Abstract
Mapping has increasingly attracted attention in recent years following a renewed interest in social science towards space and visuality. Obviously, geographers have been key players in this deep epistemological rethinking. They have been driven by the dual nature of the map, crossing both geographical reality and spatial imaginaries.
The paper questions the power of maps and its role in the connection between these two levels. The case study is original and draws from the fascist period: the representation of Ethiopian political borders, gradually erased in maps well before the Italian conquest.
Concepts and categories of the analysis come from Brian Harley’s thought inspired by Derrida and Foucault. However, conclusions deviate from Harleyan deconstructionism, and develop original ideas on the argumentative nature and performative ability of maps.