Internal Borders as Naturalized Political Instruments

This article explores how internal borders can become naturalized political instruments that are heavily implicated in the extension of state control over rural populations and rural landscapes. It shows how seemingly innocuous instruments such as national parks and hunting and sport fishing regulations can be utilized to create essentialist ecological arguments for the extension of class and urban-based centers of power. Specific examples of these forms of control are illustrated with material from island Newfoundland to show how neo-liberal agendas have been implemented in the name of ecological conservation. These processes create serious disruptions in the historic political ecology of rural areas and obfuscate the anti-ecological practices of contemporary capitalism and neo-liberal forms of government.