Technology, National Identity, and “Invisible Countries”

Since the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the world’s borders have remained surprisingly stable. But as climate change alters geographic features that distinguish territories, and Google Maps offers different views to people in different nations, the definition of a country—and what privileges that definition confers—seems to be changing.

In his new book Invisible Countries: Journeys to the Edge of Nationhood, journalist Joshua Keating explores complex zones of identity and statehood. He brings us self-proclaimed countries—think Kurdistan, Somaliland, Abkhazia—that force us to question our conception of nationhood and suggest that our lengthy period of cartographical stasis may be coming to a head.

Join Future Tense, Keating, international tech policy analyst Miranda Bogen, and moderator Ishaan Tharoor of the Washington Post for a conversation about Invisible Countries and how we’ll define nationhood in the future. 

Participants: 

Joshua Keating, @joshuakeating 
Staff Writer, Slate
Author, Invisible Countries: Journeys to the Edge of Nationhood 

Miranda Bogen, @mbogen 
Policy Analyst, Upturn 

Moderator: 

Ishaan Tharoor, @ishaantharoor 
Foreign Affairs Writer, The Washington Post