ABSTRACT
The main argument of this chapter is that a social conflict marks a distinction in the relationship of the parties involved and that this distinction draws a border between them. While borders are always a social construction, these constructions are often embedded in a spatial context. This chapter, thus, rests upon the assumption that borders can be understood in a geographical, territorial, social or cultural sense. Moreover, due to the proximity of the two concepts of ‘conflict’ and ‘border’, it is argued here that any conceptualization of ‘borders’ requires a substantiated understanding of social conflict, thereby accounting for the social preconditions of any particular border. Such an argument can, thus, also be read as a critique of conventional conflict theory, also in IR, which often takes for granted what, rather, requires further explanation. It will hence be argued in this chapter that a better understanding of social conflict does also contribute to a better understanding of borders. This argument is also of direct relevance to our understanding of conflicts in international relations, since it also offers a fresh perspective on territorial border conflicts.
