Three years after India and Bangladesh exchanged exclaves to simplify the world's most complex border, many who chose to move rather than to change their citizenship find that their prospects are not what they'd hoped.

A tiny territory on the Black Sea hopes to boost its bid for nationhood by welcoming Syrians fleeing civil war.

From Liberland to Sealand, a partial tour of semi-autonomous, breakaway states.

Gerrymandering in the Great Lakes State has cost some communities their representation, their schools, and their access to clean drinking water.

Recent court challenges to politically motivated redistricting have yielded several decisions not to decide.

Ieva Jusionyte explores the spirit of first response in an area where dangers don't care about boundaries.

Juan Carlos Lopez is braving local violence so that indigenous workers can get a share of the profits.

Imagine peeling an orange, then trying to lay the peel flat. Map-making is the art of manipulating the orange peel until it yields.

Since ancient times, border walls have simultaneously assuaged and stoked our fears of outsiders. But a history of walls can't tell the full story of civilization.

Katya Cengel tracks the lives of four families following the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge.

In a land known for war, the Midburn gathering offers a vision of peace and love.

Our online identities have become a part of who we are in the real world—whether we're always aware of it or not.

An archive works to conserve the stories of the 1947 Partition of India.

Ajo, Arizona: Heavy-duty, non-biodegradable canteens—occasionally insulated with clothing or blankets to prevent chafing—scatter the desert in the Tucson sector of the United States border with Mexico.

Sindo Ferry passengers have their passports checked and their luggage x-rayed before they board, but they are divided about how meaningful national boundaries are.

East of San Diego, California: In 2013, Border Patrol Agent Jacopo Bruni looks south over a border fence in the mountains.

San Luis, Arizona: A United States Drug Enforcement Administration official aims a flashlight down a 55-foot-deep drug-smuggling tunnel that spans a distance of nearly 240 yards under the U.S.-Mexico border. Drugs ran north, and weapons and cash ran south.

Twenty-four hours in rattlesnake country.

Hermosillo, Mexico: Central American immigrants walk to a soup kitchen for some much-needed sustenance after traveling by Mexican freight train—known among the caravaners as "the beast."

In the Brazilian state of Roraima, newcomers arrive every day by car, bus, and bicycle.

Updates to stories from the Pacific Standard archive.

Identities that govern seemingly innate experiences, such as the taste of food—or even racial bias—can be harnessed to create positive social change.

Updates to stories from the Pacific Standard archive.

In a recent study, the behavior most strongly linked to a negative recommendation was abandonment.

Updates to stories from the Pacific Standard archive.

Efforts to contain protests inevitably create boundaries—and raise questions about restricting free speech.

An introduction to our special issue on borders and boundaries.