1. art and entertainment
2. books and literature

 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia LIST OF ABSTRACTS
F 10: BORDER TOWNS AND TRANSPORT CORRIDORS IN AFRICA: SMALL TRADERS AGAINST LARGE ONES?
Chairs: Gregor Dobler, Freiburg University, Germany & Olivier Walther, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Room: C2
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 09:00-10:40
Borderland actors: a typology and a conceptual framework
Gregor Dobler, Freiburg University, Germany
Building on ABORNE’s discussions over the last five years, the papers presents a typology of economic crossboundary actors, analyses the kind of resources they typically rely on, and draws conclusions as to the impact
changing boundary regimes have on them. It differentiates small-scale traders acting on the green border
outside of state control from medium-level entrepreneurs relying on local embeddedness and often with strong
political networks and large-scale actors organising cross-border flows from the capitals, who typically see border
towns as creating inefficient friction. Each of the groups favours a specific set of state-society relations and works
towards its implementation. Their distinct economic niches often lead to strategic alliances between them,
alliances that rarely do away with their overall competition. By presenting the typology, the paper sets the scene
for the panel and gives an introductory background to its discussions.
Beneath the Rhetoric of Transport Corridors: The Trans-Gambian and the Lomé-Aflao Crossings and the
Sediments of History
Paul Nugent, University of Edinburgh, UK
At the current time, there is a great deal of emphasis on the potentially transformative effects of transport
corridors in Africa buttressed by new institutional arrangements designed to facilitate the passage of
commodities and, to some extent, people. In the context of emerging public-private partnerships, there are
evidently certain vested interests bound up with the more ambitious claims that are advanced. In this paper, I aim
to do two things. The first is to point to the fact that while the language and the modalities may be new, there is a
history of talking about the connective properties of infrastructure and its importance for economic integration in
West Africa that goes back more than half a century. It remains important to understand why earlier initiatives
stalled. Secondly, the paper evaluates the barriers that currently exists to trans-boundary flows and raises the
question of how far improved infrastructure and a harmonization of border controls is likely to have the kinds of
effects that have been posited. The paper specifically compares the trans-Gambian highway in the Senegambia
with the Lomé-Aflao crossing that connects major cities along the coastline (Lagos, Cotonou, Lome, Accra and
Abidjan) as well as linking the coastal ports to the landlocked countries of the Sahel.
Centre and Periphery Policing: A case study of policing strategies in Gisenyi, Rusizi and Kigali, Rwanda
Hugh Lamarque, SOAS, University of London, UK
This paper concerns how the practice of policing in Rwanda's western border towns differs from policing
practices in the state's capital, Kigali. The borderland conurbations of Goma-Gisenyi and Bukavu-Rusizi straddle
the DR.Congo-Rwanda border. Despite extensive cross-border interaction, violent criminality is confined
predominantly to urban districts on the Congolese side of the international boundary. The case is unique and
perplexing, since (I) the Rwandan state sustains an atypically strong capacity to enforce security in its border
towns and (II) conventional explanations involving the militarisation of the border are not supported in recent
accounts from the sites. I argue that physical security in Gisenyi and Rusizi is the product of a nuanced statesociety relationship. At the heart of this relationship is the institution of the Rwandan National Police (RNP) and its
local non-state partners. This paper maps the interaction between these groups, highlighting the strategies and
compromises of state police that are unique to the border town environment.
The Angola-Namibia-South Africa route goes through Santa Clara
Cristina Udelsmann Rodrigues, ISCTE-IUL, University Institute of Lisbon, Portugal
3 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The paper analyses the transformations along the last decades of the flows – of population, merchandises,
influences – between Angola and its southern neighbours, identifying the main causes and consequences of such
transformations. It draws a particular emphasis to the importance of Santa Clara border town within this circuit
and its role linking not only the three countries but also a significant network of towns and locations within them.
The paper seeks discussing the spatial materialization of such importance as the town has grown as the
circulation increased (and stagnated when the circulation reduced). Simultaneously, it addresses local initiatives
and dynamics that combine with the vitality of the flows and further stimulate urbanization, urban growth and
settlement.
West African border markets: Functional dynamics and policy implications
Olivier Walther, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
The first objective of this concluding paper is to analyze the functional role of border markets in the spatial
organization of trade in West Africa. Using a harmonized database, we start by analyzing the demographic
evolution of cities located at various ranges of national borders, before identifying those who can actually be
defined as border markets. From Senegal to Chad, these border markets form 19 potential functional regions that
stretch across national borders. The second aim of the paper is to explore what policies have been implemented
in border regions to promote the development of border markets and border-related activities, including
transport corridors. Our analysis shows that very few space-based policies have specifically targeted border
markets so far, despite their crucial importance in the local and regional development of West Africa.
F 11: BORDERCROSSINGS AND BORDERSCAPES IN MIGRANT NARRATIVES AND ARTS
Chair: Jopi Nyman, School of Humanities, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: AU 100
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 09:00-10:40
To complement the top-down international relations perspective dominant in the field of border studies, this
panel aims to explore borders and border-crossings in the post-Cold War world from a perspective exploring the
ways in which they are explored, experienced, and narrated in literature and the arts. In so doing, the panel will
address literary and artistic examples of how culturally produced representations of borders, border crossings,
and borderscapes contribute to socio-political interpretations of state borders and how they also challenge
official meanings, symbolisms, and functions attached to state borders. In so doing the panel seeks to open up a
humanities perspective that promotes a more comprehensive understanding of the role of cultural production as
a bordering practice. The papers will discuss the various ways in which national and European border issues are
framed by cultural and literary works and within other forms of artistic expression. More specifically, this panel
will demonstrate how artistic expression addresses borders and border crossings (by migrants, people living at
borders, etc.) and their social consequences (e.g., identity, cultural tensions, cultural hybridization, community
making) with particular attention to various migrant communities sharing the experience of the border. The
individual papers will address this thematic by focusing on narrative and artistic bordering in the cases of (i)
contemporary immigrant writing in Finnish, (ii) community-making by immigrant artists in Finland, (iii) strategies
of representation in Scandinavian immigrant literature, (iv) fiction and biographical novels addressing the
Finnish-Russian national border, and (v) in contemporary works of art dedicated to state borders.
Borders in Sidelight: Immigrant Writers in Finland
Ágnes Németh, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
The paper aims to look at the dialogue between immigrant literary artists and the Finnish artistic and cultural
community from the perspective of social integration, artistic integration, and identities. The particular emphasis
of the research is on the community-making processes of immigrant artists in Finland and the representation and
role of ‘borders’ and ways of ‘border crossing’ in their initiatives and activities. These phenomena are introduced
through the example of the emergent project ‘Sidelight – Is this Finnish literature?’ which is an interesting
combination of cultural and social activism. This multicultural project of immigrant writers living in Finland aims
4 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia to provide peer-support and bring together immigrant art and artists with Finnish writers. This is achieved
through involvement in already existing festivals and literary events through debates, workshops, and poetry
performances. Since the group of writers studied is internally diverse (with a variety of national origins, sociocultural backgrounds, migration experiences, etc.), the analysis is based on both individual and focus group
interviews.
Changing Border Concepts in Published Immigrant Narratives in Norway and Sweden
Johan Schimanski, Department of Literature and Culture, University of Tromsø, Norway
This paper will provide a comparative and contrapuntual analysis of border concepts in cultural production, using
Norwegian and Swedish published immigrant narratives as examples. A new generation of immigrant
community writers who have spent parts or the whole of their childhoods in Norway have acquired a
competence in Norwegian public debate and literary culture. Novels, short stories, published anonymized letters,
fictionalized, autobiographies, fictionalized life-stories constitute a corpus of publically visible representations of
migrant cultures which cross the symbolic border from private experience to the public sphere. The paper will ask
why these narratives address transnational mobility and emphasize territorial border crossings in a more explicit
way than in earlier immigrant literature in the English-speaking sphere.
Grounding interpretations of bordering in the cultural sphere involves correlating the performative force of
aesthetic works in a social context to an analysis of content and form. In narrative texts, border concepts are
performed through various rhetorical figures and narratives. Close border poetics readings result in a repertoire
of border figures, keys to the text’s negotiation of border concepts. The paper will compare novels and
fictionalized autobiographies by with Somali (Amal Aden, Roda Ahmed), Subcontinental (Nasim Karim, Romeo
Gill) and Caucasian (Marie Amalie) backgrounds. While such narratives in Norway cater to disparate desires for
knowledge, identification, debate, and aesthetic experience, this paper will ask why none apply the
postmodernist, metafictional and magical realist strategies typical of the international migrant literature canon,
refering contrapuntually to Swedish examples (Jonas Hassen Khemiri, Enel Melberg).
Problematic Border Crossings: Border Crossing Narratives and Identity at the Finnish-Russian National
Borderland
Tuulikki Kurki, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
After the Second World War, the national border between Finland and the Soviet Union was closed by the
infamous Iron Curtain. The border appeared as an impenetrable boundary until the 1980s when the connections
across the border started to revive. During the post-Soviet era, the border has been recognized as one of the
sources of the identity construction in the border area.
This paper examines border crossing narratives and identities at the Finnish-Russian national borderland. It is
based on fiction and biographical novels published from the 1950s until the 1970s in the Soviet Union and in
Finland. In the novels examined, the protagonists cross the national border either legally or illegally, and the
protagonists’ identities are constructed in relation to the national border, various ideological and cultural borders
as well as border crossings.
The paper asks the following questions: how are borders and protagonists’ identities constructed and signified in
the border-crossing narratives? In which ways weretheborder crossing narratives and identities publicly
acknowledged during the time of the novels’ publication? The identities and the connections across the national,
ideological, and cultural borders that the novels made visible appeared problematic in their own time since they
challenged the dominating ideas of national identities, national borders, and their significance. Furthermore,
traces of identities, which are now seen as ‘hybrid,’ can be seen already in the novels studied, while hybridity as
such was not acknowledged at the time because of political reasons.
Feeling and Seeing Migration Spaces: Borders, Border-crossing and Migration in the Antiatlas Works of Art
Camille Boichot, UMR 5194 PACTE-CNRS, Grenoble, France
This paper explores the representation of border-crossing movements and migration in contemporary works of
art dedicated to state borders. It is based on the exploration of more than 200 works of art and artistic projects
submitted for the Antiatlas exhibition presented in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille between October 2013 and
March 2014. Those proposals offer an original and contemporary look on borders and their transformations and
5 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia show very quickly that immigration and border crossing appear as the major topics of the works and as part of
the geographical imaginary of the border.
Firstly, this paper questions the image of migration shown in the works presented for the Antiatlas. How are
migration practices described and defined in the works analysed? What kind of discourses upon migration are
embedded in the pieces we observe? What spaces of migration do these works show and at what scale?
Secondly, an understanding of the representations of migration practices and spaces leads us to consider the
categories constructed to give the spectator a sensible experience of these spaces and practices. The second part
of the paper aims to contribute a reflection on the geographical categories of knowledge and representation of
migration. To what extent does artistic expression offer tools for the conceptualisation and representation of
migration movements and spaces? What kinds of disposals are used in the works under study and how do they
contribute to an other way of seeing/thinking borders and border-crossings?
Borders, Borderscapes, and Border-Crossing Romances in Contemporary Migrant Writing in Finland
Jopi Nyman, School of Humanities, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
This paper examines the crossing of national and cultural borders and the role of borderscapes in contemporary
fictional narratives by first generation immigrants in Finland. While immigrant writing has a long-standing status
in the UK, for instance, the situation is different in the case of Finland where mass immigration is historically more
recent and calls for an examination of what kind of borders, not only national, migrants cross when they enter a
new receiving society (e.g., linguistic, cultural, racial) and construct new communities. Recent years have seen the
publication of several novels and anthologies introducing the perspectives and concerns of immigrants writing of
the experience of entering Finland To address the emergent issue, the paper focuses on the experience of the
border crossing in two recent novels written in Finnish by immigrants in Finland. Through an analysis of Suomen
taivaan alla (2008; “Under the Finnish Sky”) by the Chinese author Tao Lin and Skumbria (2011) by the novelist
Arvi Perttu from Russian Karelia, this paper will (i) examine the processes and problems of cultural adaptation and
hybridization and (ii) address the problematization of the conventional boundaries of home and not-home in
new immigrant texts. As both novels centre upon interethnic relationships between Finns and immigrants, the
paper will reflect on the function of the interethnic romance plot in constructing and negotiating new Finnish
identities. In so doing the paper will contextualize border crossings in discourses of nation and the conventional
privileging of Finnishness.
F 12: MULTICULTURAL TEACHING AND LEARNING ON BORDERS AND AT BORDERS IN ACADEMIA:
EXPERIENCES OF ERASMUS SEICOP IP AND INTERREG III/CIL 3 STHI/STHZ/STHK INITIATIVES BETWEEN
FRANCE, POLAND, FINLAND, GERMANY AND CZECHIA
Discussant: Tomáš Havlíček, Univerzity Karlovy v Praze, Czech Republic
Chair: Bernhard Koeppen, CEPS / INSTEAD, Luxembourg
Room: AU 101
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 9:00-10:40
Borders represent not only a rather traditional topic in geography, but due to their multidimensional character,
they also offer a potential opportunity for treating various aspects for academic teaching in spatial sciences.
Hence, teaching “on and about borders” occurs to be an ideal hook for international and intercultural practice
and exchange in learning and teaching for academia.
Four major projects devoted to academic exchange an practical teaching focussed on these assets of border and
cross-border-relations: The ERASMUS IP cycle – a best practice IP – “Small Scale European Integration through
Cross Border Cooperation I - III” of Universities Koblenz-Landau (D), Joensuu/Eastern Finland (SF),
Poznan/Collegium Polonicum Slubice (PL), Strasbourg (F) and the INTERREG IIIA and Objective 3/Cil 3 Programme
Intitiatives “Sächsisch-Tschechisches Hochschulzentrum”, “Sächsisch-Tschechisches Hochschulkolleg” and
“Sächsisch-Tschechische Hochschulinitiative” of Chemnitz University of Technology (D) and Universities of
Western Bohemia (CZ), Usti nad Labem (CZ) and the Liberec University of Technology (CZ).
6 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia In this panel the above mentioned projects will be presented and discussed in terms of administrative and
especially funding issues, as well as the pedagogical and didactical findings related to the respective experiences
in multicultural teaching and learning. Is the border topic and the seminar location in border areas for first-hand
experience and student research a real advantage? Studying borders leads easily to reflecting fractions and
otherness, indeed, which finally does also encourage to critically asses one’s own situation in a system –such as
the seminar e.g. The notion of cultural borders and – as intended – the intercultural issues within workgroups are
another important aspect, as the latter include many variables: language, stereotypes, different approaches in
teaching and hierarchy (a very delicate topic).
These aspects will be treated in the form of short statements from participants and leaders of the
seminars/project, discussed and compared in the form of a semi-open panel discussion which will also allow the
attendants to get involved as well.
International education in intercultural borderlands
Jarmo Kortelainen, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Bernard Reitel, Université d’Artois, France
The intensive courses under the SEICOP (Small Scale European Integration through Cross Border Cooperation)
scheme combined various pedagogical as well as informational goals. First, it was an ERASMUS Intensive Program
getting involved four “borderland-based” universities from four different countries during three years with
annual international classes combining teaching and research practice. These courses were not only held in
different border areas (Germany-France, Finland-Russia, Poland-Germany) in order to provide “first-hand”
experience on current changes and challenges in several types of EU-border areas, but also gave opportunity to
practice and learn various research methods in a truly multicultural environment.
Even though high level scientific research was not the core aim of the course – and not practicable due to the
short period of 2 weeks for each course – astoundingly sound and interesting case studies have been prepared by
the students involved. The most important issue occurred to be the international and intercultural experience of
and exchange among the participants from academic teachers to students, working in multinational teams. The
border topic as well as the border experience helped to create a specific ‘educational environment’, which was
especially interesting in terms of multicultural issues and self-reflection.
Furthermore it will be analysed and discussed, what might have been the crucial settings for generating
successful internationalization within the project and the courses (due to the chosen topic? the didactical
approach? the selection of partners and participants?), what were the courses’ successes and which shortcomings
can be identified especially in terms of the multicultural approach.
SEICOP as a (cross-) bordering experience: Tales of built bridges and contested imaginaries from an
intermediary perspective.
Moritz Albrecht, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Aleksandra Ibragimov, German-Polish Research Institute, Poland
The socio-cultural heterogeneity of participants and possible locations within an educational project such as an
Erasmus IP does not only provide an instrument for international cooperation and learning, but also can
challenge fixed imaginaries and stereotypes of the involved protagonists. During the 3 year cycle of SEICOP IP it
could be observed, that although having had a “per se” rather open group of participants, the individual
perception of what has been experienced throughout the seminars and field practice did reveal an interesting
variety of positive as well as unexpectedly critical issues.
Students and teaching staff generally enjoyed their participation and could critically reassess their own
imaginaries (in terms of didactics, terms of hierarchy, academic customs e.g.) while learning to work in a rather
new and vaguely –or even not at all – defined learning and working environment. However, such abrupt replacement of participants did challenge some individuals and sometimes entailed negative or at least
questionable experiences in terms of intercultural and educational aspects.
The presentation does especially focus on these “tales”: negative as well as positive from the perspective of
teaching assistants (PhD students) involved, who took an intermediary role between students and professors
which might allow a more complex analysis of the situation(s) observed.
7 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Multilevel academic cooperation between Saxony and Czechia within the INTERREG III and Cil 3
programme – From governance to grass-root activities
Ilona Scherm, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany
From the year of 2003 until 2012 a consecutive, truly multidisciplinary series of three projects devoted to GermanCzech academic cooperation on university level have been realized with funding by the European Union
INTERREG III A and later the Objective 3/Cil 3 Programme. In this presentation the “Sächsisch-Tschechisches
Hochschulzentrum” (2003-2006), “Sächsisch-Tschechisches Hochschulkolleg” (2006-2008) and “SächsischTschechische Hochschulinitiative” (2009-2012) will be introduced and critically assessed in terms of their success
and complexities.
Two major challenges will be put to the fore: The strategies and forms of governance that involved especially to
encourage academia to participate and invest in a funding scheme such as INTERREG and Objective 3, as well as
the “grass root” perspective of getting multidisciplinary academics to establish and maintain sustainable links
emerging from common seminars and activities within the respective projects. Furthermore the tricky aspect of
successfully maintaining a project series within a funding scheme which normally did not encourage consecutive
initiatives, will be treated.
Academic cooperation to strengthen competitiveness? The example of Czech-Saxon borderland
Milan Jeřábek, Masaryk University Brno, Czech Republic
The Czech-Saxon border is one amongst those state frontiers which experienced significant impulses for
development in the 1990ies due to crucial changes in politics, economics and society at all levels. As a matter of
course, academic institutions on both sides of the border got gradually affected by the process of European to
local integration as well.
In this context, the possibility of funding from a variety of financial sources played a major role. As for NorthernBohemia and Saxony, very close inter-university cooperation (teachers, professionals and students) formed
between departments and research institutes in the field of geography and regional development. Especially
active protagonists have been based at Ústí nad Labem and to a further extent in Cheb and Liberec, on the one
hand, and in Dresden, Chemnitz, Leipzig and Freiberg on the other side.
As for funding and common activities, the “borderland” topic proved to be an ideal and compelling field of
common interest, which finally lead to various activities from joint-teaching and field practice to high level
research with joint publications. With choosing the current “up to date” issues within the Czech-German
borderland, such as the role of small and medium-sized enterprises, the potentials of a cross-border labour
market, the issue of territorial identity, the question of innovation potential and regional development as well as
the production of an borderland-atlas, common relations were fostered and links to political bodies as well as
some business in the borderland could be established. Current activities are centred on the influence of crossborder cooperation on regional development of the Czech borderland and the creation of effective, common
tools and methods for monitoring regional development across state borders.
To sum up, in a further extend, the common activities are not only a part of deepening European integration at
the regional level, but – due to the tangible research output and the creation of strong networks – will finally
strengthen the competitiveness of the Czech borderland.
F 13: GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND THE BORDER
Chair & Discussant: Dorte Jagetic Andersen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Room: AU 102
Date: June 9th, 2012
Time: 09:00-10:40
Border guarding and the politics of the body in Finland
Eeva-Kaisa Prokkola, University of Oulu, Finland
The question of international borders and border security has gained considerable attention during the recent
years. Research on borders has traditionally focused on inter-state relations, where states are seen as unitary
actors operating in asocial geopolitical environments. Recently, scholars have started to pay more attention to
8 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia the relation between state borders and the body. The question of state control over the bodies of people at
border crossing points has been of great interests but less attention has been given to the bodies of the border
guards carrying out the border surveillance. The implementing of border controls is usually imagined as a
disembodied state practice which can be seen to foster the imagination of sterile, technological border control
and of disembodied border surveillance. This paper aims to uncover the image of technical, disembodied border
surveillance by studying the gendered rationalities of border guarding and the politics of the body in Finland and
in the Finnish Border Guard (FBG) organization. The study shows how pervasive and contradictory gendered
rationalities are in the domain of border security in contemporary societies. By taking the body politics and
gendered relations of border guarding as an analytical starting point, this study takes a step forward to ‘feminize’
border studies.
The “nation-as-body”: borders and transgressions
Cecilia Åse, Stockholm University, Sweden
This paper examines how conceptions of nation as territory/physical space become coupled with the naturalized
idea that bodies are corporeal carriers of nation. This is done through an analysis of how the “nation-as-body”
trope was articulated in the context of two different national crises in Sweden: the submarine incident in 1981
and the Boxing day tsunami in 2004. On both these cases nationally marked borders where transgressed and
bodies where “out of place”. During the submarine crisis Soviet soldiers were found on Swedish territory. The
crisis was a transgression of the nation-body connection. In the tsunami case, Swedish nationals where abroad,
and needed assistance and support from the authorities to come “home”. The paper scrutinizes how the “nation
as body” trope functions in media discourse surrounding these two national crises and also interrogates how
gender, sexuality and ethnicity/race becomes bound to “nation-as-body”.
