List of Important International Boundaries and Lines
International Boundaries are geological borderlines of ministerial institutions or licit administrations, such as central governments, supreme states, unified states, and other sub-national bodies. Various borders include a border of a state’s central executive border or entomb state borders inside the Schengen zone, are open and completely incautious. The international boundaries’ categorisation is instead a new concept in human history and even subject to consular agreements and military disputes.
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List of International boundaries and lines with their location
Name of Lines or Boundaries | Location | Facts |
17th Parallel | Between South Vietnam and North Vietnam | The 17th latitude from the equator divided former North and South Vietnam. It got demarcated on the basis of 1954 Geneva Accords.The 17th parallel flattered irrelevant after the unification of Vietnam in 1976. |
20th Parallel | Between Libya and Sudan | It is located at the 20th northern latitude which is used as the border between Sudan and Libya. |
22nd Parallel | Between Egypt and Sudan | The 22nd latitude north of the equator marks a major portion of the Sudan -Egypt border. |
25th Parallel | Between Mauritania and Mali | The northern most section of the Mali-Mauritania border is marked using this line. |
31st Parallel | Between Iran and Iraq | The 31st northern latitude marks the border between Iraq and Iran.It also distinguishes the border between the US states of Louisiana and Mississippi. |
38th Parallel | Between South Korea and North Korea | The 38th parallel is used to demarcate the central part of the Demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. |
49th Parallel | Between The USA and Canada | It is located 49 degrees to the north of the Equator. It got demarcated after the Anglo-American Convention in 1818 and the Oregon Treaty of 1846. It forms the international border between northern USA(Excluding Alaska) and Canada. |
Durand Line | Between Pakistan and Afghanistan | Sir Mortimer Durand delimited it with the agreement of the erstwhile Amir of Afghanistan in 1893. But the present-day Afghanistan does not recognize the Durand line. |
Hindenburg Line | Between Poland and Germany | It was a German Defensive line in French territory during World War I. The treaty of Versailles rendered it irrevalent in 1919. |
McMahon Line | Between China and India | Sir Henry McMahon drawn it in consultation with Tibetan representatives in 1914.China disputes the legal status of this line but it is the de facto border between India and China. |
Maginot Line | Between Germany and France | It was a defensive line at the French border towards Germany before World War II. Germanyfurnished it antiquated which followed the successful seizure of France, following the outbreak of World War II |
Mannerheim Line | Between Russia and Finland | Finland constructed it as a defensive line against the Soviet Union for the Winter War during World War II. |
Oder-Neisse Line | Between Poland and Germany | It sweeps along the Oder and Lusatian-Neisse rivers. It delineates the Polish-German border according to the Potsdam Conference. An unified Germany recognised it in 1990. |
Radcliffe Line | Between India and Pakistan | Sir Cyril Radcliffe terminated it for the Partition of India and the formation of East and West Pakistan. It includes present-day India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. |
Siegfried Line | Between France and Germany | It was constructed as a Hindenburg defensive line extension on the western front of World War I.Firstly, Weimar Republic built it and later on, the Third Reich of Germany extended it in the 1930. |
Purpose of International Borders
Understanding the objectives and functions of international boundaries is critical in determining its relations to peace, integration, and development of a nation-state or a sub-region. Boundaries serve different purposes and have numerous functions depending on what those are, who drew them, what they had in mind and what those living along them want to use them for. The nature of an international boundary also has an impact on the livelihoods of local communities affecting the stability of a nation-state. Being knowledgeable of the essence, purposes and functions of international borders is very helpful when dealing with disputes relating to their location, management and administration.
Such knowledge is critical in diffusing inter-state border tensions and providing solutions such as altering boundaries or changing their functions to make them more flexible and open to passage. Their existence and location determine the purposes and aims of international borders. Some of a boundary’s objectives and ambitions may be common to states while many others may reflect the specific characteristics of communities.
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Many factors such as security, trade, cross-border population movements and illegal activities across the borders influence the State’s attitude to its boundaries. A boundary’s function and location also affect borderland populations. It is inconceivable to define a State in international law without a territory or a geographical area.