Seminar on Borders and Nationhood with Slate’s Joshua Keating

The Center for Global Development is hosting a discussion with Joshua Keating, staff writer at Slate focusing on international affairs. Keating will discuss his forthcoming book, Invisible Countries: Journeys to the Edge of Nationhood.

The book, which will be published in late June, provides a thoughtful analysis of how our world’s borders came to be and why we may be emerging from a lengthy period of “cartographical stasis.” Through stories about non-traditionally defined countries’ efforts at self-determination, as well as their respective challenges, Keating reveals that there is no universal legal authority determining what we consider a country. He argues that although our current world map appears fairly static, economic, cultural, and environmental forces in the places he describes may spark change. An excerpt of the book will be available at the breakfast. 

At Slate, Keating focuses on international news, foreign policy, and social science. Before coming to Slate, he was an editor for six years at Foreign Policy. A native of Brooklyn and graduate of Oberlin College, he currently lives in Washington, DC.