Border regions across the globe: Analyzing border typologies, economic and political disparities, and development dynamics

The cosmopolitan dream of a borderless world has little to do with reality. Today's borders bear witness regulatory intervention in the circulation goods, information, capital and people. These interventions, naturally, have an impact at border regions. For analyzing these impacts, we map, quantify relate typologies, development dynamics near borders, economic political indicators neighboring nation-states. We so on global scale for all current 315 land borders. rely data from mix dossiers, in-depth literature review, censuses multi-temporal mapping products satellite imagery. Our analysis strategy is two-fold: First, descriptive analysis, map various typologies. And, also compute over 15-year period 2000 2015. Since there are few consistent, appropriately spatially resolved, globally available datasets, measure by proxies ‘settlements’ ‘population’ instead usual characteristics. use ensemble metrics that show not only developments region but relative respective nation-state. By means ranking, variability across globe. Second, different differences find following trends: higher or nation-states stronger fortification, greater disparities population settlement accumulation poorer less free side border, fortification hinders certain degree. empirically measured trends, however, partially statistically significant as strong unambiguous assumed. In critical discussion, reflect capabilities limitations such empirical approach.