The South Border: Drawing the Line in Shifting (Political) Sands

Abstract

What is UNIFIL drawing in south of Lebanon and what does it create? The hypothesis stated here is that by marking a line on the border, UNIFIL is de facto defining a new political geography blurring the limit between Blue Line and borderline. The first part of this paper will recall the UNSCR 425 that helped to identify the Blue Line in 2000 after the Israeli withdrawal. The second part will illustrate with examples the plural dimension of the border within the same space–time and how UNIFIL's actions contribute to the establishment of frontier zones in some contested delineation spaces. In a third part, the paper will explore the manner in which UNIFIL is redefining boundaries among actors in monitoring the Tripartite Meeting Commission, showing the interdependency that exists between enemies.