Territoriality (nonverbal communication)

Territoriality is a term associated with nonverbal communication that refers to how people use space to communicate ownership or occupancy of areas and possessions. The anthropological concept branches from the observations of animal ownership behaviors. Personal space can be regarded as a bubble with a person at the center, forming an area which the person does not wish to be invaded.

An example of demonstrating territoriality might be the car size. Driving a large truck like the Ford F350 might be communicating that a value of owning a lot of space on the highway. However, driving a small car like the Smart, then might be communicating no need to occupy so much space. Another example is students as they sit in class. Some students like to spread their backpack and books out in a way to let other students know that they do not want others to sit next to them. These students seem to value having a lot of space to themselves. On the other hand, some students keep their books and bags close to them, making others aware that they have no problem in sharing space with other students.

The term stimulated Edward T. Hall to create the word proxemics, which refers to how people use space, but not necessarily how people communicate ownership (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond 2008, p. 209).

Territoriality can also be associated with states or nations. Government and social ideas are also associated with Territoriality. A nation state can establish common ideals amongst its citizens which lead to territoriality. Nationalism is an example of this. National pride, common religious practices, and politics all play a role in a state's territoriality.

An example of this would be the conflict in Northern Ireland. Ireland is a Catholic nation and England is a Protestant one. Many Irishman don't want Northern Ireland to be a part of a non-catholic nation. Territory disputes in this area have been justified by religion. This is an example of how religion can play a strong role in territoriality.

In the post-War era human territoriality was commonly believed to be the product of human instinct, akin or analogous to territorial behaviour in animals.

Since the 1980s, human territoriality has been instead studied as the product of socio-political processes. Robert Sack's 'Human Territoriality' popularised this position, describing human territoriality as a powerful strategy. In the field of International Relations, John Ruggie argued that territoriality was the organizing principle for modern international politics and could be contrasted with medieval heteronomous orders. Following Ruggie, a number of works have sought to explain how territoriality became the dominant principle of European international relations and/or question his broadly Westphalian chronology of the modern territorial order.

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