Negotiating Asian Borders: Actors, Displacements, Multiplicities, Sovereignties

Negotiating Asian Borders: Actors, Displacements, Multiplicities, Sovereignties

The theme of the 8th Asian Borderlands Research Network (ABRN) conference is Negotiating Asian Borders: Actors, Displacements, Multiplicities, Sovereignties. This conference is a collaborative effort between the Department of Geography at NTU, the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), and the Asian Borderlands Research Network (ABRN). The conference will be held from 13-15 January 2026 at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan.

The multiple crises facing our world today warrant critical reflection of how we think of bordering, sovereignty, belonging and solidarity. Today, borders are transforming in multiple forms as communities, technologies, infrastructures, and natural forces interact, blending physical and virtual boundaries together. Borders are negotiated in new ways, on the ground, across the oceans, and “in the cloud”, with profound implications on our understanding of actors, displacements, multiplicities, and sovereignties. Maritime borders and island geographies reveal the in-betweenness of sovereignty, where borders are shaped not only by political institutions but also by oceanic connections, historical flows, and lived experiences. The fluidity of bordering complicates fixed notions of territorial sovereignty, highlighting how movement, exchange, and historical entanglements challenge rigid border structures. The tactics people use to navigate contemporary borders, the historical linkages and narratives of borders, and alternative visions of borders and borderlands are all important parts of these transformations. Tracing historical linkages and dynamics can unveil diverse narratives on borders and sovereignty, inviting voices, memories, and imaginaries towards alternative visions of the present and future.

Negotiating Asian Borders: Actors, Displacements, Multiplicities, Sovereignties

Over the last four years, the geopolitical landscape of the world, and of Asia in particular, witnessed fundamental shifts marked by concurrent and overlapping crises. From rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to the impacts of economic and security realignments across the region; from extreme weather events to the displacement and scattering of refugee communities across international boundaries – these crises are reshaping how people live their lives, negotiate their identities, recall their pasts and imagine futures. In coastal and island regions, maritime borders have become key sites where geopolitical fault lines are redrawn, as sovereignty disputes, security concerns, and economic interests intersect across oceanic spaces. At the same time, nation-states have reinforced borders, both physical and virtual, through heightened surveillance and defence Yet shared values of freedom and peace continue to foster transnational solidarities that transcend land-based divides, connecting diverse actors across borders, seas, and more-than-human worlds. 

The multiple crises facing our world today warrant critical reflection of how we think of bordering, sovereignty, belonging and solidarity. Today, borders are transforming in multiple forms as communities, technologies, infrastructures, and natural forces interact, blending physical and virtual boundaries together. Borders are negotiated in new ways, on the ground, across the ocean, and “in the cloud”, with profound implications on our understanding of actors, displacements, multiplicities, and sovereignties. The tactics people use to navigate contemporary borders, the historical linkages and narratives of borders, and alternative visions of borders and borderlands are all important parts of these transformations. How people navigate and make sense of these turbulent times remains a key question to be answered. Tracing historical linkages and dynamics can unveil diverse narratives on borders and sovereignty, inviting voices, memories, and imaginaries towards alternative visions of the present and future.      

The theme of the 8th ABRN conference is “Negotiating Borders” across Asia. The four sub-themes offer specific points of engagement, with broader possibilities of cross-fertilisation of ideas and research directions. Exploratory questions are listed under each sub-theme as a starting point for conversation:   

 Actors/Actants

1. Who are the main actors negotiating borders and boundaries, in human and more-than-human worlds? Who is excluded from these processes and how?
2. How are these actors profiled, imagined, networked, managed, and controlled?
3. How do diverse actors negotiate their voices and echoes, their presence and impact, their visibility and invisibility, strategies, and practices?
4. How do different actors navigate, contest, and enforce maritime borders, and what strategies emerge in response to shifting sovereignties at sea?
5. What are the hopes and visions of different actors, and what are the possibilities for creating borderland commons (e.g. around shared habitats, waterways, energy resources, specific trades, and technologies?)

Displacements

1. How does the forced displacement of populations transform borderlands?
2. How are these processes shaped by gender dynamics as well as different age cohorts, particularly among youth?
3. What are the political/legal and economic responses of state and other authorities to large-scale displacement and how do they reflect in wider bordering dynamics as well as social empowerment and integration?
4. How do maritime borders shape experiences of displacement, and how do displaced peoples navigate legal, political, and ecological uncertainties across the seas?
5. How do transborder solidarities, loyalties and belonging of displaced people impact upon socio-economic and (potentially) social-ecological developments in borderlands?

Multiplicities

1. How are borders evolving to form new and surprising assemblages?
2. How to trace multiple connections of global supply chains, just-in-time (and now “just-in-case”) logistics, offshoot and proxy enterprises, physically and virtually?
3. How do fast-evolving technologies such as generative AI simulate and stimulate novel understanding of complex social-ecological systems in and beyond borderlands?
4. How do maritime borders and/or islands create shifting assemblages of governance, trade, and technology, and what do they reveal about the multiplicities of bordering?
5. What roles do borderlands play in overlapping socio-economic and social-ecological systems in Asia?     

