The Political Economy of Divided Islands Unified Geographies, Multiple Polities

by Baldacchino, Godfrey

• ISBN13: 9781137023124
• ISBN10: 1137023120
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-02-21
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

An island's boundary where it meets the sea is self-evident and non-negotiable. But a land boundary is contestable: it can be changed and shifted to suit, reflecting power politics, the outcome of victor and vanquished in warfare, or negotiated compromise. There are today only ten inhabited islands where both these dynamics pan out. This text is the first to focus on the intriguing political economy of these rare, shared island spaces. It examines the fascination, and obsession, with islands as unitary geographies and polities; and explores the tensions in contemporary 'divided islands' as in the case of formal and informal, legal and illegal 'border crossings' and practices - from both 'island studies' and 'international relations' perspectives.

Author Biography

Godfrey Baldacchino is Canada Research Chair , University of Prince Edward Island, Canada; Visiting Professor of Sociology, University of Malta, Malta; Vice-President of the International Small Islands Studies Association; and Executive Editor of Island Studies Journal. Recent books include: The Case for Non-Sovereignty (2009) and Island Enclaves (2010).

Table of Contents

To come