CfP: Special issue entitled “Borders in Motion: Narratives of Cooperation and Conflict”
Call for Papers for a Special Issue:
“Borders in Motion: Narratives of Cooperation and Conflict”
Borders are dynamic constructs that consist of political, cultural, social, historical, and geographical elements. More than mere lines on a map, they are zones of the landscape where identities, sovereignties, and geopolitical interests blend and overlap. They are shaped by cultural exchanges, economic interactions, and social relationships. Throughout history and up to this day, borders and borderlands have always been grounds for negotiation, transformation, and conflict.
This special issue invites contributions that explore the diverse dimensions of borders, both as connectors and as separators. We welcome contributions offering historical, political, geographical, cultural, and social perspectives on borders, including research on their evolution over time. Submissions should focus on North America, Europe, and post-Soviet Eurasia, but studies of other regions are also encouraged provided they offer conceptual innovations or comparative insights.
Proposed subtopics may include, but are not limited to:
- Historical evolution of borders as political constructs in colonial, postcolonial, and contemporary contexts
- Borders as shapers of national, ethnic, and cultural identities
- Border crossings as lieux de mémoire and sites of political symbolism
- Securitization and militarization of borders in contemporary geopolitics
- Governance of borders and conflict resolution
- Border crossings as lieux de mémoire and sites of political symbolism
- Securitization and militarization of borders in contemporary geopolitics
- Governance of borders and conflict resolution
- Borders as areas of inclusion and exclusion
- Cross-border cooperation and conflicts
- City twins that straddle borders: governance, infrastructure, and cultural dynamics
- International and regional approaches to border policies and practices
- The lasting effects of former, dissolved boundaries and the phenomenon of phantom borders
- Migration patterns, border crises, and the weaponization of refugee flows
- Climate change and environmental challenges in border regions
- Digital borders, transnational data flows, and related security challenges
- Borders in literature, art, cinema, and media as metaphors for social and political boundaries
- Interdisciplinary approaches to the study of borders in the twenty-first century
Articles must be written in English and ideally should be 6,000 to 9,000 words long (excluding footnotes and abstract). Submissions should be sent to the editorial team at stuter@fsv.cuni.cz or uploaded via the Studia Territorialia journal management system. Authors should consult the journal’s submission guidelines for further instructions and style. All contributions are subject to double-blind peer review.
Deadline for submission of abstracts (no more than 300 words): January 31, 2025.
Notification of status by: February 10, 2025.
Deadline for submission of articles: April 15, 2025.
Acta Universitatis Carolinae – Studia Territorialia is a leading Czech peer-reviewed academic journal focusing on area studies. It covers the history and the social, political, and economic affairs of the nations of North America, Europe, and post-Soviet Eurasia in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The journal is published by the Institute of International Studies of Charles University, Prague. It is indexed in the SCOPUS, ERIH PLUS, EBSCO, DOAJ, CEEOL databases, among others.
For further information, please feel free to contact the editors at stuter@fsv.cuni.cz.