Disputed lands

Teaching module for upper secondary schools

In today’s globalised world, the very concept of a border seems to be losing its significance and value; however, controlling territory and the resources within it remains a hot topic, which drives governments and populations to either support or oppose claims to a patch of land, however large or small.
A border is not simply a line drawn on a map, but the result of long historical and anthropological processes, which leave scars that are just as intricate or, worse still, wounds that are still very much open.
To make sense of an increasingly complex era such as our own, we will examine three territories where disputes have their roots in the second half of the 20th century.

In collaboration with the Istituto Storico Parri.

The Two Dragons: China, Taiwan and the disputed routes

• Thursday 4 March 2027 at 10:00 - 12:00

Formally, there have been two Republics of China since 1949. The first is the one we are all familiar with: the People’s Republic of China, with its capital in Beijing. The other is the Republic of China, whose borders are the coasts of the island of Taiwan, and whose capital is Taipei. For almost eighty years, it has been impossible to have embassies in both Beijing and Taipei at the same time, since both governments require you to choose. This event aims to trace, through a review of historical events, the current and future global implications of the dispute over an island situated right at the heart of the world’s major trade routes.

Contested gold. Sudan and the forgotten war

• Thursday 11 March 2027 at 10:00 - 12:00

In 2019, the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir’s thirty-year dictatorship had raised hopes of a democratic transition in Sudan. However, as early as 2021, al-Burhan, a general in the Sudanese Armed Forces, and Hemedti, commander of the paramilitary group known as the RAF, overthrew the democratic transitional government and divided power between themselves. The alliance between the two collapsed just two years later, however, in 2023, triggering a fierce civil war. One of the key battlegrounds is Darfur, a region rich in gold mines. This session aims to explore the historical dynamics and the forces at play in this all-too-little-known conflict.

Border disputes between cartels: Mexico and the United States

• Thursday 18 March 2027 at 10:00 - 12:00

For around twenty years, Mexico has been facing a serious crisis of kidnappings, disappearances and other acts of violence, for which drug cartels are largely responsible; however, the government itself has also committed human rights violations in its war against criminal groups. This widespread instability affects civilians in particular, driving waves of migration towards the US border. The session aims to examine Mexico both as a contested border (with the United States) and as a land of internal conflict (between the government and criminal organisations).