ABSTRACT
Borders and other geo-territorial modes of separation have been the aftereffects of changing national sovereignty structures. With the phrase “politics on border” we refer to two different dimensions of the politics of the Pakistan–Afghanistan borderland—geopolitical and critical. Our analyses are aimed at negotiating the complexity of relationship between border and territory. While this complexity is generally noticeable in other border venues as well, the case of the Pakistan–Afghanistan border is distinct because of its peculiar topology, the mountainous terrain. As the War on Terror, which embodies such a narrow security mentality, continues we argue that it is time to revisit the Pakistan–Afghanistan borderland to reflect on the changing geostrategic realities, state discourses, and border-making practices. In addition, we need to heed the subjects involved in border conflicts by focusing on the phenomenology of the border encounters through which the border is made and/or unmade. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
