Book Review of Adam Cathcart, Christopher Green, Steven Denney (eds). Decoding the Sino-North Korean Borderlands. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2021

The use of the plural “borderlands” already in the book title unfolds the epistemological tension of considering cross-border areas as a homogeneous unit, inviting the reader to reflect on a multitude of spaces, people, economic flows, past histories, and future possibilities. While acknowledging the difficulty of weaving a constructive network of discourses among the many interactions, failures, and unresolved issues that characterise the Sino-North Korean border area (p. 17), the editors nonetheless show their ability to assemble eighteen essays that force the view on its socio-spatial complexity and challenge the traditional narrative of Chinese hegemony.