Gender equality, social security and “groups of risk” – the case of cooperation around girls’ groups in
Baltic region
Yulia Gradskova, Stockholm University, Sweden
The presentation is dedicated to the exploration of new trends in post Cold War cooperation in the framework of
Nordic gender equality support for NGOs. In the center of my presentation is the organization of groups for girls
(the model was established in Finland/Åland in 1990s), in particular cooperation of two social work centers from
Vilnius and Kaliningrad. While the Nordic countries usually are described as the most advanced with respect to
implementation of gender equality and protection of the rights of women, the cooperation around these issues
with Russia seems to meet a lot of obstacles. The presentation is exploring the rhetorical and practical
contradictions of one case of cooperation through organizing groups for girls approached to belong to the group
of “possible victims of human trafficking”. On example of this case of cooperation I show how the new post-Cold
War security concerns and local political contexts are influencing the ways how the ideas of girls’ wellbeing and
identities as well as gender equality are constructed. In particular, I look at what role the Russian language and
Soviet past is playing in communication of two organizations and how the new European agenda on gender
equality, promoted by the Lithuanian center, is met in Kaliningrad.
F 14: From post-Soviet to Eurasian: reconfiguring borders and space I
Chair: Jeremy Smith- University of Eastern Finland
Room: AU 206
Date: June 9th 2014
Time: 9:00-10:40
The panel will focus on the post-Soviet space since 1991 and will analyse how the understandings of both the
external and internal borders of Eurasia have been changing over the recent period. This takes account of the
shift from both highly securitised and cumbersome state borders, and zero-sum approaches to spheres of
influence, to more fluid conceptions and notions of opportunity, shared space and common interest. In this first
of two related panels, the emphasis is on the external borders of the former Soviet space, and how Russia and
other post-Soviet borders conceive of themselves and others in relation to wider Eurasia.
9 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The panel will focus on the post-Soviet space since 1991 and will analyse how the understandings of both the
external and internal borders of Eurasia have been changing over the recent period. This takes account of the
shift from both highly securitised and cumbersome state borders, and zero-sum approaches to spheres of
influence, to more fluid conceptions and notions of opportunity, shared space and common interest. In this first
of two related panels, the emphasis is on the external borders of the former Soviet space, and how Russia and
other post-Soviet borders conceive of themselves and others in relation to wider Eurasia
Russia’s turn to Asia: Reconfiguring borders and identity in the Russian Far East
Paul Richardson, University of Manchester, UK
The transformation of Vladivostok for the 2012 APEC summit was a symbolic demonstration of the Russian
leadership’s commitment and enthusiasm for a strategic, economic, and ideational re-orientation towards Asia;
an associated desire to dematerialise the border between Russia and the dynamic economies of the Asia-Pacific
region; and a domestic political imperative of developing Russia’s Far Eastern territories. This paper examines the
discourses surrounding Russia’s turn to Asia and how they are played out and contested in Russia’s Far Eastern
borderlands. It discusses the special dynamics of this region, and how state-led visions of national identity and
national development are refracted and inflected by the realities, challenges, and alternatives presented by life
on Russia’s Far Eastern periphery. The chapter seeks to elucidate how the opening of borders and ‘national’
imperatives of developing and ordering space can be interpreted and realised at the local-level in unpredictable
and often unintended ways.
Comparative Borders on Eurasia: Image Construction, Society Values and Screening
Akihiro Iwashita, Slavic Reseaerch Centre, Hokkaido University, Japan
This paper seeks to provide a comparative framework for understanding the dynamic shifts in the discursive and
material meaning of borders in the Asia-Pacific. Drawing on empirical case studies drawn from Russia, China,
Japan and neighboring states, a typology of borders is presented which develops a more comprehensive and
comparative understanding of the significance of inland and maritime border regions in Eurasia.
It approaches borders from the perspective of "territorial" constructivism and the interaction of borderland
realities with ideas of nation and everyday life. The typologies are theorized through the use of the functional
degree of "screening" across borders. The paper concludes with a hypothetical diagram demonstrating the
applicability of this model for a more general understanding of borderlands.
Eurasian Integration projects since 1991
Hanna Smith, University of Helsinki, Finland
The paper will set the context for the most recent attempt to promote integration mechanisms in the post-Soviet
space – the Eurasian Customs Union – by looking at the history of international coordination bodies since 1991.
The paper draws on secondary evaluations of the origins and actual functions of the Confederation of
Independent States, before looking more closely at a number of organisations – Collective Security Treaty
Organisation (CSTO), Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (SCO); Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Moldova (GUUAM) and so on. Especial
attention will be made to the role of Russia in promoting regional cooperation, which will be dealt with from a
constructivist point of view starting from Russia’s self-identity as the regional hegemonic power.
German Regional Study and Russian Trans-Boundary Policy of the North-Western Federal Okrug
Dmitry Melnikov, Saint Petersburg State University
The North-Western federal okrug of Russia took the first place in 2010 for such macroeconomic indicator as the
total turnover of the foreign trade with the countries are not members of the CIS, its total turnover was 73 559
mln.USD (export 34 435 mln.USD; import 39 124 mln.USD.). As a hole the total turnover of the foreign trade of
Russia with the countries are not members of the CIS in the same period was 534 398 mln.USD (export 336 959
mln.USD; import 197 439 mln.USD).
The main economic-geographic peculiarity of the North- Western federal okrug is its direct border line with the
foreign European countries. The total grand border is approximately 2 559, 5 km and the marine border is 283, 6
km.
10 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia According to German regional studies: the honeycomb shape of the ideal economic district by A. Losh and the W.
Cristaller’s trellis, the regions which are intensively involved in the international labor division must be an openly
for the other macroeconomic borders regions. Under applying German regional studies for the North-Western
federal okrug of Russia it means more trans -border freedom for the okrug, only this concept may high its
regional labor productivity and the standard of life for its inhabitants.
That is why for official Moscow is necessary to liberalize its economic policy in the North-Western federal okrug.
This policy will be difficult introduce in the okrug due to Western economic sanctions after Crimea and Ukrainian
events in 2014, therefore we may proposal the disintegration of the North-Western federal okrug and the decline
of the standard of life for its inhabitants the next 2-5 years.
F 15: CONTEMPORARY AND PAST FOREIGN INTERVENTIONS: EFFECTS ON BORDERS AND ETHNIC BALANCE
Discussant: Katarzyna Stoklosa, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Room: AU 209
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 9:00-10:40
The panel is envisaged as a debate platform to comparatively discuss (armed) foreign interventions, past and
present. Foreign interventions have historically had a crucial impact on territory by shaping, defining and
(re)drawing borders. In spite of this, this phenomenon remains under-theorised in border studies. They have also
had a crucial impact on states, by consolidating or weakening their power. Charles Tilly (1990) illustrated this
argument by pointing out that war made states and vice versa.
The papers in this panel will analyse foreign interventions, often disguised as humanitarian interventions,
focusing on the historical significance of this phenomenon as well as scrutininsing more recent examples such as
Western Europe, former Yugoslavia, the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. Using interdisciplinary
approaches, the historical and contemporary analysis will pay special attention to the effects of armed foreign
interventions in the local contexts in terms of alterations of the border status quo and changes in the ethnic
balance of power.
The Duchy of Schleswig: International Interventions in a Regional Border Conflict
Steen Bo Frandsen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
In the middle of the 19th century the Danish Duchy of Schleswig became the focus of one of the first national
conflicts in Europe. Establishing a border between a Danish and a German nation state proved very difficult and
resulted in two wars (1848-1850 and 1864). What began as a regional conflict within the Danish state turned into
an international war with military interventions from German states (and the arrival of a number of volunteers
from Scandinavian and German states that took part in the wars too). The border question turned up again in the
20th century: After 1918 the victorious powers of the World War took up the issue and brought it into the
negotiations of Versailles. In 1920 plebiscites were held under international supervision. After 1945 the British
government again became involved in the border conflict as the occupation power of Northern Germany.
The presentation discusses the character and quality of different international interventions in a regional/national
conflict in Western Europe of the 19th and 20th century. This will highlight the historic dimension of foreign
interventions in border conflicts and problematize the different solutions vis-a-vis modern scenarios.
Superpower’s intervention at the German-German border during the Cold War
Gerhard, Besier, University of Dresden, Germany
The German-German border had been part of the "Iron Curtain" between the two antagonist systems for about
forty years. Insofar, its security aspects were very important not only for the Germans but also for the supremacy
powers United States and Soviet Russia. This paper describes the factual development of this border - border
fixations as well as border violations. Furthermore, it examines the verbal codes like "border of peace"
or "antifascist protective wall" to justify and stabilize this inhumane frontier. After about 30 years even the
Western powers accepted this border as an instrument to save the world peace. The "Iron Curtain" had been a
part of their strategy too and they only wanted to "humanize” it in making it more permeable.
11 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia “Lost in history”: The drama around the Russo-Estonian Border
Anya Gromilova, Metropolitan University Prague, Czech Republic
The fact that the officials of Russia and Estonia quarrel over yet another issue of their bilateral relations might
start to plunge scholars together with the general public into gloom: the diplomatic relations between the
countries have long been and continue to stay Siberia-cold since the Singing Revolutions in the Baltics and the
sequential dissolution of the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, the realization that due to these fights the border
between such powers as the European Union and Russian Federation is not officially recognized and contested is
still striking and makes people wonder. How can fights over history (to be more specific, over the very fact of the
“intervention”) continue to affect lives of more than 30 thousand people that remain at the contested territory?
Moreover, how this failure to resolve a 14-year saga of the Estonian-Russian border treaty is even possible in the
today’s state of relations between such world powers as Russia and the European Union?
This paper, therefore, aims to get to the bottom of the dispute - the controversial “intervention” of the Red Army
in Estonia in September of 1939 and the following “annexation” of Estonia into the USSR – and trace the effects of
those past events up to the present situation in the contested border territory between Russia and Estonia. Based
on the theoretical framework developed by Diez, Albert and Stetter (2004) I will focus on both the state- and
societal-level perceptions of the ‘other’ and of the conflict itself in the context of European integration. Moreover,
the present study will, consequently, help to cast further light on the relevant aspects of the situation of the
Russophone minority that reside in the disputed area.
Mitrovica, a city reshaped by foreign intervention
Jaume Castan Pinos, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
The NATO (humanitarian) intervention in Yugoslavia in 1999 had significant effects for the regional balance of
power, for the transatlantic organisation itself, as well as for Serbia and Kosovo. Today’s political developments in
the region as well as the disputes over their borders and sovereignty cannot be understood without considering
NATO’s intervention. This paper focuses on one of the unintended effects of this intervention: the division of the
city of Mitrovica. This city in Northern Kosovo has, therefore, the dubious honour of having qualified for the
league of deeply divided cities. The presentation will attempt to find patterns and commonalities with other
divided cities.
The correlation between the city division(s) and the fact that Mitrovica has become the epicentre of a wider
political battle will also be scrutinised. Indeed, in addition to being a deeply divided city, Mitrovica is also an
unofficial unrecognised border dividing the South of Kosovo, with the North, where the majority of the
population is primarily Serbian and overwhelmingly refuse to accept Pristina’s rule. It is therefore not surprising
that various Western policy makers have labelled the city as the ‘last obstacle’ to stability in Kosovo. The
presentation will conclude by stressing that the city holds the key to success (or failure) of a foreign intervention.
The Iranian state: an emerging transnational actor in the Persian Gulf?
Amin Moghadam, Science Po Paris-Master of Public Affairs, France
The import into Iran and, later, into the Arab states of the Gulf, of the western-inspired concept of the nation state
and nationality as structural elements in society is the origin of new symbolic and administrative frontiers in the
Gulf region. On the one hand are transnational populations, forced to review the way they used to circulate,
adopting solutions that circumvent national borders; on the other, the State, which must consolidate its national
sovereignty and position itself as the guardian of these national frontiers. However, over time and contrary to the
views of those who would oppose the strategies of migrant populations against national sovereignty, the
relationship between the State and transnational communities is developing via a process of growing autonomy
that reconciles the constraints and liberties of each of the players within their own spheres of activity. Thus, the
authority of the former does not necessarily enter into conflict with the practices of the latter. For example, in the
context of international sanctions imposed on Iran, this participation by the state in transnational networks and
its openness to delegating a portion of its powers to players who might often be seen as private, of whom
migrants form a part, are quite flagrant. Similarly, the involvement of Iranians resident in Dubai in networks of
trade with Iranian markets, and their role in circumventing sanctions to the benefit of both the Iranian and the
Emirati authorities, are evidence of a sustained relationship between both sides. This presentation will thus focus
on analyzing these interdependencies between Iranian migrant populations and the Iranian State.
12 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia F 16: BORDERLAND DEVELOPMENT
Chair: Tony Kruszewski, The University of Texas at El Paso, USA
Room: AU 210
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 9:00-10:40
Chinese FDI localization in Russia: Special role of the border regions
Anasztázia Kerekes, University of Szeged, Hungary
In my work I deal with the Chinese investments in Russia and the main question is „What these investments
means for Russian economical development and how are they distributed regionally?” „What is the role of the
border regions in it?”
We can see that nowadays Russia is the one of the main destination of the World’s FDI, but how is it divide within
the country and how is this effect on the Russian economy development? FDI is heavily concentrated in only a
few regions. Companies are concentrated in Siberia, Far East, Moscow and St. Petersburg, with a prominent role
in the natural resources related sectors. Especially in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the surrounding Moscow and
Leningrad Regions.
And What about the Chinese investment? In the last few years the share of border regions in the Chinese FDI
inflow to Russia has increased. While in 2006 about 7% of this inflow FDI went to the border regions, in 2011 this
percentage increased to 24%. Russian border became the most attractive Russian territories for Chinese FDI,
which induced by differences in relative conditions because trade costs and trade barriers in these regions are
low. The effects of the border location is a sign of the space proximity of border countries or regions on FDI. To
reveal the most attractive industries for Chinese direct investors in border and non-border Russian regions is used
an FDI localization index.
Russian exclave on Baltic: potential of location and its realization
Maria Zotova, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Alexander Sebentsov, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Kaliningrad region is often considered as a “double” periphery excluded from process of social and economic
modernization in both the area of European integration and in Russian Federation. A careful multi-level analysis
of its support by the federal government and a multi-scale analysis of the main socio-economic indicators in
combination with the results of sociological surveys and interviews show that such views are not totally correct. A
comparison of the main statistical indicators of small neighbouring territorial units of Kaliningrad regions, Polish
voivodships and Lithuanian districts showed that the situation and the level of life there did not differ much
which created favourable conditions for cross-border and inter-regional cooperation. But its perspectives are not
clear yet. The reasons of its slow development lie mostly in the political-psychological field and are in particular
related with social representations and geopolitical imagination, information policy and institutions. Integration
of Kaliningrad in both international cross-border regions and in Russian national space becomes not only an
economic but also a socio-cultural task.
From barrier to the axis of development: Local border traffic at the Polish-Russian border
Iwona Sagan, University of Gdansk, Poland
Dominika Szymańska, University of Gdansk, Poland
Klaudia Nowicka, University of Gdansk, Poland
Poland – Russia border was perceived as a clear barrier for development of the borderland. It was also a
contributing factor of peripherization of these areas. Concluding the agreement on local border traffic has made
it possible for the citizens of the Polish-Russian borderland to cross the state border without the necessity of
having a visa what has caused increased border traffic and economic growth of the areas mentioned in the
agreement. Once peripherized, now those areas are the centre of attention of the state, media and scientists and
the border is no longer perceived as the barrier which makes economic and cultural exchange difficult or
impossible.
13 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Introducing the visa-free traffic has caused massive inflows of the citizens of Kaliningrad Oblast to Poland.
However, there are not many Poles travelling in the opposite direction. When the Poland – Russia borderland
become the centre of attention, many new projects were implemented. The process of opening the border has
made the cross-border cooperation easier, making the relation between Poland and Kaliningrad Oblast better
and through willingness to learn and discover some neighbourly stereotypes are gradually being overcome.
The main aim of this paper is to present the first outcomes of the research on the small border traffic at the
Poland – Russia border, which has been done within the framework of the EUBORDERSCPAES project. The
analysis has been conducted on the basis of surveys and interviews with some local “actors” taking part in the
process of opening the Poland – Russia border.
Power, mobility and the economic vulnerability of borderlands
Giorgia Bressan, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
The political boundary between Italy and Yugoslavia, superimposed after the Second World War, extended
through lands with a common historical, cultural and economic path. The boundary constituted an ideological
divide but the pre-existence of deeply entrenched social and economic relations promoted, from the outset, the
establishment of a local permeable border. Later on, Slovenia’s full integration in the European Union reinforced
the opportunity for the residents of borderlands to access daily to the foreign market.
This work explores how, in this context of freedom to movement, consumers are espoused to the convenience of
border proximity and, throughout their behavior, threaten local economy. Specifically, a low excise duty in
Slovenia incentivizes Italian consumers living close to the border to refuel abroad. Applying the Global
Production Network analytical framework, I assess how the attractiveness of the foreign fuel market poses
specific challenges to Italian institutions and economic actors.
The analysis revealed how the incentive to border-crossing can be read as the result of the stratification of actions
undertaken by different actors, each of them with peculiar interest, operational scale and asymmetrical influence.
The existence of cross-border shopping practices highlights how, despite sovereignty is defined within precisely
demarcated boundaries, national institutions exercise influence beyond their own territories. The Italian Region
of Friuli Venezia Giulia is seen as an actor charged with smoothing potential tensions brought on by the distance
from the mainstream of national life. However, consumers determine the economic fate of borderlands as the
border management policy does not restrict residents’ mobility.
Contested trajectories of regionalisation and peripherisation under Europeanisation in the Southern
Estonia – windows of opportunity at the external border of EU
Antti Roose, University of Tartu, Estonia
Regions are seen to stretch in space so that their socioeconomic contents and relations are networked across
borders (Varro and Lagendijk, 2013). Southern Estonia as region has became important element in making sense
of the rapid transformation and rescaling of Estonian national space. Following Paasi’s seminal work (1991),
region has acquired a status in the spatial structure and the social consciousness of society while county-level
territorial governance retreats in Estonia. The study identifies the territorial performance of Southern Estonia at
the multiple scales – global, macro-regional, national and regional, and discusses the impact of Europanisation in
territorial governance. Tartu functions as regional node, secondary growth pole in Estonia though the gap
between Tallinn metropolitan and Tartu regions has been growing. The advanced service and knowledge-based
economy should be engines for regional development aiming at creating more territorial balance. On the other
hand, the region’s positioning and growth is undermined by peripheral tendencies at the external border of EU.
Increasing globalisation and concentration of public and private investments and resources has lead to a strong
demographic and socioeconomic polarisation nationally and within region. Growth opportunities are restricted
by poor connectivity as well low levels of international trade and foreign direct investment. As ‘leapfrog’ relations
within Baltic Sea Region and functional tiers with neighbouring Russia and Latvia emerge, the capacity on
strategic planning and governance to deliver Cohesion policy for enhancing further regionalisation should be a
key target of territorial policies.
F 17: MOLDOVA, TRANSNISTRIA, EURASIA
Chair: Olga Filippova, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine
14 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Room: AU 205
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 09:00-10:40
Liminality versus martyrisation: Imagining the Romanian-Moldovan border
Roxana Adina Huma, University of Plymouth, UK
The aim of this paper is to highlight the means through which the Romanian nation defines their neighbours, the
Moldovans, and how the border in between the two communities is created/erased. Officially, Moldova is
recognised as Romania’s kin-state, this national unity discourse also being also reflected in Moldovan civil society.
In this context, the paper explores the way in which the two sides of the same representation, liminality and
martyrisation, compete in defining the borders of the nation, both being used extensively in representing the
Moldovan ‘other’ in Romanian consciousness. The analysis is based on post-structuralist discourse theory and
data collected in interviews in 2012 and media representations (newspapers and TV).
The Moldovans are portrayed as a form of Romanians, but tainted by the Eastern (Russia/Tsarist/Soviet)
occupation of these lands, thus by the actions of a Romanian external ‘other’, the Slav. This construction is
focused around elements ranging from their vocabulary to their democratic development and through this
representation of liminality the Moldovans are pushed away from the Romanian nation, represented as outsiders,
inferior. On the other hand, martyrisation, as a metaphor, is used to define the Moldovan experience under
foreign rule and constructs an imagery of ‘survival’. It encompasses a sense of respect towards Moldovan
sacrifices and recognition of their defending their Romanian character through the ages. Thus, whilst
marginalisation strengthens the borders between the two communities, constructing the Moldovan as inferior,
martyrisation challenges this view, by reinforcing Moldovan Romanianess and their moral superiority.
At the margins of a Eurasian project? Russian soft power experiment in Transnistria
Andrey Devyatkov, University of Tartu, Estonia
The preparation of the Association Agreement between Moldova and the European Union, including the regime
of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, has stimulated Russia to initiate some countermeasures: at the
discursive level Transnistria was included into the Russian-led Eurasian project. The non-commercial organization
called “The Eurasian integration”, obtaining funding from the Russian budget (about 100 million dollars in the
coming two years), was founded to sponsor the construction of various social objects in Transnistria
(kindergardens, schools and hospitals). Rhetorically Moscow supported de-bordering in the region stating that
the European integration of Moldova would lead to economic blockade of Transnistria and would eventually
defreeze the Transnistrian conflict. The Russian donations are going under the slogan “Russia supports first” and
are actually one of the biggest soft power engagement of Russia in the post-soviet space.
What purpose does the Russian sot power move have? It could be argued that Russia is creating the external
contours of its Eurasian project and trying to challenge the European integration in the region. But on the other
hand, a closer examination reveals the signs of Russian imitative strategy. Firstly, discursively the soft power
measures in Transnistria are a response to the EU activities of the same kind and confirm the reactive character of
Russian foreign policy. As Special Representative of the Russian president in Transnistria Dmitry Rogozin has
stated, the EU is occupied with prisons while Russia is building new kindergardens and hospitals. And secondly,
soft power project in Transnistria should be seen as a relatively cheap geopolitical investment: while creating and
supporting geopolitical divide along the Dniestr river, Moscow hopes implicitly that the Eastern Partnership will
fail soon and Trasnistria will be kept as Russian exclusive sphere of influence in Moldova and in the region as a
whole.
