For centuries, borders and boundaries have been among the key factors shaping armed conflicts. They define the space of state sovereignty and political order, while at the same time being a source of tension and the subject of military and legal rivalry. During our conference, we would like to address borders not only in their political sense and in relation to military actions, but also in a multidimensional context of wars and armed conflicts.

The conference has an interdisciplinary character; we therefore invite you to submit papers addressing the topic of borders from the perspectives of history, archaeology, political science, law, literary studies, cultural studies, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, psychology, as well as studies on trauma, migration, and identity.

The Faces of War conference is aimed at researchers at all stages of their academic careers, from students and doctoral candidates to experienced scholars. We also encourage participation from individuals associated with cultural, educational, and heritage institutions, as well as artists and creators who explore the themes of war and borders in their work.

Lead Theme: Boundaries

 

Thematic tracks:

1. Political and state borders

• State borders as a cause of wars and armed conflicts
• Border changes as a result of wars
• Border crossing operations
• Memory of border wars
• Migration, resettlement, humanitarian corridors

2. Borderlands as a military space

• Borderlands as zones of permanent threat
• Militarization of multi-ethnic and multi-religious areas
• The role of border towns in warfare
• Sabotage, diversion, and irregular activities in borderlands
• Everyday life during wartime in border areas

3. Guarding the borders

• Border guards and border troops
• Frontier garrisons
• Border fortifications
• Personnel of border formations
• The border as a site of military service

4. The limits of military technology

• The limits of the army's technological capabilities
• The obsolescence of military branches and weaponry
• Military breakthroughs as turning points of crossing the boundaries of conventional warfare
• The boundary between war and peace (cyberwarfare, hybrid warfare, and information warfare)

• The limits of mobilization and state resilience

5. The limits of law during wartime

• Limits in light of the conventions of war and international law
• The law of war as an attempt to set limit on violence
• Violations of the law of war as a military strategy
• Military courts, international war crime tribunals
• Humanitarian law and total war
• The legality and illegality of irregular activieties

6. Boundaries in urban spaces

• Divided cities – origins, everyday life, military and political significance
• Urban boundaries as a tool of military and political control
• City walls, their fall and legacy
• Occupation zones, segregated areas, ghettos

• The symbolism of walls, checkpoints, and urban barriers

 7. Moral and ethical boundaries

• Ethical dilemmas of conflict participants – the “gray zone” of war
• War crimes and responsibility – individual and collective
• The law of war and the reality of conflict
• The limits of justice – amnesties, forgiveness, revenge
• The limits of obedience

 8. Borders in art and propaganda

• Border conflicts in literature, film, theater, and visual arts
• The limits of representing trauma and violence – silence, metaphor, grotesque
• Art as a space for crossing boundaries – aesthetic, political, emotional
• War as a linguistic experience – the language of war in poetry, prose, reportage
• Border imagery in propaganda
• The limits of war propaganda

The organisers welcome submissions outside the proposed thematic areas, provided that they are related to the main topic: Boundaries.