Boundary Commission Research Articles

CANADA'S FIRST KNOWN DINOSAURS: PALAEONTOLOGY AND COLLECTING HISTORY OF UPPER CRETACEOUS VERTEBRATES IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA AND SASKATCHEWAN, 1874–1889

The early collecting history of dinosaurs and other fossil vertebrates in Western Canada during the 1870s and 1880s is poorly documented. Initial finds were made by the British North American Boundary Commission and the Geological Survey of Canada in modern Saskatchewan and Alberta but, beyond a few well-publicized examples, little is known about precisely what was found and where. Much of the collected material is now housed in the collections of the Canadian Museum of Nature in Gatineau, Quebec, and a recent survey of these historic finds allows for the first comprehensive narrative regarding their identity and procurement. The collection is heavily biased towards vertebral centra and phalanges, reflective of both taphonomic and collecting biases. Given current understanding of Upper Cretaceous assemblages of North America, ornithomimids and small theropods are overrepresented, whereas ceratopsids and ankylosaurs are underrepresented. Fossils from the Belly River Group are best represented, after repeated visits to the areas of present-day Dinosaur Provincial Park and Ross Coulee near Irvine, Alberta. Taxonomic identification of the material has yielded numerous first Canadian occurrences, in addition to some first global occurrences. The latter include the first ever occurrences of Caenagnathidae (1884) and Thescelosauridae (1889). The Upper Cretaceous fossil record of Western Canada is among the richest in the world, and has been thoroughly studied over the last century. These fossils have informed our understanding of dinosaur behaviour, taphonomy, ecology, diversity dynamics, and extinction, among other aspects. But, like the animals themselves, the story of Canada's dinosaur-hunting legacy had humble beginnings—a story that has not been fully revealed before now.

Border Spaces: Visualizing the U.S.-Mexico Frontera ed. by Katherine G. Morrisey and John-Michael Warner

Reviewed by: Border Spaces: Visualizing the U.S.-Mexico Frontera ed. by Katherine G. Morrisey and John-Michael Warner Henry Way Border Spaces: Visualizing the U.S.-Mexico Frontera. Katherine G. Morrisey and John-Michael Warner, eds. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2018. Pp. viii+239, photographs, notes. $35.00, paperback, ISBN 978-0-8165-3946-8. When the editors of this engaging collection of essays on the US-Mexico borderlands talk in their introduction of "interdisciplinary conversation," the phrase captures well the scholarship and the spirit of this book. This is a highly accessible compilation of interpretive work on borderland (especially historical) visualization, capturing a range of disciplinary approaches from a variety of authors. It also offers a truly inter-disciplinary model, with a thoughtful introduction and excellent introductory section essays, transcribing a meaningful dialogue between two scholars. This edited book is a model of how interdisciplinary scholarship can be done, and—given the subject matter—how relevant and appropriate that approach can be. As geographers we should explore works such as these that push our natural inclination for open-minded engagement toward further-reaching scholarly terrains such as the more avowedly artistic (as the second half of this book does). Historical geographers will find the subject of this collection—the ways the Mexico/US frontier has been visualized in history and the [End Page 167] present—interesting and important. The book is divided into two sections. The first considers the broader histories of the built environment in these borderlands, with an excellent dialogue of an introduction ("A Conversation on Border Landscapes through Time") and three focused chapters. The second presents some of the art histories—including examinations of art installations or performance art—of the borderland. In both cases this is a thought-provoking reminder of the symbolic, creative, emotional power of the border, beyond its more traditional (and, as the authors rightly point out, remote) political or economic conception. The border—including, and beyond, the "wall"—is a material phenomenon in a landscape. This book vividly directs our attention to the ways that materiality has been visualized and interpreted. While the second section opens geographers' eyes to the artistic and creative interrogations of this frontier in interesting ways (with essays on the border wall as canvas, on a film project, and a GPS-powered "transborder immigrant tool," for instance), the first section contains work of particular historical value. A couple of chapters point to how worthwhile it can be to take an explicitly "visual" approach to historical geography. A discussion by Mary Mendoza ("Fencing the Line: Race, Environment, and the Changing Visual Landscape at the U.S.-Mexico Divide") connects the fences and fortifications constructed in the early years of the twentieth century aimed at checking the spread of cattle ticks with the demarcation and construction of racial difference. "The story of tick eradication at the U.S.-Mexico border," she writes, "reveals how nature, at its most fundamental level, can be seen at the center of racial discourse" generating, and supported by, the "construction of a racialized and imposing border control apparatus" (68). This fusion of nature, landscape, and human prejudice around the material built practices at this moment in border history is brilliantly described and effectively illustrated. Katherine Morrissey's essay, "Monuments, Photographs, and Maps: Visualizing the U.S.-Mexico Border in the 1890s," in the same section will also spark geographers' interest. In a fascinating account she shows the use of photography in the 1890s to record the establishment of border "monuments"—obelisks built to (hopefully) fix the (hopefully) accurate location of the line, at various points. This work is an effective discussion of the International Boundary Commission and the efforts at demarcation in that period. It illustrates another way in which the border [End Page 168] is actually created and made physical. It also illustrates the assumed power of the "visual," both in terms of the monuments themselves and the official use of photographic records to check and support border location claims. But Morrissey takes the analysis further and compares images taken by the Mexican section photographers with those by the American photographers, giving a thoughtful account of the differences of perspective—a...

