Taking the Battle to Cyberspace : Delineating Borders and Mapping Identities in Western Sahara

Abstract

Examining the case of Western Sahara, this chapter takes a closer look at the connection between identity, territory, and borders, as well as their construction in mapping processes. Analysing different web maps, I will show their rootedness in the dominant political world views and contrast them with the perspectives of the parties of conflict (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Morocco). The results show significant differences between proprietary and crowdsourced web maps as well as the cartographic representations authored by the factions. The delineation of borders is directly linked to territorial identity and nation-building. This demonstrates the important role of web maps and other digitally disseminated maps in the definition of identity and (self)-governance.