BorderWhale · How Whales Make and Unmake Geopolitical Borders: Conceptualizing and Investigating the Multispecies Politics of (De)Bordering

BorderWhale goes beyond anthropocentrism in the field of border studies by conceptualizing, making visible, and analyzing how nonhumans challenge and influence ""(de)bordering politics"": the (re)production, contestation, and transformation of geopolitical borders and boundaries. It does so through the case of whales, specifically examining how whale-human entanglements—defined as the complex interdependencies and relations between the two species, their shared histories, and how they shape larger socio-political dynamics — matter in (de)bordering politics. Indeed whales offers a compelling example of how nonhumans can influence and challenge (de)bordering politics. As flagship species for ocean conservation, whales have driven boundary-making practices at sea aimed at their protection. Conversely, in regions where whaling persists, whales are entangled in debates over identity politics, cultural heritage, and political autonomy—issues that directly engage with the reproduction, contestation, and transformation of borders and boundaries.BorderWhale has therefore three objectives that go beyond the state of the art:1)Theoretical Innovation: The project decenters and revisit human-centric concepts of border theory by integrating insights from the posthumanities.2)Methodological Innovation: BorderWhale will employ multispecies ethnography to make visible how nonhumans influence and challenge (de)bordering politics. 3)Analytical Innovation: The project will develop a framework for analyzing the role of nonhumans in (de)bordering politics in other contexts. This framework will be built by comparing how whales influence and challenge (de)bordering politics in two contrasting geopolitical and border contexts and by triangulating these findings with additional empirical literature on nonhunonhuman agency. By recognizing nonhuman agency in border politics, BorderWhale promotes a more inclusive, environementally just approach to investigating and addressing (geo)politics.""