Border areas and land confines: Litigations, defense, and development
Darques, R. (2024). Border areas and land confines: Litigations, defense, and development, in: Darques, R. et al. The geography of Greece: Managing crises and building resilience. World Regional Geography Book Series, : pp. 81-112. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29819-6_6
In: Darques, R.; Sidiropoulos, G.; Kalabokidis, K. (Ed.) (2024). The geography of Greece: Managing crises and building resilience. World Regional Geography Book Series. Springer: Cham. ISBN 978-3-031-29818-9. IX, 532 pp. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29819-6, meer
In: World Regional Geography Book Series. Springer/International Geographical Union: Cham. ISSN 2363-9083; e-ISSN 2363-9091, meer
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| Author keywords |
Borderlands · Boundaries · State confines · Defense · Litigations · Territorial dynamics |
| Abstract |
In the aftermath of World War II, Greece became a besieged citadel surrounded by hostile neighbors. For about 50 years, the Iron Curtain imposed its law on vast areas doomed to underdevelopment and placed under direct or undirect military supervision. The border issue in Greece, its present weight, and historical legacies are key to understand how the country achieved its development in the face of adversity; to such a point that border and boundary may be seen as universal concepts encompassing all dimensions and areas of applied geography in Greece.Nation building is an emancipation movement implying the definition of boundaries that remain mobile until opposing territorial dynamics between neighbors reach a balance and settle down. These dynamics influence the structure of the state and its internal functioning. Between 1832 and 1947 Greece has been engaged in a process of territorial expansion against its neighbors, in the first rank of which was the Ottoman Empire. Over that period, Athens also managed to achieve a simultaneous “internal colonization” whose outcomes are still entangled today in land use, planning practices, and territorial administration. One might admit that the oversized centrality of the Greek capital is the product of a systematic enterprise aiming to empty any land confine of all substance for safety and defense reasons. This paper will address the litigations, development issues, and territorial dynamics related to border and boundary geography. |
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