MEALS OF THE BOUNDARIES COMMISSION IN LVIV (1578, 1579, 1581) ON THE EXAMPLE OF A SOURCE - THREE FRAGMENTS FROM THE LVIV WEEKLY-EXPENDITURES BOOKS. TRANSLATION. COMMENTS

In the second half of the 16th century in Lviv were conducted meeting of the Border Commission. The Commission resolved the controversial questions related to the land issue and ordering its boundaries. During its implementation, city delegates and commissioners often stopped for rest and lunch. Meat, fish, bread, various spices and wine were accompanied participants of the Borders Commission during joint meetings, whether at the City Hall or outside it.This and other information is vividly illustrated by a source such as the Lviv weekly-expenditures book for 1572–1582. This source has big information potential. In the Lviv weekly-expenditures books you can find information about the activities of the city authorities (councils and benches of the city of Lviv); the acomplishment of functions by city officials (such as the executioner); routine affairs in the city, etc. This publication provides three fragments of the source of the Boundary Commission meeting for 1578, 1579, 1581.The Boundary Commission of 1578 was held on the eve of the Birthday of John the Baptist (June 24) and lasted from June 20 to June 23, 1578. The source does not provide specific details of the dispute, but it can be assumed that a soil dispute arose between a monastic order of Lviv Dominicans and Bryukhovychi peasants. During the joint lunches and dinners in the suburban tavern in Bryukhovychi, for four days, the commissioners drank three barrels of beer, 22 jugs (85 liters) of Hungarian wine, consumed veal; fish and herrings (most likely eaten on Friday June 22); bread and other dishes cooked for them.In 1579, the Commission resolved the disputed issues between the city and Lviv’s podstoli, Joakim Samp. During its meeting on the second Sunday of Lent in 1579, were present Lviv’s castellans Stanislav Herburth and Lviv starosta Mykola Herburth. Each of them was presented with 8 jugs of Malvasia for greetings. To feed the delegates were purchased variety of fish, bread, spices, vegetables, condiments and 27 jugs of Malvasia. It is interesting that the Commissioners did not consume meat under the Border Commission because it took place during Lent.The Borders Commission, in October 1581, was also involved in resolving the dispute between Joachim Samp and the community of Lviv. The meetings of the Commission were followed by lavish dinners. In particular, to the borders that were checked was bought 2 barrels of beer, two-quarters of meat, 5 chickens, bread, various roots. On Tuesday, October 13, 1581, all the commissioners and guests, including Mykola Herburt, the Lviv starosta and Mykola Meletsky, the Podolsk voivode, and all their servants were gratulated in Sikhiv Korchma. For festive supper was bought two calves, four quarters of meat, 2 barrels of beer, rye and white bread, vegetables, lemons, raisins, sugar, 4 vessels of jam, 35 ½ jugs of wine and 6 jugs of alicakantu.

