizations, and historical eras. Each system’s unique traits and patterns set it apart from what lies outside it. Boundary-related practices generate and shape meanings, uphold internal order, and establish a hierarchy among categorized entities. Attempts to blur boundaries, in the opinion of their defenders, threaten the system's stability. Borders are usually unnatural and require symbolic marking. In social interactions, they serve to create and maintain distinctions between arbitrarily established groups (ethnic, religious, linguistic, social) resulting from power-based socio-cultural relations. Signs of power, such as walls, fences, gates, checkpoints, flags, signs, and information boards, mark spatial boundaries. These boundary artifacts and spatial demarcation practices reinforce each other and the social boundaries they delineate.

The heterotopic combination of real and imagined borders can trigger a strong need to protect internal space and order from external influences perceived as threats. Their image is shaped by social discourse. The result can be stimulated by politically xenophobic actions aimed at preventing the immigration of people perceived as “foreigners.” These often stimulate and manipulate fears, manifesting themselves, among other things, in strict border policies, a striking example of which is the heavily guarded Polish-Belarusian border, which highlights the connection between social and spatial borders.