By bringing into dialogue modern systems theory and international relations, this text provides theoretically innovative and empirically rich perspectives on co

Douglas M. Gibler argues that threats to homeland territories force domestic political centralization within the state. Using an innovative theory of state deve

Predictions that globalization would undermine territorial attachments and weaken the sources of territorial conflict have not been realized in recent decades.

Compelling and accessible, this Very Short Introduction challenges the perception of borders as passive lines on a map, revealing them instead to be integral fo