Five Roles of Cross-border Cooperation Against Re-bordering

• Published in: Journal of borderlands studies 2023-05, Vol.38 (3), p.487-506
• Main Author: Böhm, Hynek
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cross-border co-operation; European dimension; multi-level governance; paradiplomacy; reconciliation; regional development
• ISSN: 0886-5655; 2159-1229
• DOI: 10.1080/08865655.2021.1948900

The paper observes an advent of unilateralism, brought by the pandemic, which has restricted cross-border flows and co-operation in the E.U. The pandemic re-introduced borders back in the E.U. and introduced new national border policies, which have complicated the lives of the people in the border regions. This might imply the imperfect communication between local cross-border co-operation stakeholders and central governments. It is therefore proposed to use the set of following five roles, which explain the importance of cross-border co-operation in cross-border regions: (1) multi-level governance form, (2) regional development tool, (3) paradiplomacy form, (4) post-conflict reconciliation tool and (5) Europe-building instrument. As those five roles cover functional, ideational and structural dimensions of cross-border co-operation, they have a potential to prevent the representatives of the central states from one-size-fits-all solutions and respect specificities of borderlands. This should help in the cases of repeated health crises, which would restrain the free border crossing in the E.U.