In no particular order, we are introducing researchers whose projects are featured in the exhibition "On Water. WasserWissen in Berlin," currently on display at the Humboldt Labor of the Humboldt Forum. HU scientist Annett Bochmann is conducting research on two rivers to better understand border events.
There are lots of maps and drawings on the tables and whiteboards in Annett Bochmann's office. What connects this material are two rivers: the Vuoksi, a transboundary river that flows from Finland to Russia, and the Moei, a classic border river that separates Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Thailand. Some of the maps were created during research stays – sketched by hand together with local research partners. Others, such as historical maps, were brought back by the sociologist from her research trips. In order to better understand and compare borders and their logic, she also maps and sketches the regions at different scales using computer software.
"Borders are not solely the result of human action."
Bochmann is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Social Sciences at Humboldt-Universität. Funded by the German Research Foundation, she heads the project "Border Materiality and Infrastructures: A Comparison of Urban Border Areas," which examines local and global influences on border dynamics. The focus is on three areas: border control, economics and water infrastructure. Bochmann's approach follows the theory of sociomateriality, which assumes that social actions and material elements are intertwined and influence each other. She is particularly interested in the power relationship between humans and nature – a relationship she wants to rethink. "Borders are not solely the result of human action," she says. "They also arise from the interaction of human and non-human actors. It is not only humans, but also water that shapes border lines and situations."
Both borders in her study are heavily influenced by geopolitical conflicts. Finland completely closed its border with Russia in the wake of the 2022 war in Ukraine, and Burma/Myanmar has been in a state of civil war again since 2021, after the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's government. "These dynamics obviously have a major impact on the border, but I am also interested in the power of water on border events," says Bochmann.
To this end, she regularly travels to the border regions for long research stays. There, she primarily works with ethnographic methods: she conducts participant observation, records videos, assists hydrologists with water analyses, accompanies border guards on their patrols, and conducts interviews with local actors.
Interdisciplinary research on an equal footing
She has been conducting research in Southeast Asia since 2011, where she studied refugee camps for her doctoral thesis, among other things. "When I'm there, I don't just do research, I also participate in the social life of the local population," she says. A very important aspect of her research, which she particularly emphasises, is collaboration with researchers from the regions. Her working group also includes colleagues from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok and the University of Eastern Finland. Bochmann herself is a visiting researcher at both universities. Her working group is also interdisciplinary, collaborating with geographers and urban designers who have the necessary expertise in rivers and critical mapping. Critical mapping, Bochmann explains, means reflecting on mapping as an instrument of power and control.
Back to the relationship between borders and water: the border between Finland and Russia is one of the most fortified borders in the world: fences, sensors, cameras and a large number of personnel ensure highly controlled surveillance – including in the border towns of Imatra and Svetogorsk. Before the border was closed, things looked very different here. At that time, trade and lively border crossings characterised the towns, with tourists and shoppers crossing back and forth on a daily basis. However, the water in the heavily manipulated Vuoksi continues to flow. Joint cooperation is also still necessary: for efficient energy use, the hydroelectric power stations, of which each country has two, require regulated water levels. "The Vuoksi is clean, well cared for, but also manipulated. People here have a high degree of control over the water," says Bochmann.
Nature as an active player
The border between Myanmar/Burma and Thailand, on the other hand, is much less fortified. The Moei River at the border towns of Myawaddy and Mae Sot forms a fluid border that enables a wide range of cooperation. Even though one of the two friendship bridges over the Moei between the two countries is currently closed and trade is severely restricted due to the civil war in Burma/Myanmar, it still takes place. "Local actors have a say at this border; it is not completely regulated by the central government," explains Bochmann, adding: "But it is also interesting that the natural seasonal fluctuations in water levels shift the course of the border."
On the one hand, moraines are formed that alter the course of the border and lead to local and state disagreements. "On the other hand, during the monsoon season, we can observe temporary closures of the border, which stop or severely hamper cross-border trade." The Moei and the power of water "intervene" in the social situation as border actors. This is particularly evident when border infrastructures are severely damaged by the monsoon.
Author: Ljiljana Nikolic