Rethinking the Nation-State from the Frontier

Abstract

The former frontiers of the European empires,* and the British Empire in particular, pose significant challenges for the study of the nation-state. I argue that countries such as Sudan and Somalia are not simply struggling to be states (the `failed state' thesis), but are struggling with the very concept of statehood as understoodin the contemporary world. This concept views the state as a hermetically sealed geographic container in which sovereign power is exercised by an extensive central government. Stable administration and sustainable development in frontier regions — generally agreed to be a precondition for improved global security as well as desirable on humanitarian grounds — may require moving beyond this view and rethinking the preconditionsfor successful state-building. Ideas of radical decentralisation, confederation and porous borders may provide an opportunity for exploring not just new modes of governance on the frontier but the applicability of such thinking to the state system more broadly.