Borderscapes – Borders’ Landscapes as a New Research Perspective
The last two decades brought a marked change in the way the border is understood. There was also a revival of discussion about the historical and social context of the border creation and functioning, which resulted in opening new theoretical perspectives. The concept of borderscapes is an attempt to complement and enrich the current way of thinking about borders by emphasizing the role of social and cultural aspects of shaping the space around borders. The inspiration for new ideas was both spatial and relational turn taking place in social sciences at the turn of the century. The aim of this article is to present the original way of conceptualizing and testing boundaries labeled as borderscapes. The perspective of borderscape brings a new view on reality and seeks theoretical and empirical possibilities to capture the complex, multidimensional social space that the borders set. This approach attempts to show the border as a dynamic transnational space of relations, discourses and social practices.