Volume reviewed for the Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 52, No. 2 (2017), pp. 474-476. doi:10.1177/0022009416688182
Summary: This interdisciplinary volume weds social movement studies, which remains largely embedded in the social sciences, with border studies, a growing field with roots in geography, anthropology and women’s studies. The editors take an intersectional approach, looking at how social movements are affected by bordering processes related to gender, sexuality and group belonging as well as more conventional, territorial borders. The lack of a single, unified definition of ‘border’ allows the volume to take in more than just the transnational social movements that traditionally dominate cross-border reflection on political activism. In this sense, the volume represents a productive change of perspective that makes a useful contribution to social movement studies.