Abstract

The German term Grenze (and its equivalents in other Western European languages) have become omnipresent in both the everyday and scientific language ofmodern societies. History and the social sciences up to now have not given enough attention to this fact. Indeed, they have not sufficiently dealt with the question of whether this term ought to be considered a fundamental concept for the self image and the analysis of modern societies. Parting from historical and international comparative research in the field of concept history and social history, the study gives a cautiously positive answer to this question. It assumes that the generalised use of border terminology in modern societies is closely linked to the main social features of these societies, both in a historical and an analytical perspective. This strong convergence between concept history and social history refers first of all to the political-territorial and cultural organisation of modern societies as nation states, but also to their internal differentiation along functional borders.