The Research Unit Borders examines how processes of boundary-making shape contestations of the liberal script in a context of heightened mobility, geopolitical tension, and changing forms of political belonging. Building on first-phase work, which demonstrated that tensions between individual and collective self-determination lie at the core of many conflicts over borders, the RU now turns to the dynamics and consequences of boundary reconfigurations. Borders are treated not merely as territorial lines but as multidimensional institutions that structure inclusion, exclusion, and access to rights.

In the second funding phase, Borders analyzes how liberal societies negotiate demands for mobility and membership under growing political and social pressure. Central questions concern whether liberal orders generate characteristic patterns of boundary-drawing—such as racialized, gendered, or class-based forms of differentiation—and how these patterns interact with crises, war, and regional inequalities. The RU further investigates when boundary transformations contribute to democratic resilience, enabling re-scripting processes that renew liberal norms, and when they deepen contestations or undermine the legitimacy of liberal commitments.

Two strands guide the research: (1) the politics of belonging and exclusion, with a focus on unmet promises of inclusion and their contestation; and (2) the impact of war, violence, and international conflict on solidarity, legitimacy, and collective self-determination. Combining political science, sociology, history, education studies, and area studies, Borders develops comparative perspectives on how boundary practices drive, reflect, and reshape contestations of the liberal script.