Mediterranean borderscapes: contested territories at the geopolitical edge. The case of Evros-Meriç river

This thesis investigates the Mediterranean borderlands as dynamic territorial systems rather than static lines on maps. It begins from an interest in contested, marginal, and transitional spaces where politics becomes spatially visible. Borders, once seen as remote edges, have moved to the center of...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Karvouniaris, Konstantinos Chrysovalantis
Tipo de recurso: tesis de maestría
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/448558
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/448558
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Landscape architecture -- Europe
Europe -- Boundaries
Maritsa River
Borderscapes
Territorial systems
Arquitectura del paisatge -- Europa
Europa -- Fronteres
Maritsa (Curs d'aigua)
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Urbanisme::Arquitectura del paisatge
Descripción
Sumario:This thesis investigates the Mediterranean borderlands as dynamic territorial systems rather than static lines on maps. It begins from an interest in contested, marginal, and transitional spaces where politics becomes spatially visible. Borders, once seen as remote edges, have moved to the center of geopolitical debates, especially within the EU, where external frontiers are framed as “Fortress Europe.” Here, migration, sovereignty, and security intersect, transforming peripheral landscapes into strategic nodes. The research develops a framework that integrates critical, infrastructural, and ecological perspectives. It studies borders through three dimensions: objects (fences, surveillance, corridors, facilities), territories (landscapes, settlements, hydrology), and mechanisms (legal regimes, connectivity, organizational logics). Methodologically, it combines comparative cartography of 25 Mediterranean border fragments with an in-depth case study of the Evros/Meriç River. This approach exposes how infrastructures, governance, and everyday practices together produce borderscapes, making visible the spatial logics that regulate flows, shape territories, and structure life at the edge.