Ethnology

Demography

Geopolitics

Microeconomics

Scarcity

Scholarship

Archaeology

Refugee

Border Security

Economics

Computer science

Development economics

Economic geography

Politics

Geography

Southeast asia

Political science

Population

International relations

Sociology

Artificial intelligence

Public administration

Perspective (graphical)

Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs

Over the past decade, the concepts of border have gained resonance in several disciplines within social sciences. While critical theory of borders has made tremendous advancements, scarcity of the scholarship in border studies is still evident. Borders are, in general, cultural, social, territorial, geographical, political, sexual and racial separators. This article deals with geographical borders in the Southeast Asian (SEA) region. Most countries in SEA share borders with each other. Under a range of circumstances and relationships such as trade, security and migration flows take place. Southeast Asia’s heterogeneity—politically, ethnically, religiously, economically, demographically and spatially—has crucial implications for neighbourly relationships, trade, border constructions, migration and refugee flows for all the countries. This article delves into the interplay between borders and heterogeneity in SEA and their outcomes. We argue that borders type determine the level of relationship between neighbouring countries and security outcome, trade and population mobility.

Are Borders the Reflection of International Relations? Southeast Asian Borders in Perspective