Negotiating Peace in Land and Maritime Border Agreements

A Register Analysis

Abstract

Border agreement documents are usually the end product of satisfactory negotiation between two or more parties. Thus, the written documents are technical representations of the resolutions of negotiation. They, therefore, must not only articulate these resolutions, but must do so in balanced and fair expressions. This paper examines how peace is negotiated in land and maritime border agreements through the register analysis of the documents. Being a Peace Linguistic study, the research draws insights from Halliday’s register analysis as well as Spencer Oatey’s (2000, 2008) rapport management theory in establishing how peace is achieved in border agreements through careful and deliberate choice of expressions. Data is drawn from four international boundary agreements. Common register in the documents is classified and analysed with respect to its peace significance in the exercise. Findings show that register of border agreements is defined by words of positive relationship, signifying rapport enhancement or repair. In the spirit of ensuring lasting resolution, the expressions of geospatial description of the contentious areas in such documents specify the true or negotiated border lines between parties. The study concludes that an effective border agreement document is a function of a register that repairs or elevates the rapport between parties in conflict.