Meje nacionalnih držav, pravita avtorici, so utelešenje stika med sistemom in življenjskim svetom, so učbeniško nazorna podoba tega, kako se družbeni prostori prevajajo v fizične in narobe. V članku razmišljata, kako se meje v prostoru vzpostavljajo, ohranjajo in tudi brišejo na podlagi razlik in opozicij (mi in oni, tukaj in tam, varnost in nevarnost, vključeni in izključeni ...). V primeru meja med nacionalnimi državami se razlike prepoznavajo in utemeljujejo izključno v sferi politike, natanko iste politike, ki potrebuje meje in razlike, da bi se sploh lahko konstituirala. Osrednji del besedila je kvalitativna raziskava vsakdanjega doživljanja in pomenov meje med Italijo in nekdanjo Jugoslavijo ter Slovenijo v treh obdobjih: ob vzpostavljanju meje v letih 1953/54, nato v desetletjih, ki so sledila vse do vstopa Slovenije v Evropsko unijo, in v obdobju "izginjanja meje" po letu 2004. Avtorici mislita, da je izkušnjam življenja ob meji skupno sporočilo, kako zelo je polje "absolutne politike" obvladovalo vsakdanja življenja ljudi in v prelomnih obdobjih tudi terjalo radikalne odločitve in identitetne preobrazbe.The borders of nation-states, the authors claim, are an embodiment of the junction between the system and life-world. They manifest the translation of the social into physical spaces and vice versa. The authors reflect the meaning of distinctions and oppositions (us and them, here and there, safety and danger, included and excluded etc.) in the construction, maintenance and disappearance of boundaries in space. When it comes to the borders of nation-states distinctions are identified within and grounded solely in the political sphere, the same sphere that needs borders and distinctions in order to constitute itself. A qualitative study about the experience and meaning of the Yugoslav-Slovenian-Italian border lies at the core of the article. Three historical periods are highlighted: the constitution of the border in 1953/54, followed by several decades leading up to Slovenia joining the European Union and the "border disappearance" period after 2004. The authors believe that the field of "absolute politics" dominated over the everyday experiences of the people living in the border area and, when some turning points occurred, demanded radical decisions and identity transformations
