ABSTRACT

One element of state sovereignty is the control of entry and exit across boundaries. In most states, control is conspicuous at authorised crossing points on the land boundary, at specifi c sea ports on the coast and at international airports. Elsewhere along the land boundary there may be patrols and, increasingly commonly, fences or various forms of detection. Depending upon the physical landscape, transboundary movement and detection range widely in diffi culty. A geometrical boundary across a desert plain may be far easier to cross than a mountain range but detection is far simpler. Therefore, there are natural controls which render a boundary more or less porous. On the coast, between authorised entry ports, there are likely to be smaller harbours and inlets together with isolated uninhabited stretches. In the Middle East the coast guard system, whether operated from land or sea, is of limited effectiveness. It must also be borne in mind that the legal limits of the state are beyond the coastline and are represented by claims for territorial waters and exclusive economic zones or agreed boundaries with neighbouring states. To control the waters of a state requires relatively sophisticated naval patrols and few Middle Eastern states have signifi cant navies. For well-organised groups, illegal entry may be effected through small airfi elds or unmetalled runways. The desert landscape is particularly suitable for the operation of illegal airstrips.