The Republic of Moldova: Border uncertainty amidst the EU and Russia
Diana Magdalena Hrab, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark/Romania
The proposed paper will approach the situation of the Republic of Moldova (RM) between a Russian - Soviet past
and a possible European future, as a cooperation bridge established within them. Since 1991 when Moldova
gained its independence from the Soviet Union, it has gradually evolved its relations with the European Union
mainly through partnerships and agreements, which do not guarantee a membership status in the foreseeable
future. Moreover, the country’s historical background is marked by Russia and its strong economic power and
15 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia influence, which continue to interfere in the EU integration process. As an outcome Moldova’s evolution is rather
slow and conditioned by numerous international factors and actors.
One of the important actors to be considered is Romania, where the President has recently stated (27.11.2013)
that the re-union with RM is the next important (geopolitical) objective, basing his assertion on social, cultural
and security factors and claiming that it would facilitate the Moldovan EU integration. This is, however, a highly
controversial issue, since further EU integration (or indeed reunification) may potentially hamper the EU relations
with Russia by interfering with its sphere of influence. This paper will analyse to what extent Moldova represents
a bridge for cooperation between the EU and Russia and how feasible is the re-unification in achieving a future
membership, assessing the impact of the recently signed Eastern Partnership at Vilnius, 2013.
Building a new kind of border – an ethnographic study of EU’s borders towards Moldova
Marlene Paulin Kristensen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Through ethnographic material from the external borders of the European Union (EU) between Moldova and
Romania, this paper suggests studying borders as practices instead of objects in order to grasp the dynamics
present in the Europeanization of the Moldovan-Romanian border. The borders between present-day Moldova
and Romania have moved and changed in character continuously throughout history, and as other Post Cold War
borders, these changes have been dramatic within the past 20 years. Since 2007, the Moldovan-Romanian border
constitutes the EU’s external border, and it is thus experiencing yet a new type of border. In an effort to live up to
EU standards, the Romanian border police have enforced the border towards Moldova by securing it with fences,
border technology and training of customs and border police. In these times of Europeanization and withering of
borders, Moldovans are thus experiencing the other side of the same coin: the rapid strengthening of a border
that had become gradually relaxed throughout the 1990s. The European borders thus point to a global paradox
between a seemingly borderless EU and the relocation and strengthening of the borders to the edges of the EU.
In this paper, I follow the border ethnographically in various situations, localities and forms in order to
understand how this new type of border affects Moldovans’ mobility towards the EU. I will draw on theoretical
discussions and field work material from my master’s thesis “On the edge of Europe – an inquiry of EU’s external
borders towards Moldova” (2012).
F 18: CROSS-BORDER INTERACTION AND CROSS-BORDER REGIONALIZATION
Chair: Heikki Eskelinen, University of Eastern Finland
Room: AG 106
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 09:00-10:40
Towards a functional specialisation of urban development in the cross-border metropolitan region of
Luxembourg?
Antoine Decoville, CEPS / INSTEAD, Luxemburg
The concept of “spatial integration” within border regions is associated, among others, to the increase in the
exchanges of goods, services, capital, knowledge and people in a context where borders are less and less
perceived as limiting the flows. From the strategic perspective of the EU, cross-border integration is assumed to
lead to a reduction of the structural differences between border territories.
In this paper, we want to discuss the systematic validity of this assumption at the cross-border city regional scale,
by demonstrating that integration can sometimes, on the contrary, lead to a specialization of spaces located on
both sides of a border. Indeed, due to border differentials in terms of taxes, land prices, and building restrictions,
but also due to linguistic and cultural differences, border spaces within a single functional urban area can follow
heterogeneous dynamics of urban development. These differentiated patterns of urbanization result from the
exploitation of the best opportunities offered in each territory. Therefore, the question of the economic and
social sustainability of such a fragmented spatial development is raised. In this paper, we provide an empirical
evidence for showing the functional specialization of spaces in the case-study of the Grand-Duchy of
Luxembourg (where the production of added value tends to concentrate) and the border territories (which tend
16 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia to become more and more residential). We conclude by showing that the increase in cross-border interactions
can paradoxically reinforce a centre-periphery configuration delimited by the border.
Inside the black box of cross-border cooperation projects. Qualitative analysis of the small projects fund
Adam Ploszaj, University of Warsaw, Poland
The paper examines the thesis that cross-border contact promotes good neighbourly relations and improves
mutual understanding between the residents of border regions. The analysis focus on the Polish-German border
region. Historically, this is one of the most conflictual borders in the EU. Citizen relations across the border were
notoriously hostile when the border was opened for visa-free travel in 1991. In order to address this problem,
Polish and German policy-makers decided in 1995 to create a so-called small projects fund for inexpensive social
or cultural events. The scheme became so popular that the EU now co-funds small projects funds in nearly all
European border regions.
Small projects are designed to promote citizen encounters across the border with a view to eroding negative
stereotypes and promoting trust. However, there is so far little empirical evidence that the cross-border contact
leads to improved perceptions of people from the other side of the border, the neighbours. The paper fills this
gap by examining the effectiveness of small projects in promoting good neighbourly relations and mutual
understanding between the residents of the Polish-German border region. The study is based on new empirical
evidence collected during field research conducted in 2013. 16 projects were analysed in detail, including semistructured interviews with project organizers, as well as Polish and German participants of these projects.
Europeanisation from above – elite making in the transborder Barents Region
Aileen Espiritu, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway
Europeanisation from above – elite making in the transborder Barents Region
Twenty years after the creation of the The Barents-Euro Arctic Region, the local population still struggle to define
what the region is about and what is in it for them. Despite significant funding and human resources, the
promised achievements of the Barents Region project have been minor, failing to create a Barents identity that
would make economic, social, cultural, and people exchange in the region, especially with Russia, flow more
easily. Competition between discourse regimes dominate the landscape of region formation. Populated by
politically constituted actors, politically constituted knowledges, and politically sanctioned development,
Europeanisation has been largely dependent on both Norwegian and EU funding mechanisms that has seen
cross border cooperation that lacks the foundations for sustainability for long-term cooperation among the local
communities that the region-building institutions have promised to unite.
This paper stems from the research conducted under the EU-FP7 EUBORDERREGIONS project and analyses the
reach of the EU and Schengen Acquis signatory, Norway, in the transborder regions in Northern Europe, notably
Northwest Russia. I argue that much of the region-building and de-bordering of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region
has taken place within the institutions built to support this region-building project, with little of a transborder
In Search of a Border Identity on the Polish-Russian Border
Stanislaw Domaniewski, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
The opening up of European borders since 1989 has created vast possibilities for trade and cultural interaction.
Great strides have been made towards integration throughout vast areas in both Western and former Soviet Bloc
economies. Nonetheless certain border areas, such as the Polish-Russian border, are still difficult to access for
those who wish to do so. This area is still a partially sealed border. It requires individuals to make an effort to
access the other side. Even so, recent developments have created a possibility for visa free travel individuals living
within a 50 km proximity of the border.
The current article which I will be discussing, entitled “In Search of a Border Identity on the Polish-Russian Border”
is the first article based on my PhD project “Development Potential of Building Closer Cultural Ties in the
Kaliningrad Oblast/Warmia Mazury Region: Analysis of Braniewo/Mamonovo and Individual Cross Border
Interactions and Relations in a Post-Communist Space”. The study is being undertaken in collaboration with the
University of Eastern Finland and UEF Karelian Institute’s “Post-Soviet Borders” project. The paper will discuss a
brief overview of the background of the area, theoretical views of the border and a presentation of empirical
work.
17 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The paper looks at new and shifting patterns of cross-border interaction and identity creation in the town of
Braniewo (Warmia-Mazury Wojowod- Poland). The paper will look at the following questions. What impact do
cross-border interactions have on individual perceptions of the other side of the border? What impact does it
have to one’s own identity? Does a border identity exist and if so what is it?
F 20: MIGRATION AND BORDERING IN AND AROUND AFRICA
Chair: Paolo Gaibazzi, Research Fellow, Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin
Room: C2
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 11:00-12:40
The ABORNE conference on borders and migration: from themes to future research
Cristina Udelsmann Rodrigues, ISCTE-IUL, University of Lisbon, Portugal
The fifth ABORNE annual conference – Crossing African Borders: migration and mobility – was dedicated to the
circulation of people, goods and immaterialities across African borders. While the conference was organized
around a specific set of topics and sub-themes, it also led to the publication of a book focusing on specific
themes. A revision and point of the situation regarding the dominant, emerging or ‘forgotten’ themes of both the
conference and publication will contribute to the systematization of the ABORNE network key sub-themes within
the broader theme of migration as well as to the identification of expertise created and gaps still to be filled in.
European Migration Management’s Global Approach. Doing border in Mali and Mauritania
Stephan Duennwald, Centro de Estudos Africanos, ISCTE-IUL, University of Lisbon, Portugal
European Migration management has been extended from the control of the own territory to countries of origin
and transit, thus creating new spaces of border surveillance and disciplining of migrants and migration in Africa.
This has also remodeled the relations between Europe and the states concerned, and left traces in the social,
political and economic life of these countries, as well as the ways mobility is conceived and organized. Bargaining
over bordering practices increasingly conditions development assistance, for soft tools like visa facilitation and
circular migration schemes are used both as incentives and to keep targeted groups in their place. Though with
the Global Approach on Migration Europe brought forward a comprehensive framework, the practical outcomes
in terms of agreements, inter-state cooperation and consequences on the societal level show remarkable
differences. Taking the cases of Mauritania and Mali as examples, these differences will be discussed by first
drawing on the development of what is called externalization of European migration policy, then sketching out
the process how this externalization evolved both in Mauritania and Mali and contributes to the transformation
of bordering processes.
Exploring the Migration-Border Nexus In and Around Africa Through the Borderscapes Lens
Chiara Brambilla, University of Bergamo, Italy
My intervention reflects on the critical potential of the borderscapes concept to (re)think the interplay between
migration and b/ordering processes in and around Africa and considering the Euro/Africa border nexus in
particular.
The borderscapes concept expresses the (geo)political and epistemic multidimensionality of the border, enabling
a productive understanding of the processual, de-territorialized and dispersed nature of borders and their
ensuing regimes in the era of globalization and transnational flows. This helps investigate the multiplication as
well as the persistence of borders in and around Africa, thereby contributing to the analysis of the diffusion and
stratification of borders moving away from the limits of nation-states through their dis-locations and re-locations
that originate a complex interaction between processes and practices of border externalization and
internalization. Through the borderscape, it is possible to grasp the ‘variations’ of borders in and across Africa in
space and time, transversally to many socio-cultural, political, economic, legal, and historical settings crisscrossed by negotiations between different actors, and not only the State. Hence, the borderscape offers the
opportunity for questioning the ‘normative dimension’ of borders at the interface of EUrope/Africa relational
geographies while considering that borders also involve struggles that consist of strategies of adaptation,
18 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia contestation and resistance, challenging the top-down geopolitical control of borders and opening new political
subjectivities.
Gazing into the migration-border nexus through the borderscapes lens, I will provide examples from my research
in the Libyan and the Namibian context, thereby diving into the Euro/African border nexus from colonial times to
its post-colonial configurations.
F 21: Across Northern Rivers : Examining the Borderlands of the People’s Republic of China and the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as Transitional, Transient Spaces
Chair : Adam Cathart, University of Leeds
Room:AU 100
Date: June 9th 2014
Time: 11:00-12:40
This panel examines the China/North Korean borderlands, understanding them to be spaces of diffusion and
transference rather than division and opacity. For years, academics and analysts have awaited North Korea's
collapse, anticipating a locus on its southern border. Despite two power transitions and crises, reality has instead
offered North Korea’s continued existence. In search of new approaches, this panel examines functionality and
possibility within the region a locale profoundly different from the militarized space of confrontation on North
Korea's southern border. Instead this space across the Yalu/Amnok, Tumen Rivers and the Mount
P(B)aekdu/Changbai massif, is an area of transience and transition, across and through which alternative futures
for North Korea are being or could be forged.
This panel brings together scholars from several nations to analyze capital/trade flows, social identities, and
political authority across the borderlands. We ask: under Kim Jong-un's rule might this region provide another
approach to North Korean social/political/economic issues and potentialities? Will accumulation and circulation
of goods and capital spur economic transformation? Will the evolving experiences of disadvantaged/marginal
groups spark social disruption? Will new patterns of politics fragment an ossified institutional system, or make it
more resilient? Ultimately, we investigate what these transfers might mean for North Korea. If change or
contestation is possible, from whence will it flow? In the long term, is the northern borderland a space of
sustenance for the regime, or a space in which its future is already being made/unmade?
Illicit Trade and the Sino-Korean Border
Sheena Greitens, Harvard University, Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, USA
This paper examines the Sino-Korean border area in terms of the role it has played in facilitating illicit and
alternative trade between China and the people of North Korea. Analyses of Sino-DPRK relations commonly focus
on trade between the two countries at an official level, as a signal about the formal relationship between China
and the North Korean leadership. This perspective, however, overlooks an important development: the rise of
informal, unofficial trading ties among people along the same border. Especially since the famine and breakdown
of the public distribution system of the mid-1990s, North Korean citizens have looked to the border as a source of
food, goods, and currency; economic migration flows across the border have increased. Cross-border trade,
“illicit” by North Korean standards, encompasses everything from clothing and ceramics to drug trafficking, and is
inextricably intertwined with the marketization processes that have strengthened the unofficial economy inside
North Korea and weakened the state’s monopoly of economic control over citizens. This kind of cross-border
trade, therefore, is significant not merely because of what it shows about China’s relationship with North Korea,
but because of its potential to renegotiate the relationship between state and society inside the DPRK.
Yuan, Renmimbi, Won? : Alternative stores of value and the undermining of domain consensus on the
Sino-Korean border
Christopher Green, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Academics in contemporary times assert that North Korean institutions and government are engaged in a
struggle for control of fiscal sovereignty. Contest is fiercest in its border zones, where challenges from ordinary
citizens, particularly market economic participants, such as the uptake of Chinese Renminbi, are rapidly growing
19 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia in scale. The North Korean government and elites have long been users of foreign currency, but analysts have
determined that individual market participants at all levels are now attempting to secure elements of the stability
that stable currencies and other stores of value autonomous of institutional control and cooption offer.
This paper will examine the uptake of foreign currency by persons on the middle rungs of society in North Korea
in both spatial and temporal terms, looking also at the root causes of the current preference for foreign exchange.
It will also investigate in detail the threats and challenges that this phenomenon poses to the institutions and
government of North Korea’s effort to form a “domain consensus” with the ordinary population through
propaganda. Finally it will review and consider the possibility that this social and economic process challenges
the very existence and viability of the Sino-North Korean border itself.
Environmental borderlands: Nature as space for transference and incorporation in the DPRK
Robert Winstanley-Chesters, University of Leeds, UK
Management of environmental resource in the DPRK has historically focused on capacity and output increase.
Nature has also been utilised to support development of national narratives of legitimacy and to
denigrate/negate the environmental approach of sovreign actors the DPRK regards as hostile. In previous eras
such management has also determinedly focused on core internal areas of the nation (apart from the Mt Paektu
massif on the Chinese border, vital to the DPRK’s political narratives), perhaps because borderland spaces of the
nation have been important simply in terms of their defensive value and environmental considerations,
inevitably secondary. In recent years however developments focused on the natural world have begun to leave
the center and encounter/engage the peripherary.
This paper will therefore investigate environmental developments in the DPRK’s border regions, examining three
examples: Firstly environmental developments surrounding the Tumen River on the DPRK, China, Russia border
where industrial and economic interchange in once quiet political space is bringing about changes in
environmental approach. Secondly faunal conservation in the borderlands of the DPRK as represented by Tiger
conservation projects on the China, DPRK border around Mt Paekdu. Thirdly the reconceptualisation of
militarised space in the DMZ on the DPRK/ROK border as conservation area in the guise of the DMZ Peace Park
project. This paper will analyse to what extent these projects in the DPRK’s borderland spaces represent a vector
for institutional development and whether it is the liminality of such space that allows potentially, for easier
incoporation of external conceptions and strategies.
This paper considers how the porous Sino-North Korean borderlands allow for the negotiation of new roles for
women, largely based on market activity and an inflow of foreign media. In official North Korean state-centric
rhetoric, women are used in service to the nation. During the famine that beset North Korea in the mid-1990s, the
state removed female citizens from state-owned enterprises (SOE) and permitted them to participate in market
activities. As such, women’s economic power, unlike men’s, was no longer tied to SOEs. While also dealing with
residual domestic expectations from males and the state, the influx of foreign goods and media in the border
regions—not to mention physical crossing as well—has led to increased awareness of the outside world,
including China, South Korea and Southeast Asia. Though often illegal, the feminized international exchange of
goods and media in the borderlands can be licit, and therefore has the potential to change normative female
roles from the bottom up—or, from the outer areas in.
This paper argues that the practices among borderland North Koreans, rather than indicating marginalization,
reveal the need to re-evaluate social space in the borderlands as a space for renegotiating gender roles in social
and economic exchanges. As such, the spatiality of borderlands as a region for special transnational exchange
destabilizes state-centric claims to ahistorical boundedness and instead reveals the possibility of surpassing a
purported national homogeneity.
Contested Sovereignty and Dynamic Change: Borderlands as Transformative Spaces
Steven Denney, University of Toronto
This paper seeks to problematize state sovereignty in order to present contested borderlands as transformative
spaces. Using the Sino-North Korean border as a case study, this paper argues that in border spaces where
centralized power is contested or central political authority is distant or diminished, the political, economic, and
social conditions of the region itself exercise greater transformative effects on the space and its inhabitants, than
do regions more central to national polities.
Recent research suggests that fundamental changes have begun to fully manifest themselves in the border
20 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia provinces of North Korea, a result of a decrease in the government's capacity to rule following the complete
collapse of the Pubic Distribution Service (PDS) in the mid-1990s and the failure of its economic and monetary
policy in the 2000s. Using theoretical insights from the borderlands literature and the latest findings from the
border provinces, this paper will investigate the nature of the new political, economic, and social possibilities in
the context of North Korea’s northern regions. It will analyze the conduits and processes by which such changes
and shifts occur and what these new possibilities mean for central state authority in North Korea.
F 22: BORDERS OF TOURISM
Chair: Martin van der Velde, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands
Room: AU 101
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 11:00-12:40
Bargain hunters and connoisseurs? Variations on shopping tourism between France, Germany and Poland
Bernhard Koeppen, CEPS / INSTEAD, Luxembourg
Shopping Tourism can be considered as a typical phenomenon in border areas and is often considered as a more
or less trivial activity (and topic). Often, vivid cross-border-shopping does mainly reflect differences in purchase
power, asymmetries in wealth and prosperity on either side of the border or it is related to divergent taxation and
certain specifics of goods and services offered. The trigger pulse occurs mostly quite obvious and easy to
understand. Though, the idea of tangible asymmetries being a sufficient explanation is far too simple.
Shopping-tourism in borderlands occurs a frequent feature, even when socio-economic conditions of
neighbouring countries are levelled. Empirical findings from the French-German and Polish-German border seem
to indicate, that shopping-tourism can evolve from crude “bargain hunt” towards a more "ritualized" and very
common -sometimes daily – practice driven by less obvious, more complex and sometimes obscure motivations.
Furthermore it could be discussed, if shopping-tourism might serve as an indicator of "everyday cross-borderintegration" and even be one small basis (amongst many other) for further, more dignified forms of cross border
interaction on grass-root level.
Borders and second home tourism: Russian second home owners in Finland
Olga Lipkina, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
The Finnish-Russian border has become a point of contact between two neighbouring states after the Soviet
Union’s collapse. Even though Finnish ‘vodka’ tourism to Russia took place already in 1970-80s, after 1991 border
crossing become more accessible. Nowadays Russian travel to Finland is linked to shopping, leisure and access to
other European (Schengen) countries. A recent trend in Russian trans-border tourism has become real estate
purchases.
The transforming but still relatively closed border between Finland and Russia influence tourists flows and
regulates leisure through visa regime. Thus, the aim of the presentation is to explore the role of borders in transborder second home tourism. The question is: How do borders matter in second home tourism?
Relationship between tourism and borders is discussed both from theoretical and empirical perspectives on the
example of Russian second home ownership in Finland. The data was collected through 25 thematic interviews
with Russian second home owners in the Savonlinna region, South Savo.
Post-Cold War Border Regions in Japan: Focusing on the Increase of Foreign Tourists from Asian Countries
Akihiro Takagi, Kyushu University, Japan
Foreign visitors to Japan have increased rapidly in the last decade and Japan has experienced the largest-ever
number of foreign visitors in 2013. This increase is mainly due to the economic growth in Asian countries after the
cold war. It is partly because of the policy to attract foreign visitors by the Japanese government (Visit Japan
Project).
One of characteristics of this trend is the increase of foreign visitors entering into border islands in the
southwestern part of Japan directly from Asian countries by ships. More than a hundred thousand Korean tourists
visited Tsushima Island in 2012. And more than fifty thousand Chinese (Taiwanese) also visited Ishigaki Island in
the same year. The annual number of foreign visitors is in excess of the number of residents in both islands.
21 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Surrounded by the sea, most foreigners visited central areas like Tokyo and Kyoto by airplanes. However,
economic growth in Asian countries has increased the number of Asian tourists entering peripheral border
regions directly. This means the tourism pattern of foreigners to Japan has changed. This is a sign that the
tourism among Asian countries is entering a new phase. This paper examines the this new phase of international
tourism in the border regions and the meaning of the movements of people crossing borders from a
geographical perspective.
Tourism from Finland to the Petschenga border region in Russia from 1990s to the present
Maria Lähteenmäki, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
In my paper I will focus on cross-border tourism industry from Finland to North-West Russia, especially to the
Petschenga (Finn. Petsamo) border region between Russia, Finland and Norway from the year 1990 - when the
region in question opened to cross-border tourism - to the present. I will look at tourism mainly from the point of
view of Petsamo Society. This civil organisation was founded in 1949 by the Finnish evacuees from Petsamo and it
is still functioning today. Petsamo was a part of Finland from the year 1920 to 1944 and all Finns were evacuated
from the area in September 1944 to other parts of Finland.