COMMISSION BORDER FEEDING IN LVIV (1578, 1579, 1581) ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE SOURCE - THREE FRAGMENTS FROM THE BOOK OF CITY COSTS. TRANSLATION. COMMENTS

In the second half of the 16th century in Lviv were conducted meeting of the Border Commission. The Commission resolved the controversial questions related to the land issue and ordering its boundaries. During its implementation, city delegates and commissioners often stopped for rest and lunch. Meat, fish, bread, various spices and wine were accompanied participants of the Borders Commission during joint meetings, whether at the City Hall or outside it. This and other information is vividly illustrated by a source such as the Lviv weekly-expenditures book for 1572–1582. This source has big information potential. In the Lviv weekly-expenditures books you can find information about the activities of the city authorities (councils and benches of the city of Lviv); the acomplishment of functions by city officials (such as the executioner); routine affairs in the city, etc. This publication provides three fragments of the source of the Boundary Commission meeting for 1578, 1579, 1581.
 The Boundary Commission of 1578 was held on the eve of the Birthday of John the Baptist (June 24) and lasted from June 20 to June 23, 1578. The source does not provide specific details of the dispute, but it can be assumed that a soil dispute arose between a monastic order of Lviv Dominicans and Bryukhovychi peasants. During the joint lunches and dinners in the suburban tavern in Bryukhovychi, for four days, the commissioners drank three barrels of beer, 22 jugs (85 liters) of Hungarian wine, consumed veal; fish and herrings (most likely eaten on Friday June 22); bread and other dishes cooked for them.
 In 1579, the Commission resolved the disputed issues between the city and Lviv's podstoli, Joakim Samp. During its meeting on the second Sunday of Lent in 1579, were present Lviv's castellans Stanislav Herburth and Lviv starosta Mykola Herburth. Each of them was presented with 8 jugs of Malvasia for greetings. To feed the delegates were purchased variety of fish, bread, spices, vegetables, condiments and 27 jugs of Malvasia. It is interesting that the Commissioners did not consume meat under the Border Commission because it took place during Lent.
 The Borders Commission, in October 1581, was also involved in resolving the dispute between Joachim Samp and the community of Lviv. The meetings of the Commission were followed by lavish dinners. In particular, to the borders that were checked was bought 2 barrels of beer, two-quarters of meat, 5 chickens, bread, various roots. On Tuesday, October 13, 1581, all the commissioners and guests, including Mykola Herburt, the Lviv starosta and Mykola Meletsky, the Podolsk voivode, and all their servants were gratulated in Sikhiv Korchma. For festive supper was bought two calves, four quarters of meat, 2 barrels of beer, rye and white bread, vegetables, lemons, raisins, sugar, 4 vessels of jam, 35 ½ jugs of wine and 6 jugs of alicakantu.

Imagining and mapping the end of an empire: Oskar Spate and the partition of India and Pakistan

In July 1947, the British government of India convened two boundary commissions for the purpose of partitioning the colony into two independent nation states: India and Pakistan. Despite the volume of scholarly work on partition, little attention has been paid to its geographies. This paper addresses this lacuna in two ways: first, by inserting a geographical account into wider historiographical narratives of partition through cartographic-visual analysis and the application of geographical literature. Second, by bringing some of the themes and theoretical contributions from literature on partition into a geographical framework by highlighting the ways in which technical geographical terminology and boundary making practices were used for the political purpose of claiming territory. The paper pursues both of these aims through a biographical approach, examining in detail the unexamined papers of the British geographer Oskar Spate and his minor yet revealing involvement in the Punjab Boundary Commission hearings of July 1947. The paper argues that a territorial divide was unable to resolve the tensions that lay at the heart of the process of partition. This was not simply because geographical expertise was disregarded, but because geographical knowledge and analysis could not provide an adequate solution to the problem of overlapping yet ideologically distinct imagined territorial homelands. The paper thus points to the varied and ambiguous role that maps and mapping played in post-war sites and projects of decolonisation.

