On Borders: Territories, Legitimacy, and the Rights of Place: Territories, Legitimacy, and the Rights of Place

When are borders justified? Who has a right to control them? Where should they be drawn? People today think of borders as an island’s shores. Just as beaches delimit a castaway’s realm, so borders define the edge of a territory occupied by a unified people, to whom the land legitimately belongs. Hence a territory is legitimate only if it belongs to a people unified by civic identity. Sadly, this Desert Island Model of territorial politics forces us to choose. If a country seeks to have a legitimate territory, it can either have democratic legitimacy or inclusion of different civic identities—but not both. The resulting politics creates mass xenophobia, migrant bashing, hoarding of natural resources, and border walls. On Borders presents an alternative model. Drawing on an intellectual tradition concerned with how land and climate shape institutions, this book argues that we should not see territories as pieces of property owned by identity groups. Instead, we should see them as watersheds: as interconnected systems where institutions, people, the biota, and the land together create overlapping civic duties and relations, what the book calls place-specific duties. This Watershed Model argues that borders are justified when they allow us to fulfill those duties; that border-control rights spring from internationally agreed conventions—not from internal legitimacy, that borders should be governed cooperatively by the neighboring states and the states system, and that border redrawing should be done with environmental conservation in mind. The book explores how this model undoes the exclusionary politics of desert islands. Présentation de l'éditeur : "When are borders justified? Who has a right to control them? Where should they be drawn? Today people think of borders as an island's shores. Just as beaches delimit a castaway's realm, so borders define the edges of a territory, occupied by a unified people, to whom the land legitimately belongs. Hence a territory is legitimate only if it belongs to a people unified by a civic identity. Sadly, this Desert Island Model of territorial politics forces us to choose. If we want territories, then we can either have democratic legitimacy, or inclusion of different civic identities--but not both. The resulting politics creates mass xenophobia, migrant-bashing, hoarding of natural resources, and border walls. To escape all this, On Borders presents an alternative model. Drawing on an intellectual tradition concerned with how land and climate shape institutions, it argues that we should not see territories as pieces of property owned by identity groups. Instead, we should see them as watersheds: as interconnected systems where institutions, people, the biota, and the land together create overlapping civic duties and relations, what the book calls place-specific duties. This Watershed Model argues that borders are justified when they allow us to fulfill those duties; that border-control rights spring from internationally-agreed conventions--not from internal legitimacy; that borders should be governed cooperatively by the neighboring states and the states system; and that border redrawing should be done with environmental conservation in mind. The book explores how this model undoes the exclusionary politics of desert islands." "When are borders justified? Who has a right to control them? Where should they be drawn? Today people think of borders as an island's shores. Just as beaches delimit a castaway's realm, so borders define the edges of a territory, occupied by a unified people, to whom the land legitimately belongs. Hence a territory is legitimate only if it belongs to a people unified by a civic identity. Sadly, this Desert Island Model of territorial politics forces us to choose. If we want territories, then we can either have democratic legitimacy, or inclusion of different civic identities-but not both. The resulting politics creates mass xenophobia, migrant-bashing, hoarding of natural resources, and border walls. To escape all this, On Borders presents an alternative model. Drawing on an intellectual tradition concerned with how land and climate shape institutions, it argues that we should not see territories as pieces of property owned by identity groups. Instead, we should see them as watersheds: as interconnected systems where institutions, people, the biota, and the land together create overlapping civic duties and relations, what the book calls place-specific duties. This Watershed Model argues that borders are justified when they allow us to fulfill those duties; that border-control rights spring from internationally-agreed conventions-not from internal legitimacy; that borders should be governed cooperatively by the neighboring states and the state's system, and that border redrawing should be done with environmental conservation in mind. The book explores how this model undoes the exclusionary politics of desert islands"-- Provided by publisher When are borders justified? Who has a right to control them? Where should they be drawn?Today people think of borders as an island's shores. Just as beaches delimit a castaway's realm, so borders define the edges of a territory, occupied by a unified people, to whom the land legitimately belongs. Hence a territory is legitimate only if it belongs to a people unified by a civic identity. Sadly, this Desert Island Model of territorial politics forces us to choose. If we want territories, then we can either have democratic legitimacy, or inclusion of different civic identities--but not both. The resulting politics creates mass xenophobia, migrant-bashing, hoarding of natural resources, and border walls.To escape all this, On Borders presents an alternative model. Drawing on an intellectual tradition concerned with how land and climate shape institutions, it argues that we should not see territories as pieces of property owned by identity groups. Instead, we should see them as watersheds: as interconnected systems where institutions, people, the biota, and the land together create overlapping civic duties and relations, what the book calls place-specific duties.This Watershed Model argues that borders are justified when they allow us to fulfill those duties; that border-control rights spring from internationally-agreed conventions--not from internal legitimacy; that borders should be governed cooperatively by the neighboring states and the states system; and that border redrawing should be done with environmental conservation in mind. The book explores how this model undoes the exclusionary politics of desert islands. Introduction -- Part I. Taking identity too seriously: Against the desert island model of territorial politics -- The desert island model of territorial politics -- What do borders divide? Peoples, places, jurisdictions -- Democratic legitimacy and the vicious circle of people and territory -- Natural borders: From the natural boundaries of states to ecological accounts of territory -- Part II. Taking place seriously: For the watershed model of territorial politics -- The topian tradition: A forgotten alternative to utopianism -- How place-specific duties make borders morally relevant -- The watershed: A (not so) new model for territories and border Placement -- Part III. The morality of border politics in the real world: Applying the watershed model -- Grounds of border control and shared border governance -- Immigration: Rights based on presence rather than identity -- Sharing ecosystems: Rivers as an example of transborder resource use and cooperation -- What Is wrong with border walls? Cover On Borders Copyright Dedication Contents Preface Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: From Identity to Place Part I 2. The Desert Island Model of Territorial Politics 3. What Do Borders Divide? Peoples, Places, Jurisdictions 4. Democratic Legitimacy and the Vicious Circle of People and Territory 5. Natural Borders: From the Natural Boundaries of States to Ecological Accounts of Territory Part II 6. The Topian Tradition: A Forgotten Alternative to Utopianism 7. How Place-​Specific Duties Make Borders Morally Relevant 8. The Watershed: A (Not So) New Model for Territorial Scales and Border Placement Part III 9. Grounds of Border Control and Shared Border Governance 10. Immigration: Rights Based on Presence Rather Than Identity 11. Sharing Ecosystems: Rivers as an Example of Transborder Resource Use and Cooperation 12. What Is Wrong with Border Walls? Envoi Bibliography Index 'On Borders' asks when are borders legitimate, and it offers a new theory to answer the question. The text challenges critical and normative theories that criticize or justify borders solely in terms of identity (who you are), and instead frames borders and border legitimacy from the perspective of place and presence (where you are). Instead of thinking of borders as the exclusionary limit of identity groups (a 'desert island model'), the work develops a theory of territorial jurisdictions grounded on place-specific relations, giving central roles to urban settings and the environment. Paulina Ochoa Espejo calls this the 'watershed model' of territorial rights and borders