Phantom border
A phantom border (German: Phantomgrenze) is an informal delineation following the approximate course of an abolished political border, associated with demographic differences on each side as a continuing legacy of historical division, despite official geopolitical union. Not all former political borders are today phantom borders. Factors that may increase the likelihood of a political border becoming a phantom border upon dissolution, include: short time elapsed since the border's dissolution, long existence of the former border, imporousity of the former border, and divergent characteristics of the political entity formerly governing one side of the border. Phantom borders have many different implications: in Ukraine they are associated with conflict, while in countries such as Romania they play an important part in relations with neighboring countries.