Everybody’s talking about borders these days. Whether it’s the US southern border, Ukraine’s boundaries, or seemingly any square inch in the Middle East, it’s in the news. But at least there’s the comfort that borders have been carefully and thoughtfully drawn, and based on logic considering geographical, ethnic and political aspects.
Nope.
British journalist Jonn Elledge, who has made something of a career explaining puzzling bits of the modern world, is up to explaining the reasons (or lack) behind today’s national boundaries. In A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders, he takes a light tone to explain the weirdness behind today’s world map. And there is a lot of weirdness. Why are so many lines in the Middle East as straight as if drawn by a ruler? Why do homeowners of a town straddling the Belgium/Netherlands border have to think about the placement of their front doors? Why have the number of dashes on a map of the South China Sea borderlands resulted in the banning of the film Abominable in Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines? And just how does one agree on borders when divvying up the sea? Or the air? Or where there is literally nothing—like Space? Some of it, Elledge fairly contends, has a lot to do with the messy remnants of feudalism and the colossal greed and stupidity of European governments during the Colonial era (looking at you, Great Britain). But just as many are to do with the usual human vices: us vs them, the scramble for resources, stubbornness and/or laziness, or even just the sheer desire to have more than the neighbors. As humankind pushes into worlds and spaces (and Space) previously uncontested, lines tend to get a lot of murkier even as technology is supposed to be making those boundaries clearer (just ask why the Nicaraguan military doesn’t recommend Google maps). Elledge keeps the tone throughout his explanations light and doesn’t go into tremendous detail, but does acknowledge that the issues raised can (and have had) life-and-death consequences. After all, the posturing at the India-Pakistan border might provoke giggles today, but the ceremony remains rooted in the cataclysmic partition of 1947 that claimed millions of lives.
Elledge provides a ‘Further Reading’ selection for readers who wish to delve deeper into any one topic. A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders will appeal most to readers of light history, anyone wishing for an introduction into geography or even just an explanation into why the world is currently the way it is—and where it might be headed.