Subtheme 1

Borders as a Political Space

In the global world, despite widespread rhetoric about the end of borders, they continue to exist: «We live in a very bordered world (…) Borders are central features in current international disputes relating to security, migration, trade, and natural resources» (Diener, Hagen 2024). New borders are still being produced, both between and within states. National borders are being weakened and others are being strengthened, autonomist drives linked to ethno-linguistic and territorial identities are re-emerging, the process of European integration is being re-discussed, new walls are being built: for some that disappear, others are born.

This first subtheme deals with the political and legal aspects of borders, with the many facets it can take: from the issues of immigration and the migration policies to those of security; from locally based cross-border cooperation to the territorial cooperation programmes developed by European Union's development and cohesion policies.

Central aspects of this subtheme will be: state territoriality, its constitution and its contestation; control of movements and flows and the securitization process; the legal and political evolution of internal and external borders in the EU; borders as instruments of legal and political innovation in the EU.

The below texts further expand on these topics. Please consult the below texts on this subtheme if you are interested in developing a topic related to these issues further.