Border Studies Associates

Research is carried out with the intention of developing “blueprints” for action or to enable better modes of action to be generated. Priorities are such that little research is carried out purely for its own sake.

Part of the tone of the initiative derives from the collective stance taken in opposition to an “adversary” whose image is progressively clarified. This approach is used as a way of focusing resources and attention. Efforts are especially directed to responding to the ability of the adversary to obscure or deflect understanding and purpose, and to erode configurations of resources. Ways of creatively redefining the context within which the adversary is perceived are an ongoing concern. Efforts are made to “internalize” the significance of adversaries, to explore the resulting dynamics as a means of transcending them, and to adopt a creative approach to scapegoat generation.

The degree of individual and collective commitment introduces a quite distinctive quality. Border Studies is an environment congenial to highly self-motivated individuals and it encourages the redefinition of such commitment. There is a collective appreciation of the risks and sacrifices associated with the work as well as the possible benefits.

Much of the work responds to contradictions in the psycho-social system and in the efforts to improve it. Any creative response implies the possibility of some emergent synthesis which would transcend such limitations rather than simply favoring a particular model or method. It is suspected that the nature of the synthesis is such that its paradoxical quality cannot be completely embodied in simple forms. Emphasis is therefore given to indirect approaches. Configurations of competing forms, or patterns of resonance between alternative modes, are explored as ways of expressing the dynamics of subtler levels of synthesis in a manner significant for psycho-social design.

In envisaging research and designing action strategies, special attention is given to the need for constraints, limits or self-discipline. Constraints, including death itself, are seen as a vital means of giving form to freedom. They are not simply regretted and eliminated as unwelcome impositions, but are viewed as a creative challenge which helps to structure any psycho-social design and to articulate its unique quality.

Effort is directed toward complementing conventional “positive” approaches by cultivating a more creative understanding of “negative” approaches. In the same spirit, careful attention is given to any domain which is neglected or considered irrelevant. Deliberate attempts are made to “rehabilitate” the significance of whatever has been rejected in this way. This attitude extends to hidden assumptions and the ugly realities of the enterprise itself viewed as constituting its own “shadow”.

Whenever possible, progress in understanding is applied experimentally in the form of innovations to Border Studies as a collective enterprise and community. Border Studies is considered as its own laboratory, as well as an effective model of problems and conditions in wider society. If innovations cannot be successfully and harmoniously implemented there, it is unlikely that they would prove significant elsewhere.

The mode of operation is such as to cultivate a reservoir of energy whereby a wide variety of actions can be empowered, thus countering the pervasive sense of individual and collective impotence. Action is however primarily indirect, taking full advantage of the energy expended by opposing forces.

Effort is directed toward countering the progressive impoverishment and homogenization of the psycho-cultural system. Diversity is cultivated so that the qualitative value of the parts to the whole can be readily appreciated.

Given the nature of the global problematique, research is necessarily designed to facilitate transformation of the psycho-social system as a whole. Such transformation is perceived as respecting cultural diversity rather than requiring either homogenization of methods or universal consensus on goals, values, and desirable forms of organization.