"Compelling and accessible, this Very Short Introduction challenges common perceptions of borders as merely lines on maps or physical barriers snaking across the landscape. Instead, borders are shown to be powerful forces integral to the economic, social, political, and environmental processes that shape our lives. By highlighting their prominent role in global history and across a gamut of contemporary international events, Alexander Diener and Joshua Hagen demonstrate the impact borders have on a range of issues spanning economic development and inequality, inter- and intra-state conflict, migration, nationalism, international law, human rights, environmental sustainability, climate change, public health, and natural resource management and thereby provide a powerful counterpoint to the idea of an emerging borderless world. Even as some scholars and activists argue for open borders, unfettered movement, or the elimination of the territorial nation state, Diener and Hagen emphasize how and why borders have been, are currently, and will undoubtedly remain critical topics for the social sciences, domestic politics, and international affairs for the foreseeable future. This concise volume will appeal to a broad, interdisciplinary audience of scholars, practitioners, and students, including geographers, political scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, historians, experts in international relations and law, and anyone interested in a deeper understanding of current events. Whether taking the form of fenced national borders, gerrymandered electoral districts, bounded economic spaces, or private gated communities, demarcations of political and social spaces protect, structure, and shape our lives. This book offers readers an introduction to the diverse theoretical and philosophical perspectives on borders and their multifaceted roles shaping the twenty-first century"--