Description
From Frontiers to Borders explores the crucial role of colonial technicians in creating the modern system of fixed territorial boundaries. Rather than treating borders as natural or inevitable, Kerry Goettlich demonstrates how surveyors, mapmakers, administrators, and engineers actively constructed the concept of territoriality through technological innovation and bureaucratic practice.
The book argues that the transition from fluid, contested frontiers to demarcated borders was not a straightforward process but rather involved specific technical practices, tools, and knowledge systems developed by colonial officials. By examining case studies from various colonial contexts, Goettlich reveals how mapping technologies, boundary commissions, and administrative procedures transformed territorial organization across the globe.
Essential for understanding how modern nation-states emerged from colonial projects, this work offers crucial insights into the relationship between technology, governance, and territorial control that continues to shape international relations today.
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