Police, Waterworks, and the Construction of the U.S.-Mexico Border, 1924–1954

Abstract This article examines four major building projects on the U.S.-Mexico border: the straightening of the Rio Grande around El Paso–Ciudad Juárez, the assemblage of the first large-scale border fence, the fabrication of early Border Patrol watchtowers, and the construction of Falcon Dam. These were the first major efforts to transform the international divide through the built environment. By putting these seemingly dissimilar initiatives into conversation with one another, we can better understand the connections between the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the little-known International Boundary and Water Commission; rethink how the political and social construction of the border was achieved through literal, physical construction; and generate new ways of linking border and environmental history.

The Adoption of Technology in the Kenyan Electoral Process: Lessons from the 2013 and 2017 Presidential Election

The use of technology in elections is now part of the Kenyan electoral system, supplementing the human element in dealing with quantitative and qualitative aspects of the electoral law. Its adoption was largely informed by the aftermath of the 2007-2008 post-election violence that led to loss of lives, displacement of people and destruction of property. According to the Independent Review Commission (Kriegler Commission) Report, delays in the transmission of presidential results coupled with various electoral malpractices contributed materially to the explosive political climate in Kenya. The Kriegler Commission recommended amongst other major reforms, the need to adopt technology in the election process to provide efficient, transparent, auditable and credible results. Following the recommendations, the government through legal and institutional framework sought to embed technology in the Kenyan electoral process. Since then, technology has been employed in the 2010 Constitution of Kenya referendum, the 2013 and 2017 general elections. This paper seeks to examine the use of technology in the Kenyan electoral process. It focuses on the mechanisms the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) put in place to ensure that the rationale of technology in providing credible and legitimate election was met. The Presidential elections in 2013 and 2017 seek to provide an understanding on the circumstances surrounding technology in the electoral process because it is at the presidential level that the use of technology was more pronounced and raised a number of concerns leading to presidential petitions. This paper concludes that indeed the use of technology is a great step towards enhancing credibility of elections and democracy. However, in the absence of political will, trust amongst electoral stakeholders, credibility and independence of the electoral bodies this may remain futile especially in emerging democracies like Kenya.

Judicialisation of politics and Kenya’s 2017 elections

ABSTRACTKenya’s 2017 elections stand out as the most litigated and judicialised in the country’s electoral history. The election witnessed a litany of legal disputes over rules and regulations ahead of the polls, two presidential petitions, and 388 petitions for other seats. Rulings met with controversy as losers viciously attacked the courts. Every decision the courts made potentially caused them trouble; it raised the ire of either the government or the opposition. Nevertheless, the judiciary made decisions independent of any party and candidate, and played such a critical role in the elections that it ultimately overshadowed the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). This article reveals how the judicialisation of elections in Kenya is an outcome of the 2010 Constitution, which sought to moderate the country’s ‘winner-takes-all’ politics. We argue that the electoral process in Kenya will remain judicialised not only because the courts have gained a degree of independence and can make brave decisions, but also that the political culture has not changed: the judiciary operates in an environment in which partisan political interests weaken all institutions and in which politicians seek to use the courts to advance their interests.

Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship between Eritrea and Ethiopia

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a historic agreement on July 9, 2018, in Asmara, Eritrea, ending over two decades of open hostilities and war. The Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship (Joint Declaration) marks a fundamental change for the Horn of Africa, with the reconciliation possibly altering the economic and political dynamics of the region. The Joint Declaration resulted from several key developments occurring over a few weeks from June through early July 2018. Ethiopia announced its acceptance of the original Algiers Agreement, dated December 12, 2000, which had never been implemented, and its willingness to abide by the 2002 international Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) ruling that awarded disputed territory to Eritrea, including the border town of Badme. Previously, Ethiopia had rejected the ruling and asked for a new ruling. Ethiopia had also previously insisted that relations must be restored before any territorial resolution. President Afwerki agreed to negotiate, after stating for years that Ethiopia had to withdraw its troops from the disputed town of Badme first. A few weeks before the signing of the Joint Declaration, the Eritrean foreign minister visited Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, marking the first bilateral meeting between the two since the war began.

FACTORS AFFECTING PROJECT MANAGEMENT CAPACITY AMONG ELECTORAL WORK FORCE IN KENYA

Project Management capacity has been a major challenge in most of the projects in Kenya. Many researchers have tried to highlight the issue, but there is still a huge gap that has not been addressed. This research sought to investigate project management capacity among the electoral work force in Kenya. The research study utilized a case study design with target population being electoral work force within Nairobi County in Kenya. Data was collected from a sample of 39 electoral work force randomly selected from the target population distributed across the constituency. The findings indicated that that majority of the respondent’s rated organization employees having the relevant skills, however there was still a wide gap in relation to management capacity. As a result of the findings above the researcher recommended that Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission needed to put in place a broad research and development department to assist it in studying the local environment and internal environment specific factors which affect project management capacity of its workforce. This is necessary for purposes of creating organizational capacity to manage projects and organizational integration in terms of achieving its mandate through enhancing project planning skills, measuring knowledge on metric performance and having knowledge on risk management.

The Space of the Courtroom and the Role of Geographical Evidence in the Punjab Boundary Commission Hearings, July 1947

This paper examines the geographies of Partition through an analysis of the Punjab Boundary Commission hearings of July 1947. The paper asks: what happens when geographical expertise is transported from ‘the field’ to courtrooms and government offices? I argue that geography was transformed, and was managed and limited by the legal framework that judged evidence according to its own rules. Examining select records of the Punjab Boundary Commission, I argue that the courtroom created certain assumptions about the nature and role of evidence in boundary-making negotiations. Rather than applying evidence to create a workable boundary, evidence was put to work in often contradictory ways in order to lend competing political claims an air of geographical authority.

Діяльність межових комісій в Слобідсько-Українській губернії та Харківському намісництві (друга половина XVIII – перша половина XIX ст.)

Дудка Ярослав. «Діяльність межових комісій в Слобідсько-Українській губернії та Харківському намісництві (друга половина XVIII - перша половина XIX ст.)». У статті досліджується процес формування межових комісій та їх діяльності на основі аналізу архівних даних означеного періоду.

Effect of land conflict on arable crops production in Delta State, Nigeria

This study was designed to investigate the effect of land related conflicts on crop production in Delta State, Nigeria. Communities that have and are still experiencing land related conflicts were purposively selected for this study. The community and opinion leaders in such communities were also purposively selected for the study. This resulted to the selection of 255 respondents. Data were collected with the use of questionnaire and structured interview schedule. All the conflicts were at inter-community level and were caused by boundary disputes. The conflicts took serious dimensions. Arable crop production was adversely affected, but picked up after resolution of the conflicts in most communities. Agricultural activities were negatively affected by the conflict incidences. The conflict cases were managed with adoption of negotiation, security agents, and governmental agencies’ intervention and judicial injunction. However they were resolved through legal procedure, intervention of Ministry and Land Survey, and Land and Boundary Commission’s intervention. There were significant differences between level of crop production before and after conflicts; significant relationships between magnitude of land conflicts and some socioeconomic characteristics of respondents. Seriousness of land conflicts had inverse significant relationship with agricultural activities. It was recommended that government agencies should properly define boundaries between communities, Land and Boundary Commission should promptly wade into land related disputes before they escalate; and communities are required to contact the relevant government agencies to report any matter of disagreement relating to land boundaries with other communities; and extension agency needs to integrate anti-conflict education in their interaction with farmers.

