Why are International Boundaries so Frequently the Source of Conflict Essay

Why are International Boundaries so Frequently the Source of Conflict between States - Essay Example Boundaries define a geographical or a political entity or a legal jurisdiction that is entitled to a nation and in this regard a government, state or any other administrative divisions. Borders can be defined as a buffered zone that separates between two or more geographical regions. Some of the borders are fully or are partially controlled and crossing from one point to another can be legal or illegal. Therefore boarders can be termed as anything the separates between two geographical entities which may be defined by a political entity or which can be defined by any other term that can distinguish between two regions. International boundaries are therefore areas that separate two or more nations and defined that legal jurisdiction of any state or any government. (Glassier, 1999) Unlike in the modern times when we are having some more defined border regions, borders in the past were not clearly marked or clearly defined and were just placed as neutral zones which were known as marchlands. Marchlands were, therefore, natural zones which were considered to be under no authority of any other legal entity but were sometimes placed under the authority of the international community. For example, the border conflict between Saudi Arabians border with Kuwait and Iraq was set up as a buffer zone or no man zone and placed at the and of the international community but they have recently been abolished and clear partitions created. Therefore there has been a trend in which the marchlands have been replaced by clearly defined and demarcated borders although there are still some marchlands especially in the long-standing border conflicts like between Ethiopia and Eritrea. (Taylor, 1995) Therefore as countries take a legal stance to protect their borders, there are some restrictions that are placed on the border for those who want to come in and out of the border geography. Therefore there is some border control that is given to each legal entity and which is extended to access for the region ethics through land, air or through seaports. Under the internals law, every country is given the right to put in place its own border definition laws that restrict or puts in place the conditions that have to be met by a person or animal that is entering or leaving that boundary region. In most practice password and visas are used as entry documents to border regions. These are legally abiding documents that are used to restrict the entry of people or animals in or out of these regions. This is meant to regulate the flow of immigration in a region especially when it comes to economic aspects of this immigration. The issue of immigration has apparently been one of the major caus es of conflict between nations. (Vinokurov, 2005) Therefore we can say that boundaries are persistent elements that define political geography in the world. It is very well reflected in the political, economic and social makeup of different legal entities in the world which define nations and states. A national boundary is one of the key areas that are given a lot of security by the armed forces of any nation or state and the reason behind the formation of the modern military might and personnel is to protect the boundaries of these regions. (Minghi, 2001) Â