Re‐inhabiting no‐man's land: genealogies, political life and critical agendas

Abstract

This article sets out to answer a seemingly simple question: what is no‐man's land? By positing this question, we aim to problematise the taken‐for‐granted status of no‐man's land and its proliferation as a convenient colloquialism that is applied to a vast set of spaces, material conditions and socio‐political circumstances. Despite its popular association with the killing fields of the First World War, no‐man's land is considered here as a rich analytical category, which resonates in a broader historical and intellectual corpus. We present a conceptual framework for the study of no‐man's land as a space produced by simultaneous forces of abandonment and enclosure. The analysis explores the function of no‐man's lands as a critical quality that bears on concrete spatio‐political realities. In doing so, we aim to open up future research avenues that will further deepen the conceptual and analytical challenges of no‐man's lands in the 21st century.

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