国外政治地理学边界理论研究进展与评述

As a classic domain of political geography, the study of borders has since the early 1990s undergone a renaissance prompted by both the end of the Cold War and globalisation. New theoretical perspectives and conceptual changes have emerged in border studies. This paper summarises the evolution of research topics, methods and theoretical foundations of border studies by reviewing the international literature. As border studies have become more interdisciplinary, the conceptualisation of borders now goes beyond the traditional understanding as lines which spatially separate countries. Most contemporary scholars emphasise the dynamics, multiple scales, the spatiality and the diversity of the border concept. They pay more attention to social practices at different spatial scales and to the symbolic aspects of borders, which are constantly created and recreated. The authors of this paper suggest an extension of border theories derived from national-level borders to the study of micro-level borders in urban space, and strengthening the integration of border theories and geopolitical theories.