Borders on the ground and in the mind; processes of bordermaking in contemporary Belfast

Abstract

"The main question of this research is: How does bordermaking take place in contemporary Belfast? When speaking of bordermaking we refer to all the practices that produce, reproduce or modify borders. Bordermaking should be seen as a process that can be fuelled by many things, such as human activities, but can also be influenced by already existing physical entities like the walls in Belfast that separate Catholic and Protestant neighbourhoods. In our conclusion we will answer the question how bordermaking takes place in contemporary Belfast. We will do this by keeping in mind the interconnected themes of place, performance and perspective of borders. We argue that bordermaking in contemporary Belfast has its roots in two different analytical perspectives. One has its roots in politics of belonging, where bordermaking is the result of imaginings about what the nation state should look like, resulting is different Irish and British territories. The other way of bordermaking in contemporary Belfast has its roots cultural, social and physical silences, which are methods to prevent any form of conflict. These silences however, constitute and routinise fear in society."