Technology Trends for Spatial Data Infrastructure in Africa

Over the past few years, several technology trends, notably big data analytics, volunteered geographic information, cloud computing, free and open source software, internet of things, and linked data, have emerged. This study reviews the contribution of some of these trends to Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) development, particularly in Africa. A geospatial application based on Google Container Engine, an Infrastructure as a Service cloud, has been developed. Data was sourced from the 2015 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education, the Kenya school mapping project of 2007 from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and Kenya's administrative boundary layers from the Independent and Electoral Boundaries Commission. By using the cloud, several operations and analyses typically common in SDIs were carried out. In addition, a cost estimate of a cloud-based Kenya National Spatial Data Infrastructure deployment is presented. Although the new technologies may not necessarily lead to wider SDI adoption, the study shows that the trends can increase the chances of SDI development and adoption, by permitting highly scalable geoservices, and facilitating cost-effective free and open source software.

Historical cartographic materials as a source for international and cadastral boundary management in rivers

Abstract. International and cadastral boundaries are important for ensuring stable legal territorial matters. This article deals with the long-term location and management of boundaries in rivers and the depiction of the rivers on cartographic materials. A few countries have agreed that the boundary will not follow changes in the river (like in the Mongolia-China Border Treaty), whereas most agree that the boundary will follow slow, natural and gradual changes in the river (like is stated in the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty). The international boundary under the British Mandate between Palestine and Trans-Jordan in the Jordan and Yarmuk rivers was defined in 1922. The cadastral boundaries were defined in these rivers in the 1930s along the international boundary. For more than 70 years, until the Israel-Jordan 1994 Peace Treaty, the rivers have changed their channels east and westward to distances up to hundreds of meters. During that period the mandatory boundaries in these rivers changed their political status to the armistice lines, the cease-fire lines, and to international boundaries between sovereign states. These lines were usually delineated on topographic maps in the rivers, drawn by cartographers following contemporary map revision. During that entire period the cadastral boundaries were not changed in order to adapt them to the actual position of the rivers and to the delineated international boundaries. Owing to large water works on both rivers, including the construction of dams and diversion channels in order to meet the increasing needs of the population on both sides, the water flow of the rivers decreased dramatically to less than one tenth of the original natural flow. The population today is more than ten times than it used to be under the British Mandate. The changes in the water channels during the last 20 years since the 1994 peace treaty are in the magnitude of 10 meters versus hundreds of meters in the past. In addition, intensive land cultivation adjacent to the river banks has stabilized them. In 2000, due to the construction of a dam on the Yarmuk River, both sides jointly fixed coordinates of the relevant boundary line in the river according to the boundary delineation in the peace treaty. The accumulated artificial changes along both rivers have cancelled their natural behavior and have influenced the changes in the river channels. This may justify an initiative to fix the boundary lines in both rivers by coordinates according to the peace treaty delimitation, enabling the cadastral boundaries to be fixed according to the fixed international boundary line. The article analyzes boundary line management in changing rivers in light of development of the legal approach and practice from the time of the Romans until today. It analyzes the special case of the boundary line in the Jordan and Yarmuk rivers, and introduces a proposal for stabilizing this boundary line. The research of the changes of these rivers is based on changes in the depiction of their channels on various kinds of maps and cartographic sources, produced through the last century by many producers. They include British, German, ANZAC, Israeli and Jordanian maps and charts. The cartographic materials include large scale field survey sheets and engineering charts from the 1920s, cadastral charts from the 1930s, topographic maps produced through the last century and orthophoto maps produced since the 1990s, including joint Israeli-Jordanian orthophoto and charts produced by the Joint Boundary Commission as part of the peace agreement and its implementation. The article includes a variety of cartographic examples.

