Geographic Borders: Borders: A Very Short Introduction, by Alexander C. Diener and Joshua Hagen

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Borders: A Very Short Introduction, by Alexander C. Diener and Joshua Hagen, is a brief the history of geographic borders and their implications on the world throughout history. Diener and Hagen make the argument that borders, as commonly understood today, are a relatively new phenomenon and as humanity moves forward borders modern boarders will no longer be possible. The writers maintain as globalization continues to make the world a smaller place or as they say, “make the world flat”, the notion of the formal state border is slowly coming to an end. Acknowledging that borders as they are understood today will not vanish overnight and will be here for the foreseeable future but in time they must change is central to their argument (Diener & Hagen, 2012). In making their case they give the reader a brief history of geographic boarders and how the modern nation state came about.
As nomadic societies evolved into cities, then city-states states, and eventually empires, established borders slowly began to take shape. From the Sumerians around 4000 BCE to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 what was first nothing more than a loosely guarded line of demarcation eventually became the firm geographic borders used around the world today. Diener and Hagen detail how these borders have been used as both unifying and dividing forces since the beginning, but as globalization continues to sweep the planet the idea of borders and how they are used must be reevaluated. In their final paragraph the writers summarize their argument by expressing as globalization continues to move forward it is important to reevaluate modern understanding of borders and the impacts they have on the world community (Diener & Hagen, 2012).
Despite the briefness of the...

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...be it would be better served as an introduction as opposed to something that is offered at the end of the semester. Borders offers a brief overview of the important issues the students will encounter over the course of the semester. The book would be a great way to introduce students to the ideas they would be encountering during the coming semester. It would be a great way to prepare them for what they are going to read each module in the Key Concepts book. Therefore Borders receives thumbs up when considering whether it should be used in future classes or not.

Works Cited

Diener, A. C., & Hagen, J. (2012). Borders:A Very Short Introduction. Great Britian: Oxford University Press. Retrieved March 1, 2014
Gallaher, C., Dahlman, C. T., Gilmartin, M., Mountz, A., & Shirlow. (2009). Key Concepts in Political Journey. Thousand Oaks, California, United States: SAGE.

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