F 23: CROSSBORDER GOVERNANCE: ASSESSING INFLUENTIAL ACTORS AND INTERESTS IN CROSSBORDER
REGIONS
Chair and Discussant: Victor Konrad, Carleton University
Room: AU 102
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 11:00-12:40
Crossborder governance is an understudied phenomenon when it deals with the way two sides of a single
physical borderline establish the norms and institutions that both regulate and guide crossborder interaction. Yet
understanding how crossborder governance works is crucial so that states be able to take advantage of
economies of scale and at the same time increase security, while controlling and facilitating flows. Understanding
the forces that shape crossborder governance is in fact important because two adjacent states have a unique
task, which consists in achieving border management systems that can ensure that they achieve their goals and
increase the welfare and safety of borderlanders. This panel proposes to advance this debate by presenting four
papers on the issues, actors and interests that shape crossborder governance in four cases.
Canada-US Crossborder Governance: Cascadia and Quebec-US Borderlands in Comparative Perspective
Bruno Dupeyron, University of Regina, Canada
Using the ‘theory of field’ proposed by Fligstein and McAdam (2012), this paper compares cross-border
governance in two Canada-US border areas, Cascadia (BC, WA and ON) and Quebec-US States (NY-VT-NH-ME),
based on a survey analysis and preliminary interviews, and the method of paired comparison (Tarrow 2010). First,
it will analyze the cross-border governance field formation in both cases, seeking to understand how dominant
and alternative representations of the field were shaped, and what type of cross-border governance agreements
and actions were adopted. Second, this study will examine the field stability and reproduction in both
borderlands. Finally, we will suggest the hypothesis that field crisis is generally limited in both areas.
“Getting it:” Businesspeople and their NGO Advocates Talk about the U.S-Mexico Border Region”
Kathleen Staudt, University of Texas at El Paso, USA
Pamela L. Cruz, University of Texas at El Paso, USA
Those who study cross-border governance seem to privilege national or binational state institutions and ignore
civil society organizations, networks, alliances, and resources in reinforcing or changing the status quo in the
borderlands. Presumably, those who govern will interact with civil society organizations and individuals for
effective and responsive governing in a democracy. Whether one leans toward the elitist or the pluralist
paradigms in democratic governance theories, political players and non-government organizations (NGOs)
outside the state form an important part of the analytic equation. We argue that civil society cannot be ignored,
22 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia especially in these neoliberal times when the celebrants of limited government and the market place reign near
supreme. Prior to the creation of cross-border public institutions, powerful business constituencies may influence
institutional design, funding, and agendas--whether cross-border traders or closed-border security contractors.
Crossborder Governance: Different Issues and Multiple Speeds
Tony Payan, Rice University & University of Texas at El Paso, USA
Crossborder governance is usually understood as a systems issue. It is studied as the result of a combination of
variables, actors, and interests all of whom are conceived as contributing to a general system of governance that
regulates and guides action by actors on either side of a border. This study examines crossborder governance in
the Paso del Norte region in order to understand if the phenomenon is monolithic as it is often treated at the
literature or whether it is a multilayered system of governance that moves at different speeds, depending on
many different variables directed to different areas of a border.
Crossborder Governance: Patterns, Trends and Institutional Settings in the Adriatic Sea Region
Daniele Del Bianco, Istituto di Sociologia Internazionale, Italy
How to identify and remove obstacles to cross-border cooperation in the Adriatic Sea Region? How to assess the
(likely) impact of domestic policy decision on the level of cross-border cooperation? How to avoid creating
unwanted difficulties to existing cooperation? How to define and assess the level of institutionalization of CBC
structures and agency? How do existing CBC structures impact the daily life of citizens in cross-border areas? The
paper aims at taking stock of practices and solutions that already exist in respect of cross-border governance in
the Adriatic area. The experience of cooperation between Italian and Slovenian local authorities as well as that of
Regione Friuli-Venezia Giulia and its neighbors will be considered more in depth. Finally, the paper analyses the
EGTC Gorizia, Nova Gorica, Sempeter experience in the first two years of activities from the perspectives of its
members and of the citizens of the three municipalities. Plotting collected data against stakeholders’ evaluation
of the status of CBC in the area at the end of the 2007-2013 programming period and in the wake of new ETC
opportunities, the concept of the Euroregional paradox will be introduced as result of the preliminary results of
the SHRCC funded research project on The transformations of cross-border governance: North America and
Europe in comparative perspective.
Factores de gobernanza en condiciones de baja autonomía local
Tony Payan, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Mexico & Rice University, USA
Z. Anthony Kruszewski, University of Texas, El Paso, USA
La gobernabilidad es un problema político en contextos fronterizos. En el caso de Ciudad Juárez existe una
dimensión adicional, la interdependencia con El Paso, Texas, en un contexto de centralismos federalistas que
impiden a las comunidades locales incidir en los esquemas de gobernanza transfronteriza. Este ensayo explora
cómo los juarenses conciben su capacidad de influir en las normas y las instituciones que crean gobernanza
transfronteriza y cómo crean y negocian la creación de estas normas e instituciones.
F 24: From post-Soviet to Eurasian: reconfiguring borders and space II
Chair: Paul Richardson- University of Manchester
Room: AU 206
Date: June 9th 2014
Time: 11:00-12:40
The panel will focus on the post-Soviet space since 1991 and will analyse how the understandings of both the
external and internal borders of Eurasia have been changing over the recent period. This takes account of the
shift from both highly securitised and cumbersome state borders, and zero-sum approaches to spheres of
influence, to more fluid conceptions and notions of opportunity, shared space and common interest. In this
second of two related panels, the emphasis is on how internal borders of the former soviet space have developed
since 1991.
23 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The Transformation of Soviet republic borders to international borders
Jeremy Smith, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
This paper will be based on field research in archives in Kazakhstan, and interviews with personnel involved in
borders management since 1991. It will examine how border regimes, infrastructures and trade agreements were
organised in the chaotic circumstances of 1991-1992, and will then go on to look at how border procedures have
developed since then and the actual impact of those developments on cross-border traffic, up to and including
the creation of the Eurasian Customs Union. The focus will be on Kazakhstan’s borders with Russia and
Kyrgyzstan, but will also involve findings from secondary works on post-Soviet border regimes.
The Eurasian Customs Union
Alena Vieira, University of Minho, Portugal
The paper will look at the latest developments in the Eurasian Customs Union, which came into effect in 2012.
The Changing Federal Model: the Case of Internal Borders in the Russian Federation
Irina Busygina, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Russian Federation
The internal organisation of the Russian Federation has undergone many revisions since the country came into
being as a separate entity in 1991. This paper will examine how those changes have impacted on the nature of
internal borders in Russia.
‘Borderization’ in Georgia: Sovereignty materialized
Ted Boyle, Hokkaido University, Japan
This presentation shall examine the process of borderization that has been proclaimed as occurring along the
Georgian-South Ossetian boundary. This boundary is one that remains largely unrecognized, as the claims of the
Georgian state to sovereignty over South Ossetia are accepted by the majority of the international community.
The crucial exception to this is of course Russia, under whose aegis this process of borderization is occurring. The
result is the creation of a physical barrier around the territory of South Ossetia, one that seeks to materialize what
was previously an administrative fiction on the ground, halting the movement of people and goods across this
border and dividing people from their livelihoods. This materialization shall be examined from the perspective of
Wendy Brown, who has pointed out that, “Rather than resurgent expressions of nation-state sovereignty, the new
walls are icons of its erosion. While they may appear as hyperbolic tokens of such sovereignty, like all hyperbole,
they reveal a tremulousness, vulnerability, dubiousness, or instability at the core of what they aim to express”
(2010, p. 24). It shall ask how these material manifestations of state policy impact on perceptions of sovereignty
held regarding the states involved, tracing out the possible implication of this borderization. It shall also reflect
upon the larger lessons we can extrapolate from this border to the connections that exist between notions of
sovereignty and the definitions accorded to people and territory in the polities in question.
F 25: RE-BORDERING CENTRAL ASIA
Chair: Elnara Bainazarova, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan
Room: AU 209
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 11:00-12:40
SCO as a vehicle for solving territorial issues in Central Asia
Marina Dmitrieva, Far Eastern Federal University, Russia
After the collapse of the USSR Central Asia became one of the most dangerous region in the world because of
number of potential territorial conflicts. The ex-soviet republic’s borders were conditional and didn’t consider
historical and cultural features of peoples. This situation prevented to solve the territorial problems between
Central Asian states with China.
Willingness of the states to maintain security in the region was one of the causes to create the Shanghai Five. In
1996 China, Russia, and the three Central Asian states bordering on China—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and
24 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Tajikistan—signed the Shanghai Agreement on Confidence Building in the Military Field in the Border Area,
followed in 1997 by the Agreement on Mutual Reduction of Military Forces in the Border Areas.
After it states began to discuss issues of comprehensive cooperation. After the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001,
the members renamed the organization -Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The SCO way to solve
territorial problem between Russia and China was successfully applied by Central Asian states and China.
Today parties discuss the possibility of India and Pakistan to become a member of SCO. But there are territorial
disputes between India and Pakistan and between India and China. It is quite possibly to use SCO way to solve
these issues.
UN Peacepeeking Missions: Success Within the Borders?
Darya Pushkina, St. Petersburg State University, Russia
CASA -1000 – New transregional project
Furugzod Usmonov, Tajikistan
The territory of post-Soviet Central Asia region has different definition- Middle Asia, Central Asia, Big Central Asia,
Big Middle East and etc. In side of all these definitions some geopolitical approaches.
New energy project CASA 1000 is supposed organize export of Electricity from two Central Asian countries
(Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan) to South Asian Countries (Afghanistan and Pakistan). This project mainly lobbies by
U.S. and International finance institutes to integrate South Asia with Central Asia. Thus this project supposed new
trends and new view to the Central Asia. It brings to new level of competition of international actors (Russia, U.S.,
EU. Chin and etc.) in the region. As well as not all countries of region do support this project, one of the serious
antagonist is Uzbekistan. Thus, this important economic project supposed to be tools on policy of international
actors in region.
Kazakhstan’s “Texas”: Everyday bordering and constructing the “other within”
Natalie Koch, Syracuse University, USA & White Kristopher, KIMEP, Kazakhstan
In the post-Cold War era, geopolitical imaginaries and practices around key political geographic concepts, like the
“state,” “territory,” and “borders,” have been reconfigured worldwide. While geographers have amply illustrated
the ways in which borders have been broken down through myriad processes of globalization, they have also
traced how new bordering practices have arisen at all political scales. This joint process – of tearing down old
borders and erecting new ones – has arguably been at its height in the Soviet successor states. Regional scholars
have explored border-making processes throughout much of the post-Soviet space, but there is to date little to
no attention given to the case of Kazakhstan. This is, in part, a result of the tendency within the border studies
literature – especially in Central Asia – to focus on border conflicts, rather than the more mundane practices of
everyday bordering, which are (if only implicitly) presumed to be innocuous. In this paper, we take up the case of
Kazakhstan to challenge this presumption by examining narratives about a region along Kazakhstan’s southern
border – which is curiously referred to locally as “Texas.” Seeking to understand why the region of South
Kazakhstan is labeled –and indeed stigmatized – in this fashion, we focus on how social, political, and physical
borders are jointly constituted and enacted through these narratives. Our data include surveys conducted in
Almaty from 2010-2013 (n = 406), focus groups (n = 4 groups), as well as participant observation and informal
interviews conducted by both authors over the past 10 years.
F 26: POST-NATIONAL BORDERS? THE SHIFTING RELATIONS OF CULTURE AND POLITICS IN BORDERING
THE BALTIC
Chair: Michael North, University of Greifswald, Germany
Room: AU 210
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 11:00-12:40
Research in the humanities and social sciences has detected a significant change in both the nature and the
concept of borders as a result of globalisation and, in a European context, the process of European integration
after 1989/90/91. These processes have greatly increased actual and perceived mobility of people, ideas, goods,
25 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia capital, and services, so that the flows and interactions that delimit the boundaries of social, political, economic
and cultural space and impact upon ecological space have, in effect, been de-bordered. In connection with these
de-bordering processes, the adequacy of established structures and frames of references for setting the limits of
society – most prominently the structures of the nation state and its accompanying institutions have been called
into question. This affects the spatial organization of society on various levels and fosters the emergence of other
forms of borders and alternative spaces, which either re-emerge from historical roots/traditions or arise from new
perspectives on connections, networks and ideas. For this reason, this panel offers various approaches to retelling
different forms of borders and adjacent spaces in the Baltic Sea region.
Re-bordering historical spaces in the Baltic Sea Region
Alexander Drost, IRTG Baltic Borderlands, University of Greifswald, Germany
Post 1989 processes of political change challenged several ideological and national borders in Europe. In
connection with economic globalization and in EU-Europe also with institutional integration, these events also
changed perspectives and ways of interpretation of borders, of their character, and of the spaces which are
formed by these borders. Before this background spatial frames of references like the “nation state” changed
considerably and the related re-bordering processes focus on many more aspects than just political or economic
ones. Cultural exchange processes moved into the centre of debate and even the disappearance of border and
boundaries found followers across disciplines, particularly from economics and politics. The concept of the
border was however expanded and the concept of the borderland became an important explanatory bases for
historical development from current perspectives. This paper will focus on changing border concepts and the reemergence of historical regions in the Baltic Sea Region. Furthermore, it proposes an approach to describe these
historical regions from the perspective of a borderland.
Re-writing Baltic Art Space: The Language of Sculptures and new artistic approaches to the region
Cynthia Osiecki, IRTG Baltic Borderlands, University of Greifswald, Germany
The Baltic Sea Region and the North Sea Region are in this paper approached as a sculptural, cultural unity at the
end of the sixteenth century. The two regions appear mostly separated in literature while sculpted works in the
sixteenth century are significantly similar. Why does a sculpted artwork in Reval look similar to a work in Danzig,
Roskilde or London?
Artists in the seventeenth century weren’t concerned with borders, but with making a living. Research on
Northern art in is still focused on defining it according to nations. The art of The Netherlands’ Golden Age is a
good example of national defined art. However after the outbreak of the Eighty Years’ War in The Netherlands
many artists choose to leave. Among them pupils of the Antwerp sculptor Cornelis Floris who had a Baltic
destination. The style from this Antwerp sculptor could spread quickly throughout a large geographical area
because of his pupils, but also through his prints and the family relations of the local nobility. This phenomenon
of artist migration into the Baltic Sea Region is not yet very thoroughly researched.
To answer the above mentioned questions a new approach to the concept of borderland is necessary. The
patron-artist relation played a significant role in understanding these Florisstyle sculptures. Borderland in this
interpretation is a conceptual space where where two or more cultures meet. How did a local patron interact with
a foreign artist and where in a sculpted work does the borderland meet?
Re-connecting the Baltic Sea Region? New Institutionalism and the European Union Strategy for the Baltic
Sea Region (EUSBSR)
Re-telling the EU external border in the Baltic Sea Region: the Belarus-Lithuania Border in Stories of
Female Shuttle Traders (1990-2011)
Olga Sasunkevich, IRTG Baltic Borderlands, Lunds University, Sweden
The paper is based on the results of a dissertation project which is dedicated to the history of the BelarusLithuania border and cross-border shuttle trade in this region in 1990 – 2011. This border appeared in a formerly
borderless region as a consequence of geopolitical transformations which the end of the Cold War and the
collapse of the Soviet Union brought into life. Moreover, this is one of the new borders of the European Union
and Schengen area. The paper considers how geopolitical changes mentioned above influenced the daily life in
the region. Analyzing narratives of women involved into cross-border petty trade I reconsider two general ideas.
26 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia On the one hand, as the paper argues, the contemporary history of this geographical space undermines
widespread historical optimism about the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Soviet bloc in general as the
main factor for disappearance of impermeable political borders in Eastern Europe which were considered as the
attribute of the previous political system driven by the strong will to keep its citizens inside the Iron Curtain
perimeter. As my research demonstrates, neither were the Iron Curtain completely persistent nor did the Cold
War division entirely disappeared after the collapse of the Soviet system. On the other hand, the research of local
practices of cross-border mobility on the Belarus-Lithuania borderland seeks to reconsider the dominant
pessimistic perception of these new borders in the context of the European Union and the Schengen area
enlargement.
F 27: ROLE OF BORDERS
Chair: Christophe Sohn, CEPS, Luxembourg
Room: AU 205
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 11:00-12:40
What Role For Borderlands in the Post 2015 Global Development Agenda?
Harlan Koff, University of Luxembourg
Maganda Carmen, University of Luxembourg
Since the end of the Cold War, international politics have undergone a process of “de-bordering” as borders and
borderlands have received significant attention as “the place where politics happen.” In some fields, such as
political economy or security studies, borderlands have been recognized as priorities in international discussions.
One policy arena in which this has not occurred has been international development. The Millennium
Development Goals established a historical commitment to international development, human security and
environmental security. However, because they are indicator- based, they reinforced the attention of
development politics on nation-states. Now that the Post-2015 development agenda is being negotiated, nationstates have once again been invited to discuss international development priorities at the United Nations. This
proposed paper questions this process and asks: “What roles should border regions play in international
development strategies?” The paper argues that threats to human and environmental security are primarily crossborder in nature which limits the potential impacts of nation-state based development strategies. Consequently,
the paper contends that regional development policies are better placed to address human and environmental
security threats and benefit from the interconnections that cross-border regions foster. Part of the HUMENITY
research project, the paper presents empirical research on human and environmental security at the ColombiaVenezuela and Mexico-Belize borders and it contends that global development strategies should better
incorporate cross-border institutions established by regional organizations within in their frameworks.
How landscape changes can explain the opening process border in the European Union: A Case of Study in
the French-Spanish Border (1950-2012)
Roser Pastor Saberí, University of Girona
The presence of a boundary implies the juxtaposition between two different political and cultural systems and
defines the limits of the countries landscape policies and spatial planning actions. The boundary determines the
differences on either side of the border that are reflected in the landscape. This in turn, creates territories with
dual landscape evolution despite being a single geographical unit. The landscape is an expression of the
dynamics between natural and cultural influences of the territory, and its appearance reflects the social, political
and economic changes experienced by a country over time. As consequence, the landscape also shows how the
process of opening border in Europe has affected the border regions.
The main objective of this research is to analyse the landscape dynamics (of eleven municipalities in the SpanishFrench border) to assess the landscape’s changes from the time Spain joined the EU until the present. It aims to
highlight the direct involvement in the landscape dynamics affected by two political and socio-cultural systems
where the consequence is the existence of two landscape models based on their individual management, spatial
planning and protection rights. We point out how the landscape dynamics have been affected and transformed
27 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia by the progressive loss of functions of the Franco-Spanish border after the entry of Spain into the EU and during
the development of the globalisation process. Finally, as an indicator of the de-bordering process in the EU, we
analyse the cross border cooperation projects INTERREG/POCTEFA and how they have affected the evolution of
the landscape dynamics.
The methodology is base on the interrelation between the analysis of the landscape patterns during the last sixty
years and the historical evolution of the spatial planning from the local to the European scale and the EU crossborder cooperation policy.
The border as a resource
Sylwia Dołzbłasz, University of Wrocław, Poland
Political borders, by their very nature, tend to form a barrier between the neighbouring countries. Moreover, the
peripheral location of border regions usually causes their ‘underdevelopment’. A significant role in the process of
its overcoming should be played by the development of cross-border co-operation, which helps overcome
unfavourable features of the location as well as take advantage of the positive features of cross-border regions.
Under favourable conditions, the border can become an element of territorial capital in the border region.
The aim of the study was to analyze the change in the role of the state border and its impact on the shaping of
transborder interaction within the borderlands on the example of Poland. The paper also attempts to analyze the
network of connections in the framework of transborder cooperation at the local level. Particular attention was
paid to the specific case studies such as border twin towns and tourism areas.
Poland’s borders have experienced many changes in recent decades. After 2nd world war there was totally new
delimitation, in the 1990s almost all neighbouring countries had changed, accession to the European Union and
joining the Schengen Zone affected the status of the borders. At the moment in Poland one can find external EU
borders and internal ones, land borders and river borders, borderlands with ethnic minorities and with
homogeneous structure, etc. Due to this diversity and unique conditions on each border Poland seems to be a
good example for examining the shaping of transborder co-operation.
Who/What are borders for: human need and/or act of power?
Fabrizio Eva, University Cà Foscari Venice, Italy
All the so-called “cultures”, in the sense of asserted “ethnic identities”, seem to need to separate themselves from
the other, i.e. they want/need to define, claim or build borders.
Even if my conceptual starting point (together with Elisée Reclus’s ideas) is to deny any real substance to the
“people” or individual claim of specific relation with a particular territory, it’s clear the evidence that of one of the
human characteristics is consisting in the will of selfcaging inside barriers, overall if this give the sense of
protection.
Sharing a specific space with “known” people, with shared behaviors and speaking the same language brings to
want/accept physical borders. In the modern time the idea of state supports and feeds this psychological need.
The terms state and sovereignty seem to me, today, as being used in an interchangeable way; both conceived as
indissolubly linked to a specific territory with fixed borders. The overlapping and confuse actions of the ethnic
identity, state, sovereignty ideas are, in my opinion, the main dangerous (f)actors of most of the current
conflicting dynamics.
The opposed outcomes of the (failed) Padania in Italy and the Israel/Palestine situation and dynamic in relation to
how, where and for what/who fix borders could be useful comparative examples of the above mentioned
dynamics.
I’d like to underline that my approach is an attempt to go out of the exclusive logic of the state which secludes
(also mentally, see Agnew’s territorial trap) politics, international relation and human group dynamics. And often
borders studies.
