Law, Boundaries and the Production of Space
| Author | Sarah Blandy,David Sibley |
| Date | 01 September 2010 |
| Published date | 01 September 2010 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0964663910372178 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Law, Boundaries and the
Production of Space
Sarah Blandy
School of Law, University of Leeds, UK
David Sibley
School of Law, University of Leeds, UK
Abstract
This special issue addresses the problematic nature of space, whether psychic, symbolic
or material, from an inter-disciplinary standpoint. The diverse articles are concerned
with legal, psychical, cultural, social and political boundaries. Spaces with legal meanings
are the product of such boundaries, and the relation of law and space as explored by the
legal geography literature underpins this collection, which investigates these issues at a
range of spatial scales, from the scale of the self to the global. In considering the conti-
nuum of tension between fear and desire manifest in individuals’ internalized boundaries,
we need also to make use of theories developed in psychoanalysis and social psychology.
Kleinian ‘splitting’, for example, offers an explanation of law’s role in the creation and
maintenance of strong boundaries which exclude ‘othered’ groups. Law’s power as a
discourse is challenged by internal contradictions at the international scale, when human
rights arguments confront state territorial jurisdiction; while at the other end of the
scalar spectrum, regulation of conduct depends both on accepted legal notions of the
self-governing individual and on assumptions of shared moral values. Other articles in
this issue emphasize the nature of boundaries as liminal spaces full of attendant ambigu-
ity, which, although legally established and enforced, prove in fact to be remarkably
permeable. The interdisciplinary perspectives developed in this issue demonstrate the
need to further problematize boundaries and to acknowledge the complexity of material,
social and mental spaces.
Keywords
borders, boundaries, legal geographies, legal philosophy, social psychology, socio-legal
studies, space
Borders and boundaries are so obviously basic to the representation and organization of
space that they are frequently taken for granted. However, we would argue that reflection
Social & Legal Studies
19(3) 275–284
ªThe Author(s) 2010
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DOI: 10.1177/0964663910372178
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