Making Sense of Kenya's Contested 2017 Election

Kenya held its second General Election under the 2010 Constitution, and its sixth since the introduction of multiparty politics, on 8 August 2017. Citizens cast their votes for six positions: The Presidency; Governor; Senator; Member of Parliament (MP); Women’s Representative; and Member of County Assemblies (MCA). Prior to the August eight elections, opinion polls indicated that the presidential election would be closely contested - the incumbent, Uhuru Kenyatta, was polling at 47%, while the opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, was at 43%, with 5% of the voters remaining undecided. The presidency was not the only tight race; Governors’ and the MCA seats were equally closely contested. The two major political coalitions that contested the 2017 elections were: The Jubilee Party, the incumbent coalition headed by Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, who were both seeking a second term; and the opposition coalition, the National Super Alliance (NASA), led by Raila Odinga, with Kalonzo Musyoka as his running mate. Smaller political parties, such as the former ruling political party, the Kenya African National Union (KANU), the Third Way Alliance and the Labour Party also fielded presidential candidates ; however, their impact at the presidential level was insignificant. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners, who oversaw the 2013 general elections, left office owing to political pressure from the opposition . The Commissioners were accused of being involved in various corruption scandals, such as “the Chicken gate scandal,” thus their impartiality and independence were seriously questioned. A new team was put in place to oversee the 2017 general elections, which was led by Wafula Chebukhati, who served as the chairman. The team underwent rigorous vetting and scrutiny by Parliament, and were eventually appointed after unanimous approval by the House. The new commissioners did little to boost public confidence in safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process. The IEBC remained mired in controversy regarding the procurement of election materials and its appeal against a lower court’s ruling confirming the finality of presidential results (which was announced at the constituency level rather than at the national level by the IEBC’s Chair). The IEBC was seen to be opposed to transparency due to past discrepancies in vote counts—in both 2007 and 2013—between constituency- and national-level results.

Incorporating north-western Afghanistan into the British empire: experiments in indirect rule through the making of an imperial frontier, 1884–87

This article analyses the British-led demarcation of Afghanistan's north-western border in the Maimana region between 1884–7. Historians of Afghanistan have largely neglected the Afghan Boundary Commission as a minor episode in Amir Abdur Rahman Khan's process of internal reform and ‘modernisation’. This article nuances these approaches and reconsiders the role of boundary-making as an instrument for building empire at the level of local indigenous political organisation. It argues that the demarcation became an occasion for increasing British interference in Afghan affairs that aimed at establishing embryonic forms of colonial rule along Afghanistan's borderlands. Commissioners sought the collaboration of local intermediaries – Afghan officials and ethnic minorities – in ways that bypassed official relations with the court in Kabul. The Boundary Commission became instrumental in enabling the extension and consolidation of the government of Kabul's authority over previously semi-autonomous areas. In the long term, it became the blueprint for the demarcation of Afghanistan's northern boundaries in Turkestan, Badakhshan and the Pamirs.

Dilemmas of Security: The State, Local Agency, and the Czechoslovak-Hungarian Boundary Commission, 1921–25

In a memorandum presented to the Hungarian-Czechoslovak Boundary Commission on 23 February 1922 by the inhabitants of the southern Slovak town of Viškovce (Hungarian: Ipolyvisk), the twenty-five signatories requested “humbly for consideration and well-meaning settlement of the following concern.” The municipality was bordered on three sides by the Ipeľ (Hungarian: Ipoly) River, but had been cut off from the only usable road by the border, making communication extremely difficult. In winter and at high water in the spring and autumn, the place was “completely cut off from the outside world.” For three years, they had observed how provisional boundaries were continuously redrawn, and bore the brunt of these changes. The inhabitants said that all alternative routes had become inaccessible during that time and the center of Šahy (Hungarian: Ipolyság), which was just ten kilometers away, had become extremely difficult to reach even in urgent cases. Thus, they requested that the only existing road “be opened to us as quickly as possible and our traffic given back to us.”