How do borders become borders? The dilemma of border displacement
Mari Ristolainen, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
National borders territorialize our thinking and provide parameters that we need to live within. Nevertheless,
borders are not just territorial lines that can be drawn by governments and maintained by politicians and their
‘top-down’ policies. Borders are dynamic processes of cultural production and negotiation that takes place far
28 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia away from political power centers. Focusing on ‘local texts’ about Chechnya at the Pskov Province in Russia, the
aim of this paper is to show how traumatic events have delocalized the notion of border and alter the social
perception of national cohesion and belonging. The main questions of this paper are: How do borders become
borders? What signifies borders? The aim is to argue that borders are no longer perceived as geographical
locations and physical lines on the map. For instance, borders can be written between areas that have no
geographical connection between them, but due to for example a traumatic event a border and a connection are
formed between these areas. This paper provides an example of cultural border construction and negotiation
processes ‘from the bottom up’ perspective and a representation ‘top-down’ b/ordering practices in the
contemporary Russian Federation.
F 28: MIGRATION AT THE EXTERNAL BORDERS OF THE EU
Chair: Rodrigo Bueno Lacy, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Room: AG106
Date: June 9th, 2012
Time: 11:00-12:40
Absolute numbers of 'border deaths' are on the rise in the Mediterranean and media coverage of the issue is
expanding. But it is not known whether the Mediterranean is becoming a more deadly border zone or whether
more deaths occur because there are more people making the attempt. Taking the Tunisia/Libya-Malta/Italy subregion as a case study, this paper will present a meta-analysis of irregular migration flows traveling north into the
southern EU, disaggregated by year since 1990. Using these estimates and fresh data from death registries in
Malta, Lampedusa and Sicily, the paper will present the first estimates of unauthorized migrant mortality rates
over time for this key crossing point. ‘Border deaths’ are defined in this project as those which occur between the
coasts of North Africa, the Middle East and Turkey and the coasts of the EU. But some who die in the same
geographical border zone are not counted as ‘border deaths’ because their death is unrelated to crossing the
border. To illustrate the significance of the border for explaining socio-political causes of death, unauthorized
migrant mortality rates will be compared with mortality rates of fishermen and other sea-faring workers, and
tourists and other travelers on ferries and cruises, who cross the border but are not subjected to it in the same
way as unauthorised migrants. This contribution aims to displace the popular position that unauthorized
migrants’ deaths are tragedies of the natural dangers of the sea.
Migratory Pressure at the EU’s External Borders. Developments from the Greek-Turkish Border
Enza Roberta Petrillo, Sapienza University, Italy
Migratory pressures on the EU’s South-Eastern external borders have posed a significant challenge to European
policy-makers. As a further proof of this, the “EU Action on Migratory Pressures” approved by the European
Council in April 2012 has indicated the “Enhancement of the border management at the external borders” and
the “Prevention of illegal immigration via the Greek-Turkish Border” as key Strategic Priorities.
The EU’s strategy is not surprising. According to FRONTEX -the EU’s External Borders Agency-, during 2012, the
detections of irregular migrants at Greece-Turkey land borders continued to increase at a staggering rate. Greek
authorities in cooperation with FRONTEX, responded to this upsurge implementing the patrol operations Xenios
Zeus and Aspida, and building a 12.5-kilometre fence at its border with Turkey to deter illegal immigrants.
Moving from this overview, this paper aims to analyze the growing EU’s securitization of the immigration control,
assessing, in particular, the policy implications and the geopolitical impacts of the Frontex’s policing along the
Greek-Turkish border.
Can this kind of border enforcement effectively stop irregular migrants from entering the EU? By examining the
results of the Xenios Zeus and Aspida operations, this paper will cast light on a series of vulnerabilities
characterizing the EU’S external borders policy.
The Greek-Turkish border: aspects of new dynamics in contacts, mobility and cross-border cooperation in
the Aegean region
Kira Charlotta Kaurinkoski, The French School of Athens, France
29 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The border between Greece and Turkey is the external border of the EU; that is, the border of a “virtual Europe”. It
is also one of the main points of irregular border crossings into the EU. Greece and Turkey are two countries with
complex histories and whose recent past is marked by military conflicts, namely the Asia Minor Catastrophe in
1922, the Cyprus conflict which took the form of a military confrontation in 1974, and the events of Imia (Kardak)
in 1996. Since 1999 there has been a rapprochement between the two countries and between the European
Union and Turkey more generally. Turkey has demonstrated demographic and economic growth and is today
recognized as a regional world power. Greece, in its sixth year of recession, is faced with austerity measures while
coping with an economic, political and social crisis, she had not experienced in decades. People who live in
border regions are citizens of specific states who are framed by the specific state configurations which
encompass them and within which they must attribute meaning to their experience of border life. This paper
discusses the consequences of recent developments on the everyday lives of people in their local societies in the
border region. It also discusses new dynamics in contacts, mobility and cross-border cooperation in the Aegean
region. Methodologically, this paper is based on anthropological field research and interviews.
A Case Study on Turkish and Bulgarian Cross-Border
Zelal Ozdemir & Yelda Karadag, Middle East Technical University, Turkey
This paper will attempt to explore the impacts of cross-border cooperation between Turkey and Bulgaria.
Changing borders in the post-Soviet climate and the accession of Bulgaria reshaped the relations between
Bulgaria and Turkey. The border between Bulgaria and Turkey gained a new meaning. It would be no longer a
Soviet border; on the contrary, it would be a gate-way to Europe.
Our aim is to explore how both sides perceive and/or interpret each other under the changing dynamics. We will
particularly focus on the impact of cross-border cooperation projects aiming to support regional development
and cohesion. This study will be based on the findings of the fieldwork conducted in Kırklareli and Burgas under
the framework of EUBORDERREGIONS project.
It aims to bring forward a new meaning to the relations between people live in Bulgarian and Turkish border
crossing point with analysing their daily life practices, self-perception and self/reflection to the other side, while
holding the cultural and political interaction from ‘bottom to up’ approach. In addition, the ‘border language’
used in the local media, will be taken into account in order to form a framework to see how ‘border’ between
Bulgaria and Turkey produces and/or is being reproduced.
Emigration Prospects from Vietnam and Policy of Export of Labour Forces
Artem Lykyanetz, Russian Academy of Science, Russia
Vietnam is the active participant of the international migration, with strongly pronounced signs of the donor
country of migrants. Demographic parameters of development of Vietnam show that the country possesses
considerable migratory potential, which will increase in medium-term prospect. It is also necessary to note that
migration from Vietnam to Russia has long history, especially in the sphere of labor migration. Among the foreign
countries of Vietnam takes the second place by quantity driving to Russia. Following the results of 2012 to Russia
from Vietnam 3654 persons drove. At entry into Russia citizens of Vietnam declare in the basic three purposes –
private, office and tourist. Climatic migration can become one more possible channel of migration. According to
the report of the World Bank, Vietnam is included into the five of the countries of the most vulnerable to water
level lifting at the World Ocean owing to global warming of climate. In a zone of potential flooding territories the
most densely populated and economically important for Vietnam enter. Provoked by flooding of territories crisis
will bring to unprecedented before to mass resettlement of the population which taking into account the area of
the territory of Vietnam, will overstep the bounds of the country. Therefore this problem carries not especially
local, within one country character, and gains paramount value at the international level.
F 30 parts 1 and 2: CONFLICT AND SECESSIONISM IN AFRICA
Discussant: David Newman, Ben Gerion University, Negev, Israel
Chairs: Wolfgang Zeller, ABORNE, University of Edinburgh, Scotland & Timothy Raeymaekers, University of Zurich,
Switzerland
Room: C2
30 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 15:00-16:40, 17:00-18:40
This roundtable will present and discuss the results of two thematically related publication projects emerging
from the work of ABORNE: A recent volume edited by Korf & Raeymaekers on “Violence in the Margins – State,
Conflict and Borderlands”, and a forthcoming volume edited by Zeller & Tomas on “Secessionism in Africa”.
The editors of both volumes do not consider secession and organised violence as mere elements of state failure,
but investigate the creative and innovative element of political disputes in general, and with a particular focus on
the relevance of (post-) colonial state boundaries. Borderlands are not just depicted as the objects of globalized
state-driven processes, but as actual political units that generate a variety of outcomes. These may be secessionist
movements (or even their “succesful” result: new sovereign states), protracted civil and guerrilla wars sometimes
resulting in the overthrow of governments, or complex worldwide commercial networks of resource extraction
and re-distribution.
Following an introduction by two of the editors (Raeymaekers and Zeller), some of the contributing authors
(Larmer and Höhne) as well as other scholars working on the same topics in a comparative fashion (Scorgie and
Boonen & Seymour) will present their individual contributions before a final round of discussion.
Introducing the books and panel topic
Wolfgang Zeller, ABORNE, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
Timothy Raeymaekers, University of Zurich, Switzerland
The presenters will give a brief introduction to the two volumes published in the Palgrave Series in African
Borderlands Studies:
• Wolfgang Zeller and Jordi Tomas (eds.), Secessionism in Africa. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Forthcoming
2014.
• Benedikt Korf and Timothy Raeymaekers (eds.), Violence on the Margins. States, Conflict, and Borderlands. New
York: Palgrave Macmillan. 2013
After the secession: Katanga in exile, 1963-1973
Miles Larmer, University of Oxford, UK
Following the defeat of the Katangese secession in January 1963, thousands of former Katangese soldiers crossed
into Portuguese-ruled Angola. Initially designated as ‘refugees’ by Portuguese authorities, these ex-gendarmes
sought to return to Congo to continue their war against the central state. Over the next decade, amidst periodic
returns and further periods of exile, Katangese leaders, both political (e.g. the family of Moïse Tshombe family)
and ‘ethnic’ (particularly the Lunda King, the Mwaant Yav) leaders sought to keep alive the Katangese
independent project by sending supplies and young men, mainly ethnic Lunda, across the Angola-Congo/Zaire
border to train for conflict with the Congolese armed forces. In so doing, Katangese political and military leaders
in Angola struggled to avoid being subsumed into Portugal’s war against Angolan nationalist forces (themselves
operating from Congo/Zaire) as a mercenary force, and to assert their underlying goal of returning ‘home’ to
reclaim Katangese autonomy or independence.
In considering these events, this paper will analyse the importance of cross-border Lunda ethnicity in maintaining
the conflictual relationship between Mobutu’s Zaire and Portuguese Angola; the ways in which both these
powers mobilised politico-military movements from the other country in their own armed forces; and the ways in
which the Katangese independence project was reimagined from Angolan exile during the period under analysis.
The paper will frame these specific events in a consideration of the longer history of Angola-Zairian political
relations and border tensions and suggest comparisons with other politico-military movements that have
imagined their idea of nationhood from exile.
Beyond cost and benefit calculations: The secession of Somaliland from collapsing Somalia and the long
way to security and development
Markus Virgil Höhne, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology and Conflict, Germany
31 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Very often, secessionist endeavors are understood as following some form of cost-benefit calculations. The
question is who profits and who loses from secession – on the side of the secessionist movement and on the side
of the parent state – and what happens if under certain circumstances costs or benefits for one side or the other
increase or decrease. Very often, particularly the economic logic behind secessionist dynamics (‘do we gain by
remaining placed in an existing state, or do we better fend on our own?’) is stressed in the literature as important
determinant of secessions.
The secession of Somaliland (in northwestern Somalia) from Somalia is presented here as a case that in several
regards contradicts the dominant perspectives on secession. I argue that Somaliland’s unilateral declaration of
independence in 1991 did not follow carful cost-benefit calculations. Rather, it was the unforeseen result of
certain civil-war dynamics and of state collapse. Once independence had been declared, it took many years
before Somaliland would become stable. It would even take longer until some kind of improvement of the
devastated economy took place. Initially, the secessionist republic had almost no external friends. The
international community did not recognize it and in the 1990s, the UN even shunned it and accused it of
‘spoiling’ endeavors to reestablish a stable Somalia. Only from around 2002 onward did Somaliland yield some
moderate ‘peace dividend’ from the international community. Up until today, the greatest benefit secession
brought about was a fragile peace. This peace, however, is questioned again by the attention the newly formed
government in Mogadishu (in southern Somalia) receives lately as the ‘legitimate’ representative of Somalia
(while Somaliland’s status remains unclear).
This presentation outlines the factors that – beyond cost-benefit calculations – informed the secession of
Somaliland and contributed to its continued existence as not recognized de facto state.
What if Pandora’s Box is Empty? Rethinking Borders, Conflict and Separatism in Postcolonial Africa
Lee J. M. Seymour, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Is altering existing borders dangerous? The consensus in postcolonial Africa in favor of maintaining colonial-era
borders was premised on the dangers of border revisionism. Decolonization unfolded on the basis of the
principle of uti possidetis in the belief that altering boundaries risked a cascade of wars fueled by irredentism,
separatism and and territorial aggrandizement. The same principle has been applied in determining the
boundaries of Eritrea and South Sudan.
Drawing on an original dataset of global territorial changes, we examine the historical basis of the assumptions
upon which Africa’s postcolonial boundary regime was premised, and the causal mechanisms that connect
boundary making to conflict. We test hypotheses examining how the nature of boundary change, specifically
whether according to existing borders or not, affects the probability of international conflict, civil war, and
separatist contagion, both in Africa and globally. We find evidence questioning the benefits of adhering to
existing boundaries as a means to affect territorial change; if anything, demarcating statehood on the basis of
existing borders has increased the risk of conflict when compared to drawing new borders, both in postcolonial
Africa and globally throughout the 20th century. One explanation for this anomaly is that the putative differences
between adherence to uti possidetis and redrawing new borders is overstated. Given colonial map-making
technologies and shifts in administrative boundaries, demarcating territory according to ‘existing borders’ often
entails negotiation over their precise location. Differences between adhering to uti possidetis and violating it are
overdrawn, as we demonstrate in case studies of boundary making in Eritrea and South Sudan. While uti
possidetis provides a focal point reducing the bargaining range between affected states, it also forecloses outside
options that might better serve both the interests of affected states and regional peace more generally.
Militant Islamists or Borderland Dissidents? An Exploration into the Allied Democratic Forces’
Recruitment, Retention Practices, and Constitution
Lindsay Scorgie Porter, University of Western Ontario, Canada
My conference paper will be a comparative analysis and typology of the primary foreign armed forces in eastern
Congo’s most volatile provinces – Oriental, North Kivu, and South Kivu – that have demonstrated exceptional
resiliency over the course of the conflict and ‘post-conflict’ period. More specifically, I will be looking at their
interaction with the border and surrounding borderland, and exploring the various borderland resources they
have relied upon.
My previous research on one of the armed groups in this area, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), revealed how
skilled the group was at extrapolating socio-political and military-economic resources from the borderland at a
32 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia translocal level. I suspect that my further research will reveal that other armed groups have used the border and
surrounding borderland in quite different ways. While the ADF largely extrapolated from the borderland at a
translocal level, undoubtedly others have done so at more of a transnational level. The M23 and its predecessors
such as the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), for example, have used the border in terms
of seeking sanctuary on the Rwandan side. Nevertheless, even the M23 and CNDP have an important translocal
dimension, be it their ties with Banyarwanda borderland communities or their involvement in cross-border
economic networks. Thus, while these groups greatly differ in origin, development, motives, and structure, I
hypothesize that my further research will reveal that they all nevertheless share a translocal dynamic – a feature
of these groups that is understudied and misunderstood.
The protest movement of Sidi Ifni (2005-2009) in the Southern Moroccan borderland: a demand for state
involvement or against the political order?
Karine Bennafla, Sciences Po Lyon/ CAS Edinburgh, UK
This paper emerges from fieldwork in South Morocco (2007- 2010) and depicts a social and political movement
occurring in a small town located in a peripheral and marginalized area: Sidi Ifni. The protest movement
demanded public intervention in order to stimulate local development and to guarantee the population’s wellbeing. The former capital of Spanish Western Africa, Sidi Ifni was a Spanish enclave inside the French Protectorate
of Morocco and returned to the Moroccan State in 1969, a retrocession that initiated its political and economic
decline. The fishing harbour is today located on the border of contested Western Sahara and opposite the Canary
islands, a European territory that an increasing number of Ifni’s inhabitants try to reach by boats. The Sidi Ifni
movement is representative of the increasing social protest movements in the country's small and mid-size cities
over the course of the last decade. However, this particular city became a national symbol of the State’s violence
for Moroccan activists after an incident of fierce military repression the 7th of June 2008. My talk aims to show that
this exceptional degree of violence is connected to the borderland situation of Sidi Ifni, especially the proximity
with Western Sahara, and the instrumentalization of nationalist belonging by militants. The activists have direct
links with Spain, and their ambiguous narrative blends a myth of tribal rebellion against the central power with a
discourse of resistance based on nationalism. The coalition leading the protests reinvents and puts on display a
locally specific identity and formulates demands in moral terms, depoliticizing the protest. Against a background
of a ‘strong State’ confronted with tribal dissidence over many centuries, this case-study invites us to investigate
social upheaval in territorial margins and the relationship between peripheral areas and a central State
accustomed to managing social turbulence.
Making Bakassi: legal narratives re-fashioned on the Nigeria-Cameroon border
Leanne Johansson, Oxford University, UK
In August 2002, the International Court of Justice ruled the Bakassi peninsula, which lies at the southernmost tip
of the Nigeria-Cameroon border, part of Cameroon. Among Cameroonians and Nigerians, the case elicited
debates over the role of the pre-colonial and colonial past in post-colonial African borders, the effectiveness of
archival versus oral data as evidence, the significance of emotion and politics in attachment to place, and the
effects of international intervention in issues of sovereignty. On the whole, however, in such debates African
states are presented as ‘weak’ and Bakassi inhabitants are victims of international interference in the past and
present.
Based on 15 months ethnographic fieldwork in the mobile fishing villages of Bakassi on both sides of the
disputed border, this paper examines how similar debates circulate and change among those principally affected
by the judgement. I argue that, on the ground, the Cameroonian state’s “Cameroonize Bakassi” campaign and
Nigerian’s development of “The New Bakassi” for refugees increase the political weight of national identity
affiliations on the border in ways that both encourage and restrict the use of ICJ-elicited narratives. As Bakassi
inhabitants go about deciding whether to ‘become Cameroonian’ or ‘stay Nigerian’, they refashion the dominant
ICJ narrative in light of future aspirations and in ways that have real, material effects on border demarcation. As
such, the case of Bakassi challenges Africanist scholarship in which states are considered ‘weak’, national identity
a shadow affiliation compared to ethnicity, and borders as solely colonial impositions.
The Right to Secede: Exploring Aspects of International Recognition of Separatist Struggles in Africa
Aleksi Ylönen, University of Turku, Finland
33 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The paper explores the controversial topic of secession and its international recognition by drawing from
preparatory research for a project dealing with effects of secessions in the Horn of Africa. First, it sets out to
identify frequent normative criteria used to evaluate the legitimacy of secessionist struggles and their potential
for international recognition. These are then aggregated into broader categories that have been used determine
responses to the claims for international recognition.
Second, the paper analyzes how the constructed categories apply to a selection of separatist conflicts in Africa by
comparing two cases that led to international recognition and two cases of non-recognition. It shows evidence
that although granting independence for new state entities appears not to have followed consistently
identifiable criteria in Africa international recognition has tended to conform to some. Yet, major determining
factors have been the actor-specific interests and the cases in question. Finally, the paper concludes that favoring
a certain criterion over another may provide incentives for further separatist armed violence and therefore
undermine the internal order and unity of states in Africa and beyond.
Smuggling, Border Policing and Corruption: An insight in to the Nature of Tokunbo Vehicles Trade across
Nigeria’s North-west international Border
Sama’ila Abubakar, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Nigeria
Nigeria’s North-west international border is an important hub for cross-border trade in West Africa. This border
area connects the countries of Nigeria, Niger and Benin Republics. One dominant commodity in contemporary
cross-border trade in the area is second-hand vehicles, popularly known in the local parlance as Tokunbo vehicles.
Cross-border trade in Tokunbo vehicles is a thriving business in Nigeria and in spite of government effort to
control it, the trade continued to expand. Nigeria is the major market for Tokunbo vehicles in the entire subregion. Between 2004 and 2007, over 921 billion CFAF Tokunbo vehicles were imported into Nigeria from Benin
Republic alone. On the average, Nigeria’s yearly Tokunbo vehicles import stands at 285,000 units. However, there
is clear indication that substantial part of this figure must have been smuggled across the country’s land borders.
The trade is conducted largely through informal means as a result of the porous nature of the border area. It
follow an elaborate and well-organized circuit and in most cases with the connivance of border officials.
Government officials and private individuals are also involved in the importation of the Tokunbo vehicles through
illegal means. The data gathered during the two year field work conducted by the author suggest that, the
corrupt nature of the custom service coupled with the inability of the Nigerian state to find an alternative option
to the demand for Tokunbo vehicles, as well as its pressure on customs to marshal out revenue than arresting
smugglers, has made all efforts in controlling smuggling of this vehicles ineffective. Consequently, the more
prohibition measures on Tokunbo vehicles importation into the country, the more profitable and desire of the
smugglers to bring such vehicles. The main object of this paper is to analyze the complex interplay between
Smuggling, Border Policing and Corruption in Tokunbo vehicles trade across Nigeria’s North-west international
border.
F 31: MINORITIES IN BORDERLANDS: IN BETWEEN STATES, IDEOLOGIES AND INSTITUTIONAL SETTINGS
Discussant: Alexander Osipov, European Centre for Minority Issues, Germany
Chair: Tove Malloy, European Centre for Minority Issues, Germany
Room: AU100
Date: June 9th 2014
Time: 15:00-16:40
The collapse of the communist regime removed the ideological wall that for nearly half a century had cut Europe
into two contesting political blocks. These political changes have suggested close cooperation between
previously separated parts of the continent as well as reshaping of the cooperation within its post-communist
part. At the same time, the dissolution of multiethnic states resulted into emergence of more than twenty newly
established states dividing the region along new state frontiers and also visualizing linguistic, religious and
cultural borders. The difference between these borders and state frontiers leaves significant numbers of ethnic
minorities on the other side of the border, creating new ethnic landscape and new border regions, in some cases
tense and problematic ones. In many cases these changes implied reshaping and institutionalization of the
existing minority-majority relations. Thus, the topical issue of national minorities has widely been discussed and
34 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia addressed in the Western Europe, while in Eastern part of the continent communist legacies and nationalizing
practices are still dominant in the minority issues, challenging the effectiveness of the European standards and
mechanisms of minority protection.
