Theoretical analysis reveals red lines as ambiguous liminal spaces in geopolitical conflict, highlighting how strategic uncertainty enables coercive diplomacy.
Key Points
To develop a multidimensional theoretical framework that redefines geopolitical 'red lines' as flexible, liminal spaces rather than definitive, static boundaries.
Synthesized theoretical perspectives from critical border studies, coercive diplomacy theory, radical cartography, and discourse analysis.
Conceptualized red lines across physical, discursive, and imagined spatial dimensions.
Identifies three ontologically entangled dimensions of red lines: cartographic practices producing finality, discursive acts of coercive diplomacy, and performative border-making processes.
Demonstrates that the strategic effectiveness of red lines relies on deliberate ambiguity, serving concurrently as conflict management mechanisms and markers of fragmented global governance.