In recent decades, Border Studies have gained importance and have seen a noticeable increase in development. This manifests itself in an increased institutionalisation, a differentiation of the areas of research interest and a conceptual reorientation that is interested in examining processes. So far, however, little attention has been paid to questions about (inter-)disciplinary self-perception and the methodological foundations of Border Studies and the associated consequences for research activities. This thematic issue addresses these desiderata and brings together articles that deal with their (inter-)disciplinary foundations as well as method(olog)ical and practical research questions. The authors also provide sound insights into a disparate field of work, disclose practical research strategies, and present methodologically sophisticated systematizations.
The object of the current Thematic Issue is not to focus on the individuals (the cross-border commuters) but on the organization of the cross-border labor markets. We move from a micro perspective to a macro perspective in order to underline the diversity of the cross-border labor markets (at the French borders, for example) and shed light on the many aspects that impact cross-border supply or demand. Trying to understand the whole system that goes beyond the cross-border flows, the question we address in this thematic issue is about the organization of the labor markets: is the system organized in a cross-border way? Or do the borders still prevent a genuinely integrated cross-border labor market?
For a decade now, borders in Europe have been back on the political agenda. Border research has responded and is breaking new ground in thinking about and exploring borders. This book follows this development and strengthens a perspective that is interested in life realities and that focuses on the everyday cultural experience of borders. The authors reconstruct such experiences in the context of different forms of migration and mobility as well as language contact situations. In this way, they empirically identify everyday cultural usage or appropriation strategies of borders as vastly different experiences of the border. The readers of this volume will gain insights into current developments in border research and the life realities in Europe where borders are (made) relevant.
The UniGR-Center for Border Studies Border Textures working group was set up in 2015 to pursue and further develop the cultural orientation of Border Studies in the Greater Region. This research orientation focuses on the symbolic-social dimension of borders, which it addresses from both high and popular cultural angles and everyday cultural angles. To do this the working group has developed the Border Textures approach, which, as a methodology and heuristic, addresses the practises and discourses around borders with their actors, media, materialisations, effects, places and the complex interactions between them. The approach forms an instrument for analysis and refection that helps to understand the social and cultural workings and mechanisms of border (de)stabilisation.
In the spatial planning field this involves the strengthening of the higher level central spaces as healthcare centres and interconnection points for public transport services, the reinforcement of basic centres to secure primary care provision to the population in neighbouring districts and to stabilise the comprehensive coverage of the population with public service facilities and equal opportunities for access. The basic principles on which the ROP is built are sustainability, equality and gender equality. The spatial planning instruments identified are central places (concentration of development potential and reinforcement of exchanges of services between different levels of central places and their spheres of influence), function identification, threshold values, functional networks, priority areas, regional green corridors, settlement breaks. In addition there are also statements on mobility and the environment (especially the protection of open spaces and climate protection).
The article illustrates the very different developments of the subregions making up the Greater Region, but also the similarities (e.g. guest worker migration in the 1960s and 70s in the Greater Region, ethnic Germans who migrated to Germany in recent decades or American forces in Rhineland-Palatinate. The article looks in depth at each subregion, sets out the specificities of the regions and analyses the reasons behind them. The development of the subregions is also examined in the context of their historical and economic development and the removal of the borders under the Schengen Agreement and the emergence of simplified cross-border migration (e.g. also atypical cross-border commuters) within the Greater Region. The different approaches to integration are also described.
The aim of the TEIN network, led by the Euro-Institut in Strasbourg, is to contribute to the process of European integration by training the actors involved in cross-border projects. Its members are different research and training organisations from more than 10 European Union countries. Its activities focus on the sharing of good practices and knowledge of cross-border issues and well as producing and disseminating educational tools for cross-border practitioners.
The QuattroPole is a network of Cities in the Greater Region, spread across 3 countries and with a total population of 530,000 inhabitants. The name of this network reveals the partnership's metropolitan ambitions. The objective is, first of all, to position this relatively dispersed urban agglomeration on the chessboard of the main European metropolitan centres and, secondly, to raise the awareness of stakeholders and citizens of the joint future of these geographically so-close cities.
Border controls and closures have historically been used to combat epidemics. These are measures that can be implemented on simple authority of States but whose efficacy remains to be widely validated scientifically. In 2020, numerous countries reacted in this way to combat the COVID-19 epidemic, even before implementing domestic policies against the disease. In these countries the speed of this response is linked to past policies which relied on tightening border controls to reinforce the feeling of security and belonging. However, this trend is antithetical to the implementation of an effective public health policy.
In Europe at the beginning of the year 2020, due to the Covid19 epidemic, numerous national borders were abruptly closed. These closures, the first of their kind, referred to as "covidfencing" in this article, were a serious setback for many cross-border workers. This episode has demonstrated the deterritorialisation of numerous activities in Europe, which are no longer tied to one territory, but to several, and the dependency of these activities on borders.