This panel will address the different case studies coming from both Western and post-Communist parts of
Europe. It will address post-Cold War European experience in establishing cross-border and interstate
cooperation and their impact on national minorities and managing ethno-cultural diversity in the borderland, as
well as the role that EU and bilateral agreements in reshaping relations between the kin-states, their kinminorities and minorities’ countries of residence.
Ethnicity, the state, and the urge to choose a clear-cut identity in Ukrainian Bessarabia
Simon Schlegel, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle (Saale)
This paper discusses how history and ethnicity create a distinction between “natural” and “artificial” state borders
in Ukraine’s south-western periphery, a region notable for an ethnically very diverse population and a history of
frequently shifting borders. The present ethnic mosaic, as well as the borders that criss-cross through it, are
largely the results of the policies of four consecutive states, ruling southern Bessarabia over the past 200 years;
Tsarist Russia in the 19th century, Romania between World Wars, the Soviet Union, and since 1991 Ukraine.
The region’s ethnic composition hardly corresponds to state borders. Speakers of the Romanian language are the
majority in Romania and Moldova. In Ukrainian Bessarabia, they are a large minority. Ukrainians and Russians are
the largest ethnic groups there. However, combined they make up only roughly half of its population. Bulgarians,
Moldovans, and Turkic-speaking Gagauz together, make up most of the other half. All of these groups are also
prevalent north of the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. This border was created in 1940 as a purely administrative
divide between soviet republics. Now it is a state border. It divides grown social networks and ethnic
communities. It also cuts people off from vital transportation routes. The border to Romania, contrary, is older
than modern transportation ways and social networks. Therefore, in narratives of the region’s history this border
is accepted as a “natural” divide. The different states ruling the area have long attempted to model ethnic
distinctions to correspond to their state borders, rather than the other way round.
The spatial effects of minorities in borderlands from the cold-war to European integration era. The case of
Slovenian border experiences
Jernej Zupančič, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
The paper is analyzing the imapcts of ethnic minorities in three various locations along slovene – italian (GoriziaNova Gorica), slovene-austrian (Radgona / Bad Radkersburg) and slovene-hungarian border (Szentgothardt –
Lendava). First-one count to divided cities in a vital, economically active surrounding. The second example shows
the destiny of two rural centres and two hidden minorities, while the third case explains the continuation of
closed-type of border in pure rural periphery. Methodologicaly, the comparative analysis used five selected
characters (political atmosphare, spatial paradigma, social-economical development, minority protection
measures and minority social / spatial / economical impacts), observed trough four critical years (1948, 1978,
1988, 2008), all three border-cities (see above), on both two border sides (slovenian and opposite) estimating the
influence of minority members of just one ethnic community (Slovenian). These three cases are perfect examples
of social-spatial as well as cultural-political transformation of border areas. Despite all three compared countries
remain the same nationalistic practices (minority treated as a bit suspicious element in border area) and Slovenia
as a kin-state continued his ethnocentristic principles towards slovenian minorities (minoritiy treated as an object
of international relations), there is a visible improvement of minority impact in the local and crossborder scenary.
In the period of liberalization and beyond, the minorities became important factor of improvement of a various
crossborder activities, from the crossborder shopping tourism two decades ago to contemporary sophisticated
project activities. This is to conclude that minorities, settled along the border areas, count to rather sensitive, but
progressive local and regional factors.
German national minorities at pre- and post-Cold War borders. Ideologies and institutional settings in
Denmark and Poland
Adrian Schaefer-Rolffs, University of Hamburg, Germany
Germany has constantly been in the midst of conflict during the Cold War. The stony border between
communism and capitalism was raised directly through the middle of Germany dividing it into East- and West
35 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Germany. It was also in the centre of global attention when the Soviet empire around the 1990s collapsed and
the Berlin Wall came down. Today Germany shares borders with nine countries, two of which are former Soviet
satellite states, while seven are not. This presentation uses this setting and exemplary examines the present
situation of two German national minorities at a pre-Cold War Border (Denmark-Germany) and a post-Cold War
border (Poland-Germany).
The first part of the presentation describes how Denmark faces the task of ensuring minority protection in the
Danish-German border region and the preservation of cultural diversity by way of recognizing the national
minority’s needs for special attention. Secondly the presentation shows how minority protection is modeled in
the regions where national minorities can be found in the Polish-German border region. Poland has installed
mechanisms that are designed to compensate the German minority for its disadvantages as a group. Thirdly the
presentation will compare the two border regions. While the comparison is an analysis that includes the entity of
minority protection mechanisms in place, the arrangements in the field of political participation receive particular
attention in this presentation. Another focus will be on the differences that arise that Germany and Denmark
both have a national minority in the other country, while Poland hasn’t in Germany.
Minorities in the post-Cold War: a case of Belarusian-Polish borderland
Hanna Vasilevich, European Centre for Minority Issues, Germany
Vulnerable changes in the Belarusian-Polish borderland the 20th century remain an important and acute
question in the history of both countries. Multiple changes of the border resulted into changeable identity of the
borderland’s population. The emerged border has cut local multiethnic and multi-confessional population
leaving its significant portions on its other side. Despite the fact that both Belarusian SSR and PR of Poland
belonged to the Soviet block, the Cold War interrupted contacts between the two parts of the region. After the
end of the Cold War and collapse of the communism the border remained but its regime had changed. Visa-free
regime and freedom of movement enhanced cooperation between the among Belarusian and Polish parts of the
borderland in economic, social and cultural areas. Poland’s accession to the EU significantly changed the border
regime and effected to the decrease of intensity and quality of cooperation.
The analysis focuses on the situation of two minority communities representing important elements of the crossborder region’s ethnic mosaic – Belarusians in Poland and Poles in Belarus – in the context of Belarus-Poland
bilateral relations. In the paper two main arguments are exploited:
• after 1994 neither Belarusian minority in Poland, nor Polish minority in Belarus have never been fully regarded as
potential bridges in maintaining bilateral Belarusian-Polish relations,
• the emergence of a new border regime resulted from the Poland’s EU accession has become a significant
obstacle for the cross-border cooperation and directly affected minorities.
F 32: MIGRATION IN THE POST-COLD WAR IN AFRICA
Chair: Ioanna Tsoni, Malmö University, Sweden
Room: AU 101
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 15:00-16:40
Borders, Migrancy and the Ethics of Co-habitation in Nairobi
Lorenzo Rinelli, Loyola University, Italy
Opondo Samson, Vassar College, USA
On the whole, in this large research project whose first segment is entitled “Affective Economies: Urban Anxieties
and the Mapping of Diasporic City Space”, (Africa and Black Diaspora Journal, May 2013) we engage dynamics of
co-habitation, violence and estrangement in Eastleigh ⎯ the prominent East-African commercial hub where the
majority of Somali refugee live. This intervention is the result of our fieldwork in Nairobi during summer 2013,
where we trace the nationalist anxieties and violence that accompany the government of Kenya’s attempt to
bring an end to Al-shabab militancy and the Westgate shopping mall attack on September 21, 2013. As a site of
study, Eastleigh is intended to act as a form of borderscape that reveals the movement of Somali and Kenyan
bodies and capital whose moments of encounter make it difficult to distinguish between the national and the
foreign. More specifically, the essay engages the ethical limits, that is the borders, of the refugees’ policies by
36 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia illustrating how the counterhegemonic invocation of the category of ‘the people’ and its concomitant calls for
‘change’, development or new beginnings produce racial, religious, nativist forms of violence with far reaching
implications for how refugees live in these cities.
Linguistic Dimensions to National and Transnational Identity at the Senegambian Border
Jane Mitsch, Ohio State University, USA
Sociolinguistic studies have shown that where a single language spans an official political border, linguistic
borders often coincide with the political border (Boberg 2000, Auer 2005, Docherty et al. 2011). At the official
level, Senegal is a francophone country and The Gambia is anglophone, which reflects the colonial territorial
agreements made in drawing the border officially at the 1889 Berlin Conference. This political border persists, in
spite of an attempt at political reunification in the form of the Senegambian Confederation, started in 1982 but
then abandoned in 1989. Awasom (2003) blames the failure of political unification on “the Anglophoneness and
Francophoness” of the two countries, but local languages remain much more robust than the official languages,
especially outside the capitals. Wolof continues to be the most important language spoken on both sides of the
border in the pre-colonial Wolof state formerly known as the Saloum Kingdom. To what degree do borderland
inhabitants in this zone that separates Senegal and The Gambia use language to reinforce or undermine this
current political border? How do borderland inhabitants use language to construct national, ethnic, and/or more
local Saloum identities? Sociolinguistic interviews done in ten different communities in this border area, on both
the Senegalese and Gambian sides, targeted Wolof speakers along a number of social dimensions, including
gender, age, urban vs. rural location, transnational mobility, and distance from the border. Preliminary findings
suggest that this border has the most linguistic consequences for certain borderland inhabitants, namely the
more urban and educated borderlanders.
Mobile policies, cross-border mobility and a state in the making: Performing Borders in Southern South
Sudan
Julian Hollstegge, University of Bayreuth, Germany
This paper explores social and political processes of border-making along South Sudan’s borderlands. Whereas
ongoing border conflicts and problematic relations between Sudan and South Sudan continue to dominate the
discussions of borders in South Sudan, this paper argues that a look at and from the southern borders, and the
relations and mobile flows that constitute them, can provide significant insights into the contested nature of dayto-day state- and border-making processes in the newly independent country. Central to the southern rebellion
prior to independence, these borderlands have experienced large scale empirical dynamics including labour
migration and cross-border trade, institutionalised statebuilding efforts and development-oriented programmes
attempting to reshape the way borders and the movement across them are managed. Drawing on these
dynamics and building on first findings of empirical research in the borderlands, the paper offers a contextual
theorization of the border as a dynamic and contested space of negotiation between multiple actors, their
border-related practices and agendas. Discussing and analyzing the interplay and power relations at work in
these negotiations, the paper suggests that a look at, and from, these margins reveals often overlooked aspects
of contemporary bordering processes in this empirical setting and beyond.
F 33: Language and identity policies in the former Soviet states I
Chair: Jeremy Smith, UEF
Room: AU 102
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 15:00-16:40
Language policy in the Soviet Union was an area of contestation between local national elites who tended to
promote national languages, and efforts by an increasingly Russian-orientated central cultural leadership to
promote Russian as the lingua franca and the main language of culture and higher education. With the break-up
of the Soviet Union, language became a key ingredient of state- and nation-building, with national leaders
preferring to reduce the role of Russian and of minority languages in favour of the language of the dominant
population. Such policies have been increasingly contested in border regions where large minorities are
concentrated (e.g. Russians in western Tajikistan and Azerbaijanis in eastern Georgia), where language is seen as
37 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia a key part of integration policies by country’s leaders, whereas it is seen as an essential part of identity by locals,
who can often moreover draw on support from co-nationals across the border or in other countries. Studies of
language planning and policy to date have not engaged much with states making such a transition, and these
papers will apply mainstream language planning frameworks to the particular case of post-Soviet development.
Diasporal Structures vs. Government: Practices of Implementation of Russian Language Courses for
Migrants
Anastasiya Halauniova, Saint Petersburg State University, Russia
Political decisions as the strategies of “strong” players cause the adaptation of the “weak” ones who transform
and create new practices in order to find some balance in a changing social space. For example, the
problematization of the increase number of migrants in Russia by politicians and mass media and changes of
their (il)legal status led to the situation, when different agents are taking part in the process of migrants'
adaptation. In this situation, Russian language courses are seen as one of the instruments influencing the process
of migrants' adaptation. However, the presence of variety of agents that provide this kind of service does not
mean the cooperation (or other types of social ties) between them. The research goal is to analyze what are the
practices of such agents as diasporal structures and the government in implementing Russian language courses
for migrants and what ties do these agents use in order to attract new resources and capitals.
Language Policy in the Republic of Tajikistan and the Role of Russian Language
Noora Lemivaara-Khudoikulova, University of Helsinki, Finland
The official status of Russian language in the Republic of Tajikistan is “language of interethnic communication”, as
defined in the Constitution. However, during the past years Tajik language policy has aimed at strengthening the
role of Tajik language. For example, the law on language signed in 2009 defines the situations where the solemn
state language Tajik must be used, thus limiting the use of Russian language. President Emomali Rahmon has
admitted that the goal of the law has been to “heighten the national identity and feeling of patriotism of the Tajik
nation". This paper discusses how the Tajik language policy has impacted on the use of Russian language in the
public sphere and demonstrates the speed and extent of changes that have taken place in different fields of
language use. The main focus of research is the town of Tursunzoda, on the border with Uzbekistan.
Reinstating social borders between the Russian-speaking majority and Tatar population of Crimea:media
representation of the contested memory of the Crimean Tatars’ deportation
Anastasia Bezverkha, National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”, Ukraine
The Crimean peninsula of Ukraine is a unique region, where symbolic struggle between the Slavic and Turkic,
Christian Orthodox and Muslim cultures has been unfolding since the early 1990s, when the Crimean Tatars and
other forcibly replaced populations started to return en masse to their native lands after more than 50 years in
exile.
This study shares socially-determined and contingent understanding of borders, seen as one of the crucial
markers of identity construction. Being an autonomous republic with a unitary state of Ukraine, Crimea is
characterized by a one-of-a-kind ethnic, religious and cultural diversity of groups residing on its territory. The
study I am going to present seeks to examine the discursive practices of construction of social boundaries
between the ethnic groups of Crimea, as well as to explore the power relations and political hierarchy of these
groups reflected in the media discourse.
I argue that in order to sustain cultural and most importantly political dominance of the Russian-speaking ethnic
majority, the collective memory is utilized. The Soviet-moulded version of memory of the Crimean Tatars’
deportation of 1944 as well as an image of Crimean Tatars as “traitors of the Soviet people” is reproduced in both
public and media discourses of Crimea in order to legitimize the deportation and to understate their claims for
political rehabilitation.
However, the discursive struggle over the meaning of deportation is taking place as the Crimean Tatars actively
promote an alternative counter-discourse of deportation through commemoration practices and personal
memoirs in the Crimean Tatar mainstream and national media. The public competition between the two versions
of collective memory of deportation leads to constant renegotiation of the meaning of the term and historical
reasons behind it as well as informs the current commemoration practices both in Crimea and in Ukraine in
general.
38 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Artificial boundaries can generate artificial identities? Lessons from Dagestan’s ethno-complexity
Tiago Ferreira Lopes, Kirikkale University, Turkey
Lev Gumilev’s notion about the compulsory influence of landscape in the formation of ethnic behavioral patterns
is the theoretical leitmotiv of this paper. According to our findings, if we relate Gumilev theory with Frederick
Barth’s perception that ethnic boundaries canalizes social life influencing the structuring of behavior and the type
of social organization, we will be able to understand the effects of artificial boundaries in the creation and/or
crystallization of ethnic identities.
This paper will be divided in three moments: 1.) we will explore the interconnection between the theories of Lev
Gumilev and Frederick Barth; Bremmer-Taras, Tilly, Connor, D. Smith, Anderson, Hall and Hobsbawm contributes
will also be taken in consideration; 2.) we will explain the ethno-historical path of the Dagestan’s republic,
focusing on the influence of continuous boundary re-making in the formation of separate ethnic identities; 3.) we
will reflect on the prospects of a federalization or cessation/collapse of Dagestan’s republic in a nearby future.
We intend to prove that artificial boundaries, like the ones devising Dagestani ethnic groups, can generate
artificial proto-ethnic identities. In our perspective artificial boundaries can have a powerful impact in the
acceleration of the distinctiveness inside ethnic groups. Through an institutionalization of artificial boundaries
the different tribes, inside a common ethnic group, can crystallize their natural dissimilarities and form new
proto-ethnic groups.
F 34: BETWEEN THE EAST AND THE WEST
Chair: Ilkka Liikanen, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: AU 206
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 15:00-16:40
Trieste, crossroad of Europe
Michele Pigliucci, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Italy
Since the Hapsburg age, Trieste’s region is a borderland laying on the cross of three different worlds: Latin world
at West, German world at North and Slavic one at East. Over the centuries the Gulf of Trieste was contended by
Venetians, Austrians and Slavic people for its strategic position: Trieste is the natural gateway for trades between
Mediterranean Sea and Central and Eastern Europe.
In this city, and in its neighboring area, the border idea “crosses” the population still composed by Italians and
Slavs. After WWII Marshal Tito tried to achieve the control of the port and the city, but Trieste continues to be
Italian: the port began to grow faint because of the Iron Curtain that finished just in Trieste.
In 2004 Slovenia entered European Union and in 2013 Croatia did the same. This could represent an opportunity
for Trieste to find again its “crossroad function” (according to definition of italian geographer Giorgio Roletto)
between the North-South road (from Baltic Sea to Balkan area) and the East-West road (from Western Europe to
Russia and Turkey). The European TEN-T Projects show this chance: Baltic-Adriatic Corridor will end in Trieste’s
port, and Mediterranean Corridor will connect with Lisbon and Kiev; in this way Trieste could compete with the
biggest ports of Europe.
However it is important for Trieste to find a way to cooperate with the other ports of North Adriatic, especially
with Koper-Capodistria, the Slovenian competitor, drawing a new path of cooperation among Italians, Slovenians
and Austrians.
Finland as an Outpost of the Western Culture
Kimmo Katajala, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
During and after the Second World War, Finland was presented as an outpost against the
communist/barbaric East on the borderland of the Western Culture. The main goal of my presentation is
to find out where the origin of this metaphor lies. The roots of the metaphor can be traced, first, to the
times of Finnish Civil War in 1917 and from there to the Swedish and German political geography of the
19th century. The outpost-metaphor was not, however, unknown in the Central Europe of the 18th
century either. Or, perhaps, can we find the same tones from the western propaganda produced against
39 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia the Moors and Ottoman power in the 15th and 16th centuries?
Crossing the border in Transparent borderland: 17th Century Ingria Case
Adrian Selin, Higher School of Economics - Saint Petersburg, Russia
After delimitation in Ingria in 1617-1618 the Swedish-Russian borderline did not started to be guarded
immediately. In Russian side in Tesovo and Lavuja small fortresses – ostrozheks – with small garrison had
appeared; in Swedish side the same appeared in Loppis and Zarechje.
Serious changes happened in Autumn 1629 when the fames about plague in Ingermanland had made scare in
Novgorod. After that the Russian side bordered itself with complicated (ad very simple) system of outposts and
pickets in order not to allow plague in Muscovite state. Since 1629 the traffic across the border started to be
controlled even after the fanes about plague ended. Nobody could come to Russian side without special
passports given by administration; all private movements were forbidden. Meanwhile unofficially numbers of
people passed the borderline for the private purposes; that could be noted only if the special investigations
unfortunately started. In the same time since mid-17th c. there existed more or less complicated official procedure
and the easy (following with corruption) practice to cross the Russian-Swedish borderline
Changing notions of the Polish-German border
Jörg Hackmann, University of Szczecin, Poland
Although the factual political relevance of the German-Polish border from Swinoujście to Zittau, which emerged
in 1945, was limited most of the time, it nevertheless unfolded an enormous symbolical impact on both German
post-war societies as well as on socialist Poland and émigré communities. In addition the Oder-Neiße border was
also internationally one of the most known boundaries. Interestingly, notions of the border saw a complete turn
(or even more than that) in the decades since the end of World War II: Whereas the border was initially securitized
in Polish society, due to economic difficulties since the 1970s it turned into a line to be transgressed for crossborder shopping tourism. In GDR then the “border of friendship” became also securitized in order to prevent the
spread of the “Polish disease” of Solidarity in the 1980s. After 1989, a German barrier discourse emerged that
focused on illegal migration and trans-border criminality, but it became politically dysfunctional after Poland’s
accession to the EU and the inclusion into the Schengen space since 2007.
Facing a new political interest to level the impact of the border in everyday life and to develop various forms of
cross-border cooperation, it will be argued that the impact of symbolical border construction in the post-war era
will not disappear immediately. Among the reasons to be mentioned, the langue barrier plays an important role
as well as deeply inscribed images of conflicting national histories in the border region.
F 35: Democracy in Borderlands
Chair: Kimberly Collins, California State University, San Bernadino, USA
Room: AU209
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 15:00-16:40
Democracy in the U.S.-Mexican Borderlands
Kimberly Collins, California State University, San Bernardino
Both Mexico and the United States are democratic nations. The institutions that make up these democracies are
at different levels of development based on the historical growth of the nations. Even though the United States
and Mexico are both democratic and have elections, this does not mean there is true participation by the people.
The limitations of the U.S. democratic system are based in the system itself. The concepts of liberalism, market
capitalism, and the market economics of public administration, which does not put what is best for the public or
citizens first, have led to a weakening of democracy in the United States. These concepts are inherent to all of the
40 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia institutions developed to govern public spaces (Barber, 1984; Box, 2003, 2007; Box, et al., 2001), but are
particularly critical for the border region.
Democracy in Mexico is still developing. It is a system that is burdened by informal institutions that control many
of the governing agencies. The way things are “done” in politics and society has not completely changed even
though there has been a democratic turnover of parties in elections. Additionally, challenges of corruption in the
system and the national security from the drug wars threaten Mexico’s weak democratic regime (Eisenstadt,
2003; Wuhs, 2008; Morris, 2009; Aguayo, 2010a, 2010b; O’Toole, 2010; Rubio, 2013; Rodriquez Araujo, 2009; and
Selee and Peschard, 2010).
This paper will conduct a comparative review of democracy in Mexico and the United States, and the implications
for the border region. Good governance, which includes democratic participation of the people, is much needed
in the region and this paper proposes there needs to be a fundamental shift in the democratic system for this to
occur.
An Analysis of the Schengen Agreements and the Romanian Judiciary
Ann Johnson, California State University, San Bernardino
In 1985 the original countries in the European Union (EU) signed the Schengen agreements in order to allow for
free movement throughout the internal borders of the countries. Since the border controls were lifted in 1997,
the area covered by the Schengen agreements has greatly expanded as have the political and legal issues
associated with unrestrained travel. The border of Hungary and Romania is a location that illustrates how EU
countries have discussed using the Schengen Agreements to leverage for rule of law reforms in Romania.
