IBRU

One of my key duties at Durham is directing IBRU, formerly the International Boundaries Research Unit and now IBRU: Durham University’s Centre for Borders Research. IBRU’s expertise lies at the intersection of law and geography: how lines get drawn on maps (and on the ground and in the sea) to divide territories, but also how these lines are then maintained, interpreted, encountered, and managed to govern the flows of people, goods, and ideas that cross them.

At the core of IBRU’s work are training sessions given by and for professionals in the international boundary-making community. These are supplemented with consulting ventures, publications, and research initiatives, as well as public outreach and media engagement.

Much of IBRU’s current work revolves around providing accessible, affordable online training courses on boundary training that complement our intensive, three-day workshops. See the IBRU website for more information on our online offer as well as IBRU’s research and cartographic resources.

For more on IBRU’s mission and how we seek to address pressing issues in border studies and international boundary disputes, see this 30-minute video lectured delivered in November 2020 to Durham University alumni: