When the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Sajia Behgam Amin was on the way to the airport in Kabul. She saw firsthand how easy it was for the terrorist group to wrest control from the government. At the same time, she observed how Afghanistan's neighboring countries closed their borders, making it almost impossible for those affected to escape. Influenced by these experiences, she began to engage academically with the field of border studies.
Largely Eurocentric
The current debates in border studies are currently conducted almost exclusively from a Western perspective. Very few publications deal with the Asian perspective; there are no articles about Central Asia or Afghanistan. The developments in Afghanistan in particular could be paradigmatic for border research and question Eurocentric views. Central to this are questions about identity, territory, state formation, self-image and group identities.
Identify boundary mechanisms
In her dissertation, Sajia Behgam Amin would like to identify the border mechanisms with which the Afghan population was excluded, displaced and left to the Taliban regime. She tests the hypothesis that it was not only the weakness of the government that led to the seizure of power, but also technically sophisticated mechanisms that make it more difficult for those seeking protection to cross the border. To do this, she includes reports from those affected who have left Afghanistan, are in transition in Pakistan or are still hoping to leave.
