“Imagined” and “Phantom” Borders in the Anthropological Perspective

Abstract

The paper analyzes such anthropological concepts as “imagined” and “phantom” borders, which are well developed in western social sciences. The core of these concepts is the way of interpreting border as a part of human experience, including the traumatic historical one. According to this, the old physical boundaries do not disappear, but instead they are transformed into “imagined” borders and gain a new life in the form of everyday symbolic manifestations – stereotypes, cliches, beliefs, stigmas, othering, etc. The “phantom” borders arose in the places of old territorial divisive lines (e.g. administrative borders of the former states including great empires) that had already disappeared from the political and administrative maps due to historical changes. Although these borders are absent physically, they continue to influence both the local communities and the entire societies that were formed in the relevant territories later. The “phantom” border paradigm can serve as a useful tool while researching the interaction of time, space, and history, cultural neighborhood and inter-confessional relationships, as well as the traumatic past which is not reconciled. In general terms, the concepts of “imagined” and “phantom” borders could be the methodological basis for interpretations of local regionalism and separatist tendencies. Regarding the current social and political challenges of the Ukrainian society, the mentioned anthropological categories seem to be quite a promising research agenda to elaborate on.