On Tue, 13 Mar 2001, Brendan Whyte wrote:

> An enclave is the extreme example of fragmentation, which is a continuum of
> possibilities from a tombolo like Mont St Michel, which is barely
> disconnected from France (only twice daily at high tide), all the way to
> proper enclave at the other end.

Mont St. Michel is *****NOT***** disconnected from France at high tide,
and was not disconnected from France even before the causeway was built,
because France includes water as well as land!!!!!

Nation-states are fiat objects al la Barry Smith-- they exist because
authorities have declared and agreed on the boundaries. Fiat objects do
not care about land, water, or air, their boundaries are precisely what
their boundaries are declared/agreed to be, neither more nor less. France
exists ONLY as a fiat object.

Bona fide geographic objects have 'natural' boundaries that would exist
independent of human thought. Continents, islands, lakes, drainage basins.
To the extent that Europe is a bina fide object, off shore islands might
be said to be disconnected, and Mont St. Michel might be said to have been
disconnected at high tide befpre the causeway.

But if we invoke "France", the nation-state, we are in the domain of fiat
objects, and fiat objects have boundaries that can run willy nilly across
land or water. You cannot call Mont St. Michel a presqu'exclave of
France, because it is presqu'exclave with respect to land/water (bona
fide) but is always part of the fiat object France, which runs out beyond
even beyond the low tide line to include coastal waters as well.

David