ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the state of the art of infrastructure integration history and some of the historical myths surrounding infrastructures. It presents the following arguments: The limits of integration points to the fact that integration projects often fail or do not have the intended effects; The dialectics of integration and fragmentation shows the inevitable ambivalence of any form of integration be it political, social or territorial; Infrastructure as tool for social exclusion, segregation and persecutionreminds us that technical infrastructure, far from serving benign goals, often is explicitly aimed at excluding or suppressing people. The other category, Infrastructure causing conflicts, highlights the fact that political unrest and friction may be triggered by infrastructure projects. Connection is the very nature of transportation, energy and, above all, communication networks. Ralf Roth highlights their capacity of connecting and surmounting frontiers. This aspect is an integral part of common definitions of the 'network' itself, presented as 'human made, materially integrated structures that cross national boundaries'.
