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Superimposed Boundaries

Definition

These are political boundaries that have been imposed on an area by an outside or conquering power. This boundary ignores the cultural organizations on this landscape.

Analogy

Imagine you and your siblings are playing in a sandbox, each of you has created your own little world with sandcastles and moats. Suddenly, your parent comes over and draws a line right through your creations to divide the sandbox equally. That's what superimposed boundaries are like - they don't consider existing cultural or social structures.

Related terms

Colonialism: The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

Partition: A division into parts like the 1947 partition of India creating two separate countries India and Pakistan.

Sovereignty: The authority of a state to govern itself or another state.