In 2007 Romania and Bulgaria were conditionally allowed to join the European Union (EU) but under the
condition that these countries would reduce corruption in their court systems. The boundaries of the Schengen
agreements are being used, practically in Romanian, to focus attention on progress with the judiciary and
institutional anti-corruption efforts. The integrity of the judiciary is foundational for rule of law and democracy
because the courts provide an oversight function for all other branches of government.
Because Romania achieved integration into the EU in 2010, member countries have expressed concern that
judicial progress will not continue and that corruption remains a problem. However, vetoes from member
countries also stem from concern about immigration. Many argue that because Romania has been achieving
democratic reform, failure to integrate Romania into the Schengen Agreements demonstrates a fundamental lack
of fairness and inequity between the EU member states.
De-bordering and cross-border governance in a post-cold war era along German borders
Birte Nienaber, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Agnes Kriszan, Leibniz Institut fur Landerkunde, Leipzig, Germany
In the Post-Cold War era, national borders inside the European Union are open contact zones of transnational
everyday lives. The Schengen Agreement ensures the free movement of EU citizens, leading to new forms of
international migration and illustrating the European integration process on the local level. Migrants move to the
neighbouring country to live or work there. Cross-border residential property and labour markets develop a
transnationalisation of everyday lives between neighbouring countries, and therefore define the borders through
local and regional processes as part of this transnational everday life. With the case study regions of the
municipality of Perl in the German federal state of Saarland and the municipality Amt Löcknitz-Penkun in the
German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania the article deals with these cross-border everyday lives.
The case study regions also can be seen as representatives of one old internal EU border region, and one with a
2004 member state. On the one side of the national state borders there is a booming region (Luxembourg or
Szczecin) and on the other side there is a structural weak rural German region. This substantially influences these
processes. Both case study regions show dealings with these cross-border phenomena, social transformation in
the border regions and spatial implications as well as the needed cross-border governance.
Regional Borders: The challenge of local government cross-border cooperation in national peripheries
Tamar Arieli, Tel Hai Academic College, Israel
Regional borders are somewhat emorphic and given to manipulation as seen in various national attempts to
encourage inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) for regional based problem solving and development. This paper
41 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia calls for realistic expectations of IMC implementation in peripheral regions characterized by marginality and
extreme cultural and socio-economic diversity and conflict.
IMC re-emphasizes local and regional dimensions of quality of life yet it embodies conflicting interests at national
and local levels which are critical to understanding its impact on local services and its effects on political and
social dialogue and representation.
IMC in Israel takes the form of regional clusters in peripheral areas, characterized by both geographic and political
marginality as well significant internal socio-economic gaps stemming from historic and cultural factors. Clusters,
encompassing Jewish and Arab municipalities, are institutionalized organizations based on a legal contract. They
are initiated by local leaders but are supported and partially funded by the national government in interest of
promoting de-centralization and decreasing national spending.
Analysis of initial institutionalization stages of clusters points to the perseverance of local government borders
and to the limited contribution of clusters to perceptions of cross-border interdependence, regional identity,
dialogue and development. It is doubtful whether an administrative act of IMC is sufficient to bridge
longstanding border-based entrenchment of identity and interests. IMC is certainly an insufficient substitute for
necessary national investment in addressing the historic and ongoing causes of socio-economic inequality.
Thick Borders: Legality and Morality on Portuguese Borders
Maria de Fatima Amante, CAPP –ISCSP- Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the discourses of the Portuguese state in regard to borders through
its immigration policies. The nineties coincided with a turning point in migration flows in Portugal. This change is
framed by an economic and political context which led to increase in migratory flows and to its diversification,
regarding the origins of immigrants. In this article I will concentrate precisely on the Portuguese state discourse
on borders, immigration and cultural diversity. I will be looking in particular pieces of legislation that are of an
exceptional kind (special regulations), acts of ‘positive discrimination’ such as the Agreement between Portugal
and Brazil that defined a policy of reciprocity in the hiring (contracting) of national citizens. These policies
although legal, created to deal with specific problems of agenda (political, economic…) contributes to the
creation of increasingly thick and unpredictable borders and can be questioned from the standpoint of morality if
we consider the rights of those who are not covered by them and remain as illegal migrants. The paper
represents a conceptual-empirical (pre-fieldwork) exploration of these issues regarding borders, policies and
morality.
F 36: BORDER CONSTRUCTIONS AND IMAGES
Chair: Martin Barthel, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: AU210
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 15:00-16:40
Teaching Borders: Construction of Borders in Geography Textbooks of International Selection
Péter Bagoly-Simó, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
Formal education contributes significantly to the construction of our understanding of borders. Among the
traditional subjects, Geography plays a central role in discussing borders. Recent development in the academic
discipline has developed alternative views to the traditional construction of borders in terms of dividing lines and
tools of regionalization. The ambition of this paper is to analyse the construction of borders in school geography
textbooks of international selection. The sample consisted of Geography textbooks for secondary education from
Romania, Germany, and Mexico. The results show differences in both the representation of borders and the case
studies discussed to exemplify them. In addition, some case studies contribute strongly to the construction and
consolidation of stereotypical perception of countries.
Bears, lakes and duty free: Studying the perception of youth of borders and border areas
Olga Brednikova, Centre for Independent Social Research, Russia
Virpi Kaisto, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland
42 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Bears, lakes and duty free: Studying the perception of youth of borders and border areas
Individual perspective on borders and border areas has to a growing extent been in the interest of border
scholars. The bottom up approach has been a necessity when analysing borders as ever-changing processes that
shape human territoriality. Geographies of young people, on the other hand, have lately studied how young
people form spatial identities and attach meaning to their everyday spaces. In our paper we discuss how young
people picture the Finnish-Russian border area, and how perceptions of border areas can be analysed. The
research material includes mental maps and cartoons that were collected during 2012 and 2013 in two Finnish
and one Russian school. The material reflects perceptions of youth of the Finnish Russian border area and shows
how borders are being made in the minds of people; what symbols and values young people attach to the border
and to their own and the neighboring country. The material reveals how younger children (aged 10) base their
perceptions on the information and experiences they possess. Maps and drawings of the older children (aged 15),
on the contrary, include a multitude of existing stereotypes and personal opinions of Finland and Russia. In our
paper we demonstrate how mental mapping and cartoons can be a useful method for studying spatial
understanding of youth and for discovering the way individuals construct borders. Our paper also discusses
benefits and deficiencies of both methods.
Four Cases of Teaching Social Studies: Comparing Secondary Schools in Malaysia, Mexico, Canada and the
United States
Timothy G. Cashman, University of Texas at El Paso, USA
This substantive, comparative case study (Stake, 2000) presents the results of four case studies conducted in
Malaysia, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Educators were interviewed and systematic observations were
conducted in four separate international settings with a pedagogy of place (Gruenewald, 2003; Reyes & Garza,
2005) and border pedagogy (Giroux, 2005; Romo & Chavez, 2006) providing theoretical frameworks for the
analysis. Accordingly, place-based pedagogies, promote teaching and learning that affects the overall
environment of people's social and ecological places. Pedagogy of place is linked to critical theory and considers
borders as dynamic inhabited regions rather than divided, disparate locales divided by a political borderline
(Reyes & Garza, 2005). Borders are considered boundaries of entities; the act of crossing borders entails crossing
boundaries and broadening one's perspectives of others in locales (Giroux, 2005). According to Romo and Chavez
(2006) border pedagogy "works to decolonize and revitalize learning and teaching and engages students in
multiple references that constitute different cultural codes, experiences, and languages to help them construct
their own narratives and histories, and revise democracy through sociocultural negotiation" (p.143). In this
manner, transnational studies that incorporate place-based pedagogy and border pedagogy promote respect for
differences and, in turn, promote greater understandings of others. Findings of the study are divided into the
following categories: curriculum emphases, comparative perspectives of government and society, and policies on
war and terrorism.
Drawing Boundaries and Imagining the Nation in Ukraine
Lina Klymenko, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
The process of state-led nation-building in Ukraine has been studied intensively by scholars concentrating on
various constitutive elements of Ukrainian national identity, with the most salient topics being citizenship policy
(Shevel 2004, Shevel 2007), ethno-cultural policy (Hrytsenko 2008, Wolczuk and Yemelianova 2008), language
policy (Areal 1995, Wilson 1997), foreign policy (Wolczuk 2005, Prizel 1999) and historical policy (Wilson 1998,
Marples 2007, Hrytsenko 2001, Popson 2001). In contrast to previous studies, my paper focuses on the public
discourse of national identity construction in Ukraine. How is the Ukrainian nation discursively constructed by
young people in Ukraine? How have the boundaries between "us" and "them" been drawn? My understanding of
a nation in this paper rests upon the concept of a discursive formation of a nation. Under this concept,
nationalism is viewed as a discourse, a certain way of speaking and seeing the world that shapes our
consciousness and a particular way of thinking about a nation – about what it means to be a people (Calhoun
1997, Özkırımlı 2011). This paper is based on focus groups with students of 18-24 years old studying various
disciplines in Ukraine. The analysis of the focus groups follows the principles of a critical discourse analysis
(Krzyżanowski 2008: 162–181, Wodak 2008) and an analysis of focus-group interaction (Kitzinger 1994).
43 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia F 37: CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION IN EUROPE I
Chair: Bas Spierings, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Room: AU 205
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 15:00-16:40
A Push for the EU Regionalism Strategy: Cross-Border Cooperation among Local Authorities
Gianfranco Brusaporci, Université Catolique de Louvain, Belgium & New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria
The globalization and the regionalism are two phenomena often linked by the concept of “reterritorialization” or
“rescaling”. Different scholars consider the evolution of regionalism and crossborder cooperation (CBC) a
consequence of the current rescaling process - in social, economic and political sense - caused by the
globalization. In the last years the EU has developed a sort of multilevel strategy based on three concentric layers
to support the increasing of regionalism within its member states. In particular, the EU has strengthen its role
through the Lisbon Treaty and the rising of Cohesive Policy, it has lunched strategic macroregional actions (EU
Baltic and Danube Region strategies), and finally it has boosted the CBC activities increasing their funds and
signing the EGTC (European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation) regulation which has approved a transnational
legal personality to the all CBC structures. Within the Bulgarian territory, thought a qualitative comparative
approach, the research tends to investigate the perception of cross-border areas on the three layers of
regionalism established by the EU. On one hand the aim of the research is to understand the outcomes
generated by the EU regionalism strategy, while on the other hand, the research tries to compare the vision of
the bordering local authorities on the basis of their CBC actions. The CBC is re-shaping the governance and the
institutionalization of the territory through new economic, social, cultural and political dimensions. Grounding
the research on this assumption, the paper aims to comprehend the link between the increasing significance of
CBC to the EU Danube Strategy and the EU integration process, trying to examine how the first regionalism can
influence, positively or not, the other two.
The Eastern Partnership of the European Union: Poland’s perspective
Tomasz Stępniewski, Catholic University of Lublin, Poland
In 2004 and 2007 the European Union was enlarged by the entry of the states from Central and Eastern Europe.
Due to the enlargement, the European Union’s eastern border was rearranged, causing a change in the
geopolitical system of forces in that part of the continent. When the Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova became the
immediate neighbours of the Community the European Union’s border with Russia was substantially broadened.
On the one hand, the new neighbourhood permitted development and augmentation of the political, and
especially economic dialogue. On the other hand, it gave rise to a number of new challenges resulting even from
unpredictability of those neighbouring countries’ political systems.
The aim of my presentation is to show Poland’s involvement in the Eastern Partnership initiative. Among the
countries of Central Europe, Poland has attached a special importance to relations with its Eastern neighbours
since the 1990s. Poland’s foreign policy was primarily focused on integration into NATO and the EU in that
decade, but good relations with neighbouring countries, in particular in the East, also featured among its
priorities. Poland is one of the biggest driving forces behind the EU policy towards Eastern neighbourhood.
Warsaw has long supported integration Eastern neighbours into the EU and NATO and in 2008 it was one of the
initiators of the Eastern Partnership. Poland provides political and financial support to the Eastern Partnership
countries on their road to the EU through establishing political association, free trade and visa-free travel
between the EU and the partner countries.
Inner and Outer Border Regions in the European Union: Different Development Processes – case study of
two Polish subregions
Marek W Kozak, University of Warsaw, Poland
Maciej Smertskowski, University of Warsaw, Poland
The paper is devoted to the comparison of development processes and factors influencing them in the two Polish
subregions located on western (EU internal) and eastern (EU external) border. The paper addresses the following
hypotheses: 1) Spatial proximity still plays very important role in supraregional socio-economic interactions in
44 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia peripheral border regions as these regions lagging in adaptation to contemporary informational economy 2) The
difference in border regimes is relatively unimportant factor of transborder interactions as economic and cultural
underpinnings play the crucial role in this field 3) Territorial cooperation is highly dependent on availability of
external funds as the perception of its efficiency and effectiveness is relatively poor 4) Overall impact of
development and/or cross-border policies on socio-economic development is very limited as they are not
focused on structural adaptation, but rather lead to petrification of existing socio-economic structures. The paper
uses the statistical data, surveys conducted among firms and citizens as well as in-depth interviews with local and
regional stakeholders gathered in last two years thanks to involvement into three research projects: TERCO
(European Territorial Cooperation as a Factor of Growth, Jobs and Quality of Life), EUBORDERREGIONS (European
Regions, EU External Borders and the Immediate Neighbours), and GRINCOH (Growth – Innovation –
Competitiveness: Fostering Cohesion in Central and Eastern Europe) to verify these hypotheses.
Twenty years of strategic spatial planning for the Czech-Polish Borderland
Magdalena Belof, Wroclaw University of Technology, Poland
It has been over 20 years since first common strategic document on Polish – Czech borderland spatial
development was released. It was not only the first common Polish – Czech planning document but also very first
document elaborated in Poland in direct co-operation with the neighbouring country.
Since early 90’ the model, the intensity and the thematic scope of planning co-operation beyond borders have
substantially changed both in Czech Republic and Poland. The most important factor influencing this change was
undoubtedly the accession of both countries to the European Union. It brought about new opportunities and
new challenges as the effect of the new external as well as internal conditions, as for example:
• change of the role and power of different administration levels (governmental, regional and local),
• growing awareness and international experience in transnational planning (based on Interreg and
European Teritorial Cooperation initiatives)
• change of the status of the border which since 2004 is the internal border of the EU and within the
Schengen Zone.
• global competition that call for better positioning of countries and regions.
The paper will analyze the changes in the concept and approach to common strategic spatial planning for the
Czech – Polish borderland within past twenty years. It will focus not only on purely academic discourse but to
large extent it will present the author’s opinion based on practical engagement in transborder spatial planning
activity.
F 38: ETHNICITY, CULTURE AND FORCE IN THE RE-NEGOTIATION OF AFRICAN BORDERS
Chair: Paul Nugent, University of Edinburgh, UK
Room: AG 106
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 15:00-16:40
Ali Ambo – a village on the border between Islam and Christianity in Ethiopia
Hanna Rubinkowska-Anioł, University of Warsaw, Poland
Ali Ambo is a village situated in central Ethiopia on the eastern side of the Abyssinian Highland on the border
with the lowlands towards the east. For centuries, as it still does today, it has served as a market place and a
meeting point between the Christian inhabitants from the west and Muslims from the east. The obvious
geographical border location of Ali Ambo has resulted in a complicated cultural, ethnic and religious situation. At
the same time, this reflects the broader problems of the country, where circa half of the population is Christian
and half Muslim. Islam and Christianity co-exist in Ethiopia on several – often intermingling – levels. The subject
of the presentation is to discuss the historical conditions which formed the grounds for the contemporary
situation. It will also include a proposal for and delineation of the contemporary borders between Christianity and
Islam in Ethiopia, using the village of Ali Ambo as an example.
Between River and Desert: The Category of Border in the Folk Culture of the North Sudanese Peasants
45 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Maciej Kurcz, University of Silesia, Poland
In my speech I examine the notion of border in the remains of traditional culture of North Sudanese peasants,
which I learnt during my field work in Sudan in 2013. In the Sudan it is the Nile that serves as the physical as well
as symbolic border zone. Traditionally, it is most strongly associated with the experience of crossing and sacrum.
It is magical world, ambivalent in nature. It causes fear but at the same is linked with life and procreation. Because
of this, it is a fundamental model of the conceptualisation of all kinds of places or events, which give the
impression of border crossing. The phenomena described in this paper, although strongly connected with the
North Sudanese context, are basically common to the other area of Nile valley, to the North and to the South of
Sudan.
A situation of security pluralism: South Sudan’s practices of interpreting security concerns along its
border with the Democratic Republic of Congo
Lotje De Vries, Radboud University, The Netherlands
Mareike Schomerus, London School of Econoics and Political Science, UK
In my speech I examine the notion of border in the remains of traditional culture of North Sudanese peasants,
which I learnt during my field work in Sudan in 2013. In the Sudan it is the Nile that serves as the physical as well
as symbolic border zone. Traditionally, it is most strongly associated with the experience of crossing and sacrum.
It is magical world, ambivalent in nature. It causes fear but at the same is linked with life and procreation. Because
of this, it is a fundamental model of the conceptualisation of all kinds of places or events, which give the
impression of border crossing. The phenomena described in this paper, although strongly connected with the
North Sudanese context, are basically common to the other area of Nile valley, to the North and to the South of
Sudan.
Border narratives and ethnogenesis along the Southwestern Ethiopian frontier: views from the
Nyangatom
Elias Alemu Bedasso, University of Bergen, Norway
Straddling the Ethiopian-Sudanese-Kenyan borders, the Nyangatom are agro-pastoralists who were incorporated
to the Ethiopian state in the late nineteenth century. Ever since this period, the Nyangatom have come into
contact with a host of outsiders including travelers, tourists, missionaries, pastoral neighbours and government
representatives of various Ethiopian regimes and bordering states. The outcome of all these encounters seems to
have been the exchange of 'new' ideas, practices, movement of people, and above all expansion and/or
contraction of 'state and non state spaces.'
Moreover, located within the influence zone of three different nation states, each of which engaged in
overlapping warscapes on a regional scale, Nyangatom communities have, in the past three decades, been
exposed to massive infiltration of machine guns causing more frequent and widespread conflicts with
neighboring ethnic groups across the pastoralist continuum of Southern Ethiopia, Northern Kenya and South
Sudan. Consequently, violence and incessant conflicts appear to have been manifestations of inter-group
relations replacing socioeconomic alliances-what had hitherto been the case.
Based on ethnographic field methods, I will explore the ways in which the Nyangatom responded to these
encounters including the coping strategies that they adopted for their survival. Coupled with archival materials,
border narratives and local practices are essential for a better understanding of the expansion and contraction of
'state and non state spaces' across time.
F 39: SHIFTING FRAMEWORKS OF BORDERING PRACTICES
Chair: Ted Boyle, Hokkaido University, Japan
Room: AG 102
Date: June 9th 2014
Time: 15:00-16:40
From Borders to Bordering: New Legal Tools to Extend the Border
Joshua Labove, Simon Fraser University, Canada
46 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The fact that borders have become sites of (in)security is perhaps not surprising, and actively considered within
political geographic literature (Mountz 2011a; 2011b; Coleman 2009; Amoore 2006). New mechanisms and
approaches have been devised to conceive of border work more broadly—to engage in a series of practices that
can be understood as ‘bordering’, moving the physical border to a wider constellation of points beyond the
edges of the territory. In this research, I consider the way law is deployed to both create and unravel borders, and
to move the border further into everyday immigrant life. Working from Supreme Court of Canada decisions and
ethnographies at the border, I consider how certain legal positions are framed and b/ordered: aboriginal &
indigenous sovereignty, the migrant, and the traveller. How is the border and the work of the Canada Border
Services Agency structured differently around each individual and how do the courts attempt to ameliorate the
perceived legal ambiguities that exist in the liminal space between ‘here’ and ‘there’? And in other instances, how
does such legal ambiguity serve as a security-making tool? All told, law is behind much of the reformulations of
the border in Canada, and law becomes a powerful tool through which the border can remain intensely
militarized and securitized while growing increasingly expansive and diffuse.
Beyond the “Border Security Industrial Complex”: War Logic and Everyday Life in Douglas, Arizona
Aaron Bobrow-Strain, Whitman College, USA
Activists and scholars critical of the steady militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border increasingly refer to the
existence of a “Border Security Military Industrial Complex.” The phase, evoking President Dwight Eisenhower’s
caution against a Cold War Military Industrial Complex, effectively captures a profoundly contemporary
convergence of national security strategy and private profit. It highlights the increasing interdependence of U.S.
border policy and the interests of private prison, transportation, legal, and security contractors. Yet activists and
scholars using the phrase would do well to attend to the nuances of Eisenhower’s original Cold War message: his
was not a simple scree against greedy corporations and their state cronies, but rather a warning about the ways a
logic of war might colonize the economy in a broader sense. Drawing on Ruth Wilson Gilmore’s (2012) study of
private prison geographies, I argue that the Border Security Industrial Complex should be viewed as a social,
cultural, and economic complex permeating the institutions and practices of everyday life. Critiquing the
corporate villains of this complex is not enough. Instead, this paper uses ethnographic study based in Douglas,
Arizona—a small, poverty-stricken rural border town that has seen the influx of millions of dollars and hundreds
of jobs tied to border security—to explore the ways that places and people are enrolled in (and sometimes
undermine) a whole development path organized around the specter of a perpetual enemy (the smugglermigrant-terrorist) who must always be fought, but can never be conquered.
Necessitating intervention: The case for R2P
Alex Chung, UNSW, Australia
Over the past two decades of unipolar American hegemony since the end of the Cold War, intrastate conflict has
evoked ever more military interventions from regional and international organizations on human rights and
humanitarian grounds (Stein 2004). Much debate surrounds the dichotomy between traditional notions of
sovereignty and the ‘emerging norm’ of ‘Responsibility to Protect’ or R2P (Bello 2006; Focarelli 2008).
