Approaching border(land)s as border complexities

Border studies increasingly speak of border(land)s as complex objects that, beyond their supposedly one-dimensional, linear material and territorial manifestations, depend on the interplay of different practices, discourses, artifacts, bodies, and knowledges in order to become effective as emergent border(land)s. In this talk, we will discuss a perspective on (contested) border(land)s as border complexities and ask about the methodological consequences of such an approach. The argument is that it is complex and textured processes that make border(land)s ordered and orderly spaces of negotiation and adaptation.
The talk traces the development of complexity thinking in border studies and shows that current approaches not only differ in their consistency in implementing complexity-theoretical thinking but also circulate different versions of what is referred to as complex in border(land)s. In terms of conceptual synthesis, we outline the bordertextures approach, which is inspired by complexity theory and able to grasp complex border(land)s.
The talk concludes with methodological principles that can guide empirical studies of border(land)s research, which is confronted with the increasing multiplicity and complexity of its research objects. Thus, a complexity perspective calls for a methodological introspection that allows us to uncover the order of the border(land)s themselves – thus making it possible to understand how or what makes border(land)s contested and textured spaces of complex negotiation and adaptation.