On Borders and Belonging – The Genetic Challenge to Nationalism 

Isn’t a borderless world an intriguing thought? A utopian society without visas or border controls, where people move freely regardless of citizenship. But could such a world ever exist? Is it possible that one day, world leaders might collectively decide to dismantle the walls and barbed wires together? Maybe something like the Schengen Zone but global? Unlikely perhaps. However genetic ancestry tests reveal that the rigid distinctions that define modern nation-states are more artificial than we think.

There are numerous reasons why a world without borders is impractical, but let’s entertain the idea for a moment. If national boundaries disappeared, what would happen to national identity? How would we define where someone is truly from? This question, though hypothetical, has an increasingly tangible answer. What began as a commercial curiosity—genetic ancestry testing—has started to disrupt traditional narratives of national identity.

A friend from the United States once shared his experience with an ancestry test. To his surprise, he discovered he was 0.14% Polish. Jokingly, I asked, “Polish from when? The era of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth? Prussia? Austria? Russia? The Soviet Union? Or even Sweden?” His confusion highlights a crucial issue: the public often misunderstands genetic ancestry and its implications.

As a researcher in ancient DNA, I have long viewed these tests with skepticism. Initially designed as a business model to capitalize on curiosity, they have evolved into a widely embraced phenomenon. But what do they actually reveal? Essentially, these tests analyze DNA from a saliva sample, comparing it to genetic markers in a database to estimate ancestral origins. However, their methodology has two weak links.

First, the specificity of these tests depends entirely on the database they use. The constraint is the availability of well-distributed and accurate genetic data. Second, both borders and genetics are fluid. Modern political borders—defined by barbed wire and immigration laws—are recent constructs. Throughout history, borders have shifted, empires have risen and fallen, and populations have intermingled.

In India, my home country, centuries of migrations and conquests have made it nearly impossible to untangle genetic heritage. Human genetics function as a spectrum; someone from the French-German border will likely share genetic markers with populations in Germany and France but also in Switzerland, Italy, and Spain. The biological reality of human movement challenges the notion of static, homogenous national identities.

Although ancestry tests have limitations, they have unexpectedly disrupted nationalist rhetoric. They reveal the complexity of human ancestry and expose the artificiality of distinctions between “us” and “them.” 

But if national identity is fluid, why do borders still hold such power? Nationalism thrives on the idea that a nation-state consists of a homogenous people with a shared history, language, and culture. This belief has fuelled exclusionary policies, from immigration restrictions to ethnic purity laws. Yet, genetic ancestry tests contradict the notion of pure, isolated national identities. Instead, they highlight the continuous migration, intermixing, and cultural exchanges that have shaped human history.

Throughout history, nationalist leaders have constructed myths of racial and ethnic purity to justify exclusionary policies—from the Nuremberg Laws of Nazi Germany to modern anti-immigration rhetoric. However, movement has always been a fundamental force in human history. Long before the modern nation-state, trade, conquest, and exploration facilitated population blending.

All humans alive today, across all continents, are descendants of early migrants from Africa, sharing 99.99% of their DNA. Later, movements such as the Silk Road and maritime expeditions facilitated centuries of exchange between continents leaving lasting genetic and linguistic imprints. Interestingly, genetic studies show that some North Indians are more closely related to Europeans than to South Indians. The concept of a “pure” national identity becomes difficult to sustain when genetic data consistently reveal hybridity and complexity. Rather than reinforcing national boundaries, ancestry tests underscore the deep interconnectedness of human populations.

This has significant implications for policy-making, particularly in immigration, citizenship, and minority rights. Some governments have attempted to use DNA testing to verify ethnic claims for immigration or asylum. However, if genetic evidence consistently shows that human populations are not as distinct as nationalist rhetoric claims, it could undermine exclusionary policies based on rigid ethnic categories.

Borders are often treated as immutable lines defining who belongs where, yet genetic ancestry tests suggest these divisions are arbitrary. What is now Germany, Austria, Italy, and Hungary have been many other things before. DNA evidence reveals that populations have continuously migrated and mixed across what are now politically significant borders. This raises profound questions about the legitimacy of strict border controls, particularly when nationalist arguments about keeping certain groups out are based on an assumed historical separation that genetic evidence disproves.

Although ancestry tests have not made groundbreaking scientific discoveries, they have brought the concept of genetic diversity to the general public—something that has long been a challenge in the scientific community. While they may not lead to a borderless world anytime soon, they have sparked an important conversation: humanity is one.

As discussions and debates on migration policies gather attention, assessing the reliability of these well-intended ancestry tests and understanding the implications is a responsibility for both science and politics. If policymakers attempt to reply on ancestry tests to reinforce borders, and determine identity or Indigenous status, they risk making flawed decisions. Genetics cannot be weaponized for political borders. 

Ultimately, genetics isn’t going to dismantle borders overnight. But they highlight an important truth. Human history is constant movement, migration and mixing. And no genetic test can prove what it is to ‘belong’.