Sovereignties

1. How can we better understand multiple and intersecting forms of sovereignty that transform politics and imaginations? e.g. cyber sovereignty, health or biosovereignty, energy/resource sovereignty, air/water/climate sovereignty, data sovereignty, volumetric sovereignty etc.
2. How are borders reconstituted, gained, evaded and undermined, as ideas and practices around sovereignties evolve?
3. How do maritime borders and/or islands complicate notions of sovereignty, as territorial control intersects with ocean governance, security regimes, and transnational economies?
4. How do multiple forms of sovereignty shape research methodologies?
5. How do evolving sovereignties influence or pose any implications for the ethical conduct of research?

Download here the 8th ABRN Conference Brochure

Register for the 8th ABRN Conference

The 8th ABRN Conference, "Negotiating Asian Borders: Actors, Displacements, Multiplicities, Sovereignties" will take place at National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. You can benefit from the early-bird registration fees until 1 November 2025. The registration fee includes access to all Conference sessions, coffee/tea breaks and lunch.

Fee Structure

^{*Student participant: Please choose this category if you are a master/PhD student at the moment of registration.}

Conference Location

The 8th ABRN Conference registration and sessions will take place at:

Multi-Purpose Classroom Building

National Taiwan University
No.1 Sec.4, Roosevelt Rd., 
Taipei city 106319, Taiwan, R.O.C.

View the building location on google maps

Flights to Taipei

Taiwan is a highly accessible destination, with flights arriving from around the world. The most convenient airport for Taipei is Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE). To find the most affordable tickets to Taipei, we recommend using the following websites:

• Skyscanner
• Trip.com

Visa/Entry Options

All participants are responsible for applying for their own visa/entry permit to enter Taiwan. If you require a visa/entry permit, please begin the application process well in advance of your travel date.

There are several visa options for entering the Republic of China (Taiwan) to attend the 8th ABRN Conference. The appropriate visa option depends on your nationality:

1. Entry permit - Available to Citizens and Residents of Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
2. Visa-exempt Entry - Available to citizens of select countries for short stays.
3. Visitor Visa - Participants will need to submit the visa application at their nearest Taiwan Embassy or Mission Abroad.
4. Travel Authorization Certificate - Available to citizens of India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Lao. Kindly note that the eligible applicants have to meet specific requirements

For more information about each visa type and eligibility, please visit:

The Visa Information Page

Accommodation Recommendations

Taipei offers a wide range of accommodation options to suit every budget and requirements, with dormitory beds starting from EUR 15 per night per person. We've prepared a list of recommended hostels and hotels located within a 30-minute travel time to and from National Taiwan University.

* Indicates Muslim-friendly hotels

Hostels

Rates: From EUR 15 per night/person
Room types: Bed-in-dormitories or single rooms with shared bathroom

Business Hotels

Rates: From EUR 35 - 110 per night/room

Upscale Hotels

Rates: From EUR 78 per night/room

Note: Participants are responsible for contacting the accommodation and making their own reservations. Terms and conditions may vary per hotel. Please ensure to consult the hotel's terms and conditions before making the (deposit) payment. The 8th ABRN Organising Committee cannot be held responsible by the participants for their reservations, including availability, damages, costs and losses. Rates shown on this page are estimates and may subject to change.

Download the printable version of Accommodation Recommendations here

• Po-Yi Hung - National Taiwan University, Taiwan
• Juan Zhang - University of Bristol, United Kingdom
• Willem van Schendel - Amsterdam University, The Netherlands
• Tina Harris - Amsterdam University, The Netherlands
• Henryk Alff - Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE), Germany
• Busarin Lertchavalitsakul - Naresuan University, Thailand 
• Hasan Karrar - Lahore University for Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan
• Duncan McDuie-Ra - Monash University, Malaysia 
• Ruba Al Akash - Yarmouk University, Jordan

The 8th ABRN conference is organised by the Department of Geography, National Taiwan University (NTU), International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) and the Asian Borderlands Research Network (ABRN).

What is the participation format of the 8th ABRN Conference?

• The 8th ABRN Conference is an In-person Conference.

What will be the location of the 8th ABRN Conference?

• The Conference will take place at the National Taiwan University (NTU), in Taipei, Taiwan.

What are the available submission formats?

• The main submission formats are Panel, Roundtable, and Individual Paper. We also welcome alternative format suggestions, such as Documentary/Film, or Workshop. Should you wish to suggest an alternative format, please contact us at Asianborderlands@iias.nl .

What is the submission deadline?

• The submission deadline is 20 May 2025.

When will I receive the selection result?

• We have published the submission results and notified all submitters. If you are a submitter, but have not received an e-mail from the Conference Organiser, please send us an e-mail. For panellists or roundtable participants, please contact your panel/roundtable convenor for the selection result.

Are there any grants available?

• The ABRN Organising Committee offers limited funding opportunities. Participants are responsible for covering all costs associated with attending the conference, including the registration fee. You will receive more information about the Conference Funding Opportunities in the Acceptance Letter. The grants will likely partially cover the participation costs.

When will the registration open?

• Registration opens on Monday, 1 September 2025

What is the Conference fee structure?

• Categories	Registration Fees
  	Early Bird (Until 1 November 2025)	Regular      (Until 12 January 2026)	On-site      (from 13 January 2026 onwards)
  Participant/Observer	EUR 150	EUR 175	EUR 200
  Student Participant/Observer *	EUR 80	EUR 100	EUR 120

  Please check the 'Registration' tab for more details.