The current research on Borders and Boundaries in the Middle East lacks strong theroetical framework. The study of borders that emerged as a major field of research in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin wall has shifted from a territorial focus on dividing lines to a socio-cultural perspective including discursive practices and social perceptions of borders. New approaches to border studies stress the interest to deepen and widen the scope of analysis by focusing on borderlands and on processes of bordering to apprehend several dimensions of border spaces (Popescu, 2012). Drawing on this tradition, this paper intends to provide three analytical tools to explore and discuss border issues. Firstly, the notion of bordering captures the changing face of borders, implies the study of the social space of the borderland, its process and context, and involves all types of actors, institutions as well as companies, individuals and all social groups involved in the conduct of “borderwork” (Rumford, 2012). Bordering is a means of ordering (Albert & al., 2001) and also of othering: as Henk Van Houtum & Ton Van Naerssen (2002: 134) remind, “making others through a territorial fixing of order is intrinsically connected to our present image of borders”. The three processes of bordering/ordering/othering thus appear clearly linked to a reflection on territory, identity and sovereignty. Secondly, borders perceived as networks capture the spatial nature of these border-making developments through the label “networked borders” (Walter, 2004; Rumford, 2006) describing the dispersion of borders throughout societies and re-creating a network form spanning over several states. People and goods are checked and scrutinized before they reach the state border and after they enter the territory, the border becoming embedded in the flow (Sassen 2006). Among the hotspots where they can be observed are the refugee camps, ‘in-between places’ where people’s status is purposefully kept undetermined. Thirdly, it is important to refer to the notion of borderscapes as it provide analysts with a powerful tool to uncover the individuals capacity to shape the border/land and propose a counter-definition based on their status, political or religious affiliation, etc. Following Brambilla’s conceptual framework (2014), borderscaping practices are constructing (bordering) deconstructing (de-bordering) and reconstructing (re-bordering) an alternative border imaginary shaped by a “community” in the sense of Rajaram & Grundy-Warr (2007).

This article will deal with how the main Islamist thinker have understood and framed issues of borders and sovereignty in their writings. At a time when political Islam is facing major changes in the wake of the Arab uprisings, it is necessary to highlight what they have produced in terms of geopolitical analysis, and more especially when it comes to connections between religious identity, borders, State-building and the wish to reunite all the Muslims under one rule (the Caliphate). In the light of the history of Islamist thought, I intend to shed light on its conception of borders, from the colonial era to the radical turmoil faced by Arab States nowadays. I will concentrate on how this ideological design has been evolving since the rise of political Islam in the 1920s, and to what extent topics such asborders, identity, religious sovereignty and search for the Caliphate are now interpreted by some Islamist a more moderate and flexible way. I will pay specific attention to the main Islamist leaders and thinkers of our time (Rached Ghannouchi, Hassan Tourabi, Abdelilah Benkirane…). I have met some of them and will these interviews to illustrate my points.

In light of the current transformation of the regional order in the Middle East and North Africa, the paper explores the altered nature and functions of borders in the Middle East from a historical and theoretical perspective. As a starting point to such an endeavour, the paper provides a historical context to the problem of contested borders and regional order in the Middle East and North Africa. It revisits the key political developments that have affected the configuration of state authority, legitimacy, and territoriality since the formation of the modern state system in the Middle East until today. Based on this discussion, and considering current developments in the region, the paper looks at the changing meaning and function of borders in the region. It subsequently raises the question of whether prevailing conceptualisations of the state and its borders are adequate to understand past and present developments in the region. It concludes by suggesting a number of alternative concepts.