Transboundary area: methodological considerations

Abstract

Against the backdrop of rich theoretisation of borders, the nodal importance of the transboundary area requires articulating its conceptual, methodological, and analytical potential. Focusing on the subject of state borders, through terminology review the article contributes to better structuring the idea of a single zone, marginal for the centers on the both sides of the divide, as well as to presenting the transboundary in its capacities of a spatial level of operation, a medium, and a tool of analysis. It then sketches the transboundary area problem pattern that can be investigated within the same framework, being a transborder problem stemming from the perceptions of limits of sovereign responsibility and manifesting itself in negative effects from processes in inner polity regions and across the border. The article also discusses possible practical usage of the framework, providing the example of its applicability in transnational environmental governance research.

Keywords

• border studies
• terminology
• spatiality
• international governance