Invisible countries : journeys to the edge of nationhood / Joshua Keating ; maps by Bill Nelson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Keating, Joshua, author.

Contributor:

Nelson, Bill (Cartographer), illustrator.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Boundaries--Anthropological aspects.

Boundaries.

Sovereignty.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (295 pages) : illustrations, maps

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven ; London : Yale University Press, 2018.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

A thoughtful analysis of how our world's borders came to be and why we may be emerging from a lengthy period of "cartographical stasis" What is a country? While certain basic criteria-borders, a government, and recognition from other countries-seem obvious, journalist Joshua Keating's book explores exceptions to these rules, including self-proclaimed countries such as Abkhazia, Kurdistan, and Somaliland, a Mohawk reservation straddling the U.S.-Canada border, and an island nation whose very existence is threatened by climate change. Through stories about these would-be countries' efforts at self-determination, as well as their respective challenges, Keating shows that there is no universal legal authority determining what a country is. He argues that although our current world map appears fairly static, economic, cultural, and environmental forces in the places he describes may spark change. Keating ably ties history to incisive and sympathetic observations drawn from his travels and personal interviews with residents, political leaders, and scholars in each of these "invisible countries."

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Author's Note

Introduction: What Is a Country?

1. How Countries Conquered the World

2. A Nation between Countries

3. The Invisible Country

4. The Dream of Independence

5. The Country Vanishes

Conclusion: The New Map

Notes

Acknowledgments

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780300235050

0300235054

OCLC:

1125188099