US researcher says border fortifications will not resolve conflicts

A leading researcher who moved from the United States to Joensuu says Finland has good reason to strengthen its eastern border, but that fortifications will not remove the threat from Russia. Yle reported that Alexander Diener began work in June as a professor of critical border studies at the University of Eastern Finland.

“There are times when borders should be strengthened. The relationship between Finland and Russia is in such a period now. But in the longer term, fortifying borders is definitely not a good solution,” Diener said.

Finland has built a barrier fence on its eastern border. Further south, the Baltic states and Poland are preparing for a possible Russian attack with anti-tank obstacles and bunkers along their borders. Diener said these measures would not resolve the conflict or prevent Russia from terrorising its neighbours.

“Borders can separate areas from each other. But that does not mean the areas are no longer interacting,” he said.

Diener argues that borders should be seen as filters rather than walls, allowing decisions about what can cross. This approach also raises questions of responsibility and fairness, including who is excluded and whether that is justified. “There are situations where crossing borders should be restricted, and others where morality requires borders to be opened,” he said.

He says societies should broaden their understanding of borders beyond lines between countries. Everyday boundaries can shape people’s choices, including restrictions on which apps citizens may use. Even a phone number carries a geographic reference, he said, and using a phone outside one’s own region can cost more.

Diener said the three-year closure of Finland’s eastern border had, in a sense, isolated the country. “Finland has become more like an island, with no connection to the east and mostly water to the west,” he said.

Before joining the University of Eastern Finland, Diener spent 14 years as a professor of geography at the University of Kansas. His research has included Russia and East and Central Asia, as well as Mongolia and Kazakhstan, where he has studied how countries manage relations with large neighbours such as Russia and China.

His new professorship is permanent, and he will establish his own research group. He said the offer, supported by funding from the Research Council of Finland, was too good to turn down. His next research will examine how people become attached to places and the boundaries associated with that attachment, from the locked door of a home to cultural places such as North Karelia or Europe.