A Mobile Boundary: Empires, Nomads, and Refugees between Tripolitania and Tunisia
Journal: Mashriq & Mahjar Journal of Middle East and North African Migration Studies
Year: 2025

This article introduces the concept of a “mobile boundary” in the context of North Africa from 1881 to 1893, when various non-state actors resisted French and Ottoman attempts to delineate an official border between Tripolitania and Tunisia. By focusing on the activities of nomadic, tribal, and refugee populations, this study explores how these groups created a mobile boundary, one defined by their fluid mobility and identities and challenges to imperial conceptions of fixed borders. It challeng