Maps as Politics: Mapping the West Bank Barrier

Christine Leuenberger

Journal of Borderlands Studies, 2016, vol. 31, issue 3, 339-364

Abstract: The West Bank Barrier increasingly reshapes Israeli and Palestinian land- and cityscapes. Its physical infrastructure - which consists of walls and an elaborate fence system - is depicted prominently in some maps, but disappears or is omitted in others. This article examines how different Israeli, Palestinian, and international governmental and non-governmental cartographic institutions delineate the West Bank Barrier in maps. The focus is on how various visual and textual devices as well as spatial markers are used to communicate certain social and political concerns, construct particular spatial orders, and portray the West Bank Barrier as either a negligible feature of the landscape or as a significant obstacle to the freedom of movement. The cartographic construction of the barrier in maps shows how cartographers' assumptions concerning its function, the map's target audience, and the adequacy of various national and trans-national cartographic standards may provide an authoritative and legitimate, yet, an inevitably political and locally produced, representation of the West Bank Barrier.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1080/08865655.2016.1174601

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