Description
Book SynopsisExamining contemporary cultural and political changes in Europe as they are reflected in the region''s borderlands, this in-depth analysis combines the classical heritage of boundary studies with a profound understanding of the social construction of borders. The book employs a rich variety of perspectives on globalization, the rise of national and ethnic identities, contemporary European integration, and the enlargement of the EU. Utilizing original case studies that stretch from Lapland to Italy, from Serbia to Northern Ireland, the contributors draw upon border study methodologies ranging from survey questionnaires to discourse analysis, from landscape studies to the exploration of cultural texts. They pay particular attention to the role of geographical scale, identity, history, and social and economic contexts in the dynamic evolution of European borderlands. Throughout, the book explores how borderlands are experienced by ordinary people and employed by institutional actors in charge of cross-border cooperation.
Trade ReviewA valuable collection of essaysssss -- Brian Graham, University of Ulster
The many cases dealt with in this book are interesting and all of them contribute to a better understanding of the problems of borders and border regions. I would recommend this book not only to researchers involved in these kinds of studies, but also to policy makers and others interested in borders in the broad sense of the word. * Regional Studies *
This well-edited volume holds a selection of borderland studies examining the changing role of borders in Europe attempting to integrate aspects of economic and political life while expanding its influence eastward. -- Brian W. Blouet, The College of William and Mary * Professional Geographer *
Valuable as both a general record of the creation and functioning of Euroregions and as a critical research document on the contrasting structures and processes evident in different regions. The approach is original and the scholarship is of a very high order. -- David Knight, University of Guelph
A valuable collection of essays -- Brian Graham, University of Ulster
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Learning from Europe? Borderlands in Social and Geographical Context Part 2 PART I: Boundaries in the New Europe Chapter 3 The 'Civilisational' Roots of European National Boundaries Chapter 4 Changing Geographies of Scale and Hierarchy in European Borderlands Chapter 5 Euroregions in Comparative Perspective Part 6 PART II: Change in the "Established" Europe Chapter 7 Transboundary Networking in Catalonia Chapter 8 Integration and Division in the Basque Borderland Chapter 9 Asymmetrical and Hybrid Identities in the Northern Italian Borderlands Chapter 10 Common Spirit in the Upper Rhine Valley? Chapter 11 Urban Borderlands and the Politics of Place in Northern Ireland Part 12 PART III: Change in the Emerging Europe Chapter 13 Place, Boundaries, and the Construction of Finnish Territory Chapter 14 An Emerging Borderland in Eastern Slavonia? Chapter 15 Galician Identities and Political Cartographies on the Polish-Ukrainian Border Chapter 16 Place and Discourse in the Formation of the Northeast Estonian Borderland Chapter 17 Symbolic and Functional Balance on Europe's Northern Borders
