demarkatsiooni

Demarkatsioon, or demarcation, is the process of establishing and marking the boundaries or limits of an area, jurisdiction, or concept. It can be physical, political, administrative, or conceptual, and is often carried out through measurement, projection, and agreement among involved parties. In Estonian, the term is demarkatsioon, with demarkatsiooni as the genitive form.

Territorial demarcation is common in international relations and geography, where states negotiate borders and then mark them on the ground with markers, fences, or geodetic references. Administrative demarcation defines the scope of government authority and public services within regions, counties, or municipalities.

Legal demarcation concerns the distribution of powers among levels of government or organizations, while scientific and philosophical demarcation addresses how to separate valid science from non-science or pseudoscience. In each case, the process relies on agreed criteria and methods, such as treaties, maps, archival records, or formal definitions.

Challenges include ambiguous terrain, historical claims, population movements, and political tensions. Demarcation may be revised as circumstances change, leading to new treaties or boundary commissions. The term originates from Latin demarcatio, demarcare, meaning to mark off.

See also: boundary, border, delimitation, frontier, jurisdiction.