The 1918 Reform Act, Redistribution and Scottish Politics

AbstractThis essay examines the effect of the 1918 Representation of the People Act on Scottish politics. It notes the extensive addition to the electorate with the enfranchisement of adult males and most women over the age of 30 years. The main focus of the essay is on the effect of the provisions of the act in terms of the redistribution of seats in Scotland. Although the overall level of Scottish representation increased from 70 to 71 seats, there was a profound shift from the rural areas of the north and south to the industrial areas of west central Scotland and the city of Glasgow, which was awarded a further eight seats. In addition, the majority of the ‘Districts of Burghs’, a legacy of the Union of 1707, were abolished. It is argued that these changes created new political conditions in Scotland which favoured the Labour Party in the interwar period, and especially in the 1920s. The arguments – economic, historical, and political – deployed in defence of seats scheduled for abolition by the Boundary Commission are analysed.

Evolution of the Texas-Louisiana Boundary: In Search of the Elusive Corner by Jim Tiller and John P. Evans

Reviewed by: Evolution of the Texas-Louisiana Boundary: In Search of the Elusive Corner by Jim Tiller and John P. Evans Michael Kimaid Evolution of the Texas-Louisiana Boundary: In Search of the Elusive Corner. By Jim Tiller and John P. Evans Jr. (Dallas: William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University, 2017. Pp. xviii, 455. $60.00, ISBN 978-1-929531-17-2.) Every line on a map tells a story; some are more interesting than others. While most historians might look south when evaluating which story to tell about the lines on the map that frame the state of Texas, Jim Tiller and John P. Evans Jr. look east, to the Texas-Louisiana border, instead. Incorporating a geographical perspective into a historical narrative frame, the result is every bit as interesting as the often-retold story of Texas's southern border and gives fresh insight into the political, economic, and social conditions that produced the line in question and others like it. Tiller and Evans focus on how the early, vaguely defined borderlands separating Texas and Louisiana became over time a sharply defined borderline, a process that hinged on establishing the intersection of the thirty-second parallel and the Sabine River. Early on, the authors identify "both environmental and human factors" that prevented surveyors from determining this point with any accuracy (p. xv). Beginning with the 1763 Treaty of Fontainebleau and the subsequent transfers between Spain, France, and the United States, culminating with the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, early documents were inaccurate and vague with regard to where the meandering river intersected with a fixed coordinate point. As a result, the precise point on which the boundary between Texas and Louisiana hinged was not identified with any accuracy until 1841. The processes that established the initial border were largely political. Early-nineteenth-century expeditions were followed by land surveyors, whose observations contributed to the Public Land Survey System in an attempt to systematize the variables of terrain into a uniform grid. From there, the Joint Boundary Commission of the Republic of Texas and the United States governments largely clarified the boundary, though a remaining gap in the boundary was closed in 1848 by an act of Congress. Nearly one hundred years later, new technologies were applied to make the boundary more precise and accurate and established the line with a precision that remains to this day. While the historical nature of this story is itself very interesting, it is Tiller and Evans's use of geography that makes this volume particularly authoritative and impressive. Here, their archival work stands out as rigorous and thorough. The detail with which they recount surveyors' notes, correspondence, maps, discrepancies, debates, and errors is comprehensive. Historical maps, aerial and landscape photography, geographical information systems analysis, and field notes come together in this volume in groundbreaking and original ways, which demonstrate with clarity the specifics the authors reference in the text. In sum, Jim Tiller and John P. Evans Jr. have done a remarkable job combining archival research and fieldwork to produce this beautiful volume. Like the intersection on the map they have sought to tell the story of, they combine history, geography, and archaeology to tell a story that is exponentially more interesting than one would imagine at first glance, given the history of Texas's more historically resonant southern border with Mexico. Like so many maps of the world, the Texas-Louisiana line was drawn in over the course of [End Page 978] nearly two hundred years. The story is equal parts science and art, objective and subjective, observation and speculation—forces that continue to shape our reality to this day. Michael Kimaid Bowling Green State University Copyright © 2018 The Southern Historical Association