Human rights norms and regimes are oft-debated subjects in the discourse surrounding constraints on
sovereignty. Krasner (2001, p. 22) describes the evolution of rights as shifting from “religious toleration, to
minority rights (often focusing on specific ethnic groups in specific countries), to human rights (emphasizing
rights enjoyed by all or broad classes of individuals).” Korencia & Doli (2009, p. 13) cite Krasner’s assertion that
human rights norms challenge Westphalian sovereignty as they restrict the exclusive right of domestic authority
to dictate the terms of treatment of individuals within their territory. The emerging norm of Responsibility to
Protect (R2P) is interpreted by Korencia & Doli 2009 (p. 14) as: “the protection of human beings from basic
breaches of human rights and liberties is a primary responsibility of the sovereign state per se, thus where the
people’s rights and liberties have been denied by the respective sovereign state, the international community
hold the right to intervene.” Brooks (2005, p. 1885) argues that while humanitarian intervention has been tainted
by neo-imperialist ambitions, the cost of nonintervention “in situations of severe human rights abuses, war, or
poverty” is morally and intrinsically unjustifiable.
This paper will present the evolution of the R2P norm and the emerging norms that have effectively rendered
traditional notions of strictly Westphalian notions of sovereignty obsolete and archaic. Within the framework of
increasingly violent intra-state (civil) conflicts including the recent post-cold war genocides and civil wars (and
47 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia subsequent UN interventions) witnessed in Bosnia (1992-94), Somalia (1992-95), Rwanda (1994-95), Haiti (1994),
and East Timor (1999-2002) (Stein 2004, pp. 14-15); this paper presents the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
doctrine as an example of a modern international regime that may serve as a codified platform for the
international community to intervene and supersede traditional notions of national sovereignty during crisis
situations of a domestic nature, replacing currently inadequate and insufficient international humanitarian law
regimes.
International, intersectoral or both? In search for the nature of R&D Spillovers
Amjad Naveed, University of Southern Denmark
The aim of this paper is to identify the nature of R&D spillovers from an intersectoral, international as well as
combined international-intersectoral perspective. We use panel data for sub-sectors of the manufacturing
industry among 13 OECD countries in the period 1988 to 2006. We estimate Griliches-type knowledge
production functions at the aggregate level along with two-digit industry level, where R&D investments
outside the own industry enter as an explicit regressor. The endogenous variable of interest is labour
productivity growth. In order to properly weight the R&D induced spillover effects, we construct different
weighting schemes based on the technological and trade-based connectivity between sectors and countries
respectively, as well as a combination of the two modes. Although we do not use spatial data as such, we
estimate the sectoral production function models by means of spatial econometrics, which allows for a
consistent treatment of weighted variables derived from the endogenous regressand as well as the set of
explanatory regressors. The empirical estimate indicates that both international and domestic R&D knowledge
spillovers matter for explaining the productivity growth. Spillovers from other sector are more than the spillover
from same sector domestic and foreign R&D expenditures at aggregate level. But the results change a bit when
we moved to disaggregate level.
F 41: CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION IN SUPRANATIONAL INTEGRATION PROCESSES: AFRICAN UNION,
CAN, EUROPEAN UNION, MERCOSUR, SICA
Discussant: Joachim Beck, Euro-Institut Kehl, Germany/France
Room: AU 100
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 17:00-18:40
The experience in Cross-border Cooperation (CBC) in the EU, through euroregions and other structures with a
growing support of EU Structural Funds is a key-stone of European integration. EU internal and external border
produce best practices that are now shared with other continents. Several integration processes in Africa, the
Andean Community, Mercosur or Central America have been inspired by this CBC practice and have initiated
their own actions.
The main challenge in all of these processes outside the EU is involving local and regional authorities (LRAs) to
perform CBC in a decentralized manner. Still CBC is considered in many countries as part of their foreign policy,
but proximity CBC between neighbouring territories is a domestic issue within supranational integration
processes. There it takes place people-to-people integration and dynamic cross-border areas are laboratories for
supranational integration processes. This is the case of almost 200 entities in Europe and a growing number of
operations in Africa and the Americas.
Local and regional authorities and/or experts involved in these processes in the three continents would be
invited to share their views amongst them and with the participants in this round table. They would address
decentralized governance of CBC and its influence in supranational integration.
CBC in Europe, 50 years of people-to-people integration
Martin Guillermo Ramirez, Association of European Border Regions, Germany
Presentation about CBC in Europe since the foundation of the first euroregion at the Dutch-German border in
1958 until current EU instruments (Territorial Cooperation Objective, European Groupings of Territorial
Cooperation, etc.). The added value of CBC in the development of border regions and their impact in EU
integration.
48 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia CBC in the African Union: the African Union Border Programme
Aguibou Diarrah, African Union Border Programme (AUBP), African Union, Ethiopia / Mali
Mohamadou Abdoul, AUBP, GIZ (German Development Agency), Ethiopia/Senegal
Overview of the African Union Border Programme (AUBP) since its launching in 2007. Demarcation, delimitation
and cooperation. West Africa Cooperation and African-EU programmes.
Characterizing “World Class” Border Regions: the experience at the Brazilian Border Strip
Luiz Antonio Rolim de Moura, SEBRAE, Brazil
Brazilian experience in development of border areas. Several initiatives in almost 17.000 km border strip.
CBC as part of Central American Integration Process (SICA)
Mario Salvador Otero Espinoza, Independent Consultant, Spain / El Salvador
There are several CBC integration initiatives in Central America that contribute from the bottom to the regional
integration of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panamá
Border Integration in the Andean Community
Raúl Nieto Vinueza, Andean Community, Peru/Ecuador
Overview of Border Integration at the Andean Community: Border Integration Zones and other CBC initiatives.
F 42: Sovereignty and borders in the (globalized) Arctic
Discussant: Sanjay Chaturvedi, Panjab Univeristy, India
Chair: Lassi Heininen, University of Lapland, Finland
Room: AU 101
Date: June 9. 2014
Time: 17:00-18:40
Climate change, (flows of) globalization, and mass-scale utilization of fossils and opening of new sea routes, and
particularly the combination of them – which represents some sort of Arctic ‘paradox’ - together with a growing
global interest toward the Arctic and its resources have caused a new kind of pressure toward the Arctic states to
be (come) concern on a state of the environment of the Arctic and their sovereignty. Due to their direct physical
impacts, as well as indirect impacts related to the economy and development, and the uncertainty related to
climate change they are seen and interpreted to cause a new (kind of) challenge, even a threat, to traditional
state sovereignty and defence of national borders. However, in the Arctic of the 2010s, there are neither
emerging armed nor border conflicts, but there are land claims by indigenous peoples, asymmetric
environmental conflicts, and a few disputes on maritime borders (between the littoral states of the Arctic Ocean).
Final, there are two more influential perspectives, first, regionalism/region-building with devolution of power,
and second, globalization and flows of globalization with global environmental and security problems. They both
and their interrelationship are necessary to take into consideration and discuss on their respective impacts, when
defining a state of Arctic geopolitics and that of Northern security.
This panel will discuss on state sovereignty and national borders in the Arctic of the 2010s, where these two
perspectives, as well as their interrelationship and related dualism, exist and influence. It will also discuss on
several challenges of (state) sovereignty, i.e. the traditional interpretation of state sovereignty and national
borders, such as indigenous definition for resources sovereignty, economic development, state and
comprehensive security, and change(s) in problem definition of security paradigm. Finally, traditional meaning of
sovereignty and national borders will be discussed, as well as sovereignty will be redefined and reconceptualised,
in the presentations of the panel.
The impact of the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination on the exercise of sovereignty over
natural resources in the Arctic
49 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Dorotheu Cambou- Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
The governance of natural resources in the Arctic has emerged as a hot topic in Arctic affairs. Pursuant to the
principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources, the Arctic eight have the rights to use, control and
manage the natural resources located within their territorial boundaries. Under this premise, international law
promotes a state centered understanding of the principle of sovereignty over natural resources where the state is
the ultimate authority in the governance of natural resources and this paradigm also applies in the Arctic. Against
this view, indigenous peoples inhabiting the region are also claiming for their right to control natural resources
by virtue of their right to self-determination. In the light of this opposition, the presentation analyses the impact
of the recognition of the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination at the international level and its
impact on the exercise of sovereignty over natural resources in the Arctic
Ripple Effects: Economic development, state sovereignty and borders in the Canadian Arctic
Heather Nicol, Trent University Canada
This paper explores Canada’s northern ‘sovereignty’ mandate. It is particularly interested in shedding light upon
broad political, economic and spatial changes and accommodations resulting from recent rounds of state interest
and agency directed towards ‘fixing’ and ‘protecting’ Arctic borders and ‘Canadian’ territory (as reflected in any
number of key governmental texts defining Canada’s Arctic agenda). This sovereignty mandate, as it has been
constructed through various Canadian federal government agencies, appears to now inform the workings of a
number of state agencies and institutions, and to have tremendous potential to create a series of cascading
impacts throughout the Canadian North. It is in this context that this paper explores the landscape of
accommodation to the reassertion of territorial sovereignty agendas in Northern Canada. It seeks to identify the
broader rippling effects of these state-centred sovereignty narratives (which focus mainly upon maritime
boundaries), especially when co-constitutive economic development imperatives are added to the mix.
Managing the North American Arctic Borderland
Joel Plouffe National School of Public Administration (ENAP), Montréal (Québec), Canada
As climate change and thawing polar sea ice shift global attention to the Arctic, North America’s ‘Far North’ often
stands out as a new frontier, or a future ‘hot spot’ for economic ventures like hydrocarbon exploration,
commercial shipping and fishing or tourism. With increasing human/economic activities in the Canadian and
American Arctic(s), decision makers in Ottawa and Washington are once again challenged by the Great Northern
Frontier, a shared border in a very challenging setting of North America and the Arctic. How are they reacting and
adapting to the growing changes? This paper looks at how various subnational and federal actors are individually
developing and shaping new approaches to deal with emerging non-traditional security issues in the North(s) of
North America. How are various levels of government and other non-governmental actors working together to
deal with common issues in a very complex setting? This paper seeks to examine how new practices of
cooperation are emerging in the North American Arctic in a way to manage common issues in the contemporary
Canadian and American Arctic borderland.
Security and sovereignty in the Arctic
Alexander Sergunin, St. Petersburg State University, Russia
The main objective of this paper is to examine how numerous ‘soft’ security challenges in the Arctic affect the
state sovereignty concept. The drivers of insecurity such as climate change, degradation of the Arctic
environment, competition for natural resources and sea routes, deterioration of conditions for the indigenous
peoples’ traditional economies and cultures, etc. are identified and discussed. The paper also aims at examining
how major International Relations theory paradigms (neo-realism, neo-liberalism, globalism and post-positivism)
perceive the interaction between security and national sovereignty in the Arctic region. The Arctic strategies of
the regional actors are analyzed with the aim to understand how they interpret the security/sovereignty
interplay.
Change(s) in problem definition of security premises and paradigm, and state sovereignty and national
borders
Lassi Heininen, University of Lapland, Finland
50 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Global environmental and other problems, which impact the Arctic - by being physically present or through
indirect impacts - deal with broadly understood security. These include security problems, such as the deployed
nuclear weapon systems and military exercises and weapon’s testing; environmental problems, such as longrange pollutants and climate change; and problems related to the economy and development, such as massscale utilization of hydrocarbons. In addition, there is the growing global interest toward the region and its
(energy) resources that non-Arctic states from Asia and Europe to become more involved in the discussions and
decision-making on the development of the Arctic (e.g. sea navies might follow cargo ships). Due to these
problems and the growing global interest, as well as environmental ‘awakening’ by Indigenous peoples and the
cross-border cooperation by Arctic states for environmental protection as responses to them there has been a
clear shift from traditional security to more comprehensive concept of security. Consequently, there was a
change in problem definition on security discourses and premises of the Arctic states, as nuclear safety indicates.
This paper argues that correspondingly, climate change is causing a discourse and premise shift from traditional
security to human security in the Arctic. It also discusses on who are currently, or should be taken into
consideration, as major actors / subjects of security. Final, the paper discusses on the potential of climate change
to cause a paradigm shift in problem definition of (national) security of the Arctic states.
F 43: NAVIGATING EURO/AFRICAN BORDERSCAPES AT AND ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN
Discussant: Rodrigo Bueno Lacy, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Chair: James Scott, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: AU 102
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 17:00-18:40
The Mediterranean has emerged in the last years as a crucial space for investigating borders not as taken-forgranted entities exclusively connected to the territorial limits of nation-states, but as mobile, relational and
contested sites, thereby exploring alternative border imaginaries ‘beyond the line’.
Taking the borderscape as an analytical angle that allows to consider borders as multidimensional entities,
having different symbolic and material forms, functions and locations, the panel inquiries into the Euro/African
border nexus at and across the EU(ropean) external frontiers in the Mediterranean. Through the borderscape lens,
it is possible to grasp the ‘variations’ of Euro/African borders in space and time, transversally to different sociocultural, political, aesthetical, economic, legal, and historical settings criss-crossed by negotiations between
different actors, and not only the State.
The borderscapes framework allows us to explore Euro/African borders in multiple ways: investigating the
conceptual links between EU-internal, EU-external and non-European borders; examining the EU ‘migration
machine’ as post-colonial Euro/Africa borderscape; questioning the ‘normative dimension’ of Euro/African
borders while considering that borders also involve struggles that consist of strategies of adaptation,
contestation and resistance, challenging the top-down geopolitical control of borders; interrogating the
interaction of in/invisibility, space and power that each border regime entails reflecting peculiar de-territorialized
politics of b/ordering; exploring the shifting borders of the EU ‘neighbourhood’ at the interface of borders dislocation and re-location from ‘outside’ Europe to ‘within’ Europe cityscapes as well as concerning new
borderlands in Africa originated by the externalization of European borders; navigating cross-bordering and
regionalization processes across the EU/non-EU divide.
Re-making Borders, Re-making Regions: Governing Mobilities in the Straits of Gibraltar
Luiza Bialasiewicz, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
My paper reflects on how new ‘mobile’ forms of re-bordering go hand-in-hand with new forms and modes of
political and economic regionalization. It does so by examining some of the transformations taking place at one
of Europe’s southern borderlands: the space of the Straits of Gibraltar, one of the EU’s most tightly patrolled sea
borders, yet at the same time also the focus of a number of ‘regionalizing’ initiatives focused on creating a single
economic space and transport hub. Drawing on on-going field work in Tangier, Morocco, the paper highlights
how current projects of constituting a single ‘espace du detroit’ rely upon a play of selective mobilities and
strategies of selective openness and closure in order to configure the Straits and the greater Tangier region both
as a gate(way) to Europe, and its wall.
51 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Euro/African Borderscapes and Migrants’ Political Subjectivities Across the Mediterranean: CounterHegemonic Cultural and Artistic Experiences from the Lampedusa In Festival
Chiara Brambilla, University of Bergamo, Italy
Through the borderscapes lens, borders cannot anymore be regarded only in terms of exclusion as conveyed by
the use of metaphors such as ‘Fortress Europe’. These metaphors can entrench the idea of a clear-cut division
between the inside and the outside as well as the sense of a faultless integration of the inside, thereby
paradoxically reinforcing the ‘spectacle of the border’ that characterizes hegemonic EU(ropean) border and
migration regimes.
However, moving beyond Fortress Europe does not mean to diminish the criticism of the injustice of the EU
border regime. Rather, it calls for a more careful analysis of its working and for the inclusion in the picture of what
is happening every day on the EU(rope) external frontiers of the agency of migrants. What emerges is the urgency
to analyse the tensions that make the border a field in which processes of traversing and crossing meet those of
reinforcement and blocking. This shows the border as a ‘social institution’ and migration as a social force coproducing the border itself.
Gazing into the LampedusaInFestival through the borderscapes lens, I will investigate the way in which culturally
produced representations of borders and border crossings can be regarded as expressions of resistance to official
understandings of the EU southern frontier and as local politics of borders that challenge the top-down modern
(geo)political imagination. By referring to counter-hegemonic cultural and artistic experiences from the
LampedusaInFestival, I will consider how these can be regarded as modes of struggle and production of new
migrants’ political subjectivities.
The “Stone Guest”: The (In)visibility of Migration-Related Deaths in Euro-Mediterranean Policies
Filippo Celata, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy
Raffaella Coletti, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy (not present)
The presentation will focus on the role that migration-related deaths play in Euro-Mediterranean policies and in
cross-border cooperation initiatives between Italy and Tunisia in particular. On the one hand, it is argued, the fatal
consequences of migration management represent the most visible issue that these policies address and its
dramatic emergence influences the rationale, the timing and the contents of Euro-African relations. On the other
hand, the issue is most of the time relegated to the background or in some ‘other space’ and is deliberately
excluded from most policy initiatives, due to a series of institutional, juridical, scalar and spatial mismatches.
Based on a critical analysis of policy documents and on interviews to local stakeholders, the paper argues that
both border management and territorial cooperation policies in the Mediterranean act as ‘immunization’
dispositives that seek to (re)move the migration problem, discursively and materially, while at the same time
giving an impression of control, order, cooperation, responsibility and care. This perspective allows the authors to
offer some insights into the mobile and selective functioning of contemporary bordering practices.
Shots from the Spanish-Moroccan Border: Contested Visualizations of the Euro-African Borderscape
Keina Espiñeira, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
Xavier Ferrer-Gallardo, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
Abel Albet-Mas, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
Over the last decade the Spanish-Moroccan border has been vastly (re)produced by a growing number of artists
and activists experimenting with audiovisual languages. These contributions shed new light in our
understanding of this border region.
A latent force of transgression challenging the ways we observe, perceive and imagine the border lies precisely
on the experimental nature of the documentary and its dialogue with video-art. The affluence of new audiovisual
expressions promoting a more comprehensive understanding of the role of cultural production as a counterbordering practice leads us to reflect on the potential of developing aesthetic critical practices in border spaces.
In this light, this paper looks at artistic and cultural representations of the Spanish-Moroccan border within the
wider context of the ongoing EU bordering process. It is sourced in the scrutiny of different artistic-documentary
visualizations of authors like Yto Barrada, Ursula Biemann, Jose Luis Tirado, Alex Muñoz, Bouchra Khalili or Pedro
Jiménez. This contribution explores how their works dislocate and relocate the border. The paper is aimed at
52 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia narrating how their contributions shoot the dis/connections of the Strait of Gibraltar, revealing the ordering and
Othering side of the so-called postcolonial Euro-African scenario.
F 44: OF SENSES AND SENSORS: IRREGULAR MATERIALITIES AND PERFORMATIVITIES ALONG THE
SOUTHERN EUROPEAN BORDERSCAPE
Discussant/Chair: Bo Petersson, Malmö University, Sweden
Room: AU 206
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 17:00-18:40
Hardwiring the frontier: Technology and troublemakers in the EU border regime
Ruben Andersson, University of Stockholm, Sweden
Migration controls at the external EU borders have become a large field of political and financial investment in
recent years, yet conflicts between states and border agencies still mar attempts at cooperation. This paper takes
an ethnographic look at one way in which officials try to overcome such conflicts – through technology. In Spain’s
North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, advanced and aggressive border fencing has pulled in a range of
actors around a supposedly ‘impenetrable’ divide.
In West Africa, the secure ‘Seahorse’ network hardwires border cooperation into a satellite system connecting
disparate African and European forces. And on EU level, the ‘European external border surveillance system’ or
Eurosur papers over the power struggles between agencies and states through ‘decentralised’ information--‐
sharing– even as the system’s physical features (nodes, coordination centres, interfaces) deepen the fight
between them.
Concluding on this note, the paper argues for a closer ethnographic look at the contradictory effects of the
materialities of the border – infrastructure, interfaces, vehicles – in Europe’s fraught ‘fight against illegal
migration’, and their often distressing human consequences.
‘Managing the Border’: Notes on the social and technological entanglements at the EU external borders
Estela Schindel, University of Konstanz, Germany
The relation between social distance, moral indifference and modern, bureaucratic forms of violence has been
explored in relation to cases of political or ethnological “cleansings” around the globe. The diversification and
mediation in the processes of decision making, together with rationally orientated, technological--‐bureaucratic
patterns of action and understandings of social conflict may play a role in the implementation of policies that
stigmatize, exclude and –in the extreme– exterminate the conflictive “other”. This paper aims at exploring
whether and to what extend analogous features can be detected at the management of the European Union
external borders: The mediation of decision—making processes allowed by highly diversified bureaucratic
structures, the social distancing and moral invisibilization enabled by the implementation of high--‐tech devices
in the surveillance and control of the border, together with a discursive constructions of an intrusive other.
The presentation draws on the contributions of the social and cultural studies of technology, where technological
gadgets are considered not as neutral instruments but as an expression of the cultural values and the social and
political relations dominating in the society where they emerge. On a methodological level, the paper explores
the utility and/or limitations of Latour’s ATN theory in order to grasp the relation between ‘human’ and ‘non--‐
human actors’ in the entanglements of technological devices and social practices that take place at the southern
externalborders of the EU. Empirically the work is based on first hand observation and interviewsconducted at an
Aegean island as well as on conference proceedings, written material and information brochures produced both
by the EU and EU State Members border agencies as well as by private technology developers.
How to liquefy a body on the move: Eurodac and the making of the European digital border
Vassilis Tsianos, University of Hamburg – Mig@net, Germany
Brigitta Kuster, University of Hamburg – Mig@net, Germany
Based on the fact that private and government sectors are operating hand in hand for biometric identity
assurance solutions to meet security requirements at borders, for elections or in commercial fields, our paper will
53 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia explore Eurodac as a ‘surveillance assemblage’: as something that works its effects by being connected to other
technologies, practices, systems, institutions and conventions, as it has been suggested.
Our interest in Eurodac is an approach to something that is inflected by social, symbolic, organizational and
juridical cultures, practices and imaginaries that are beyond the literal realm of the electronic space. Our paper
will thus include matters of data protection and other ethical concerns as well as issues of Europeanization in the
exploration of the border technology Eurodac, which is part of a larger deterritorialization of bordercontrols: Its
double function of politics at a distance and virtual data collection casts a net of control, which denaturalizes and
virtualizes not only the form of surveillance but also the form of punishment by extending the risk of
deportability of migrants.
Eurodac is where the fingerprints of asylum seekers, apprehended illegal immigrants, or those who cross EU-‐
borders irregularly are stored. Migrants are thus contained as 'data bodies', personifications of border
crossing and mobility risks. In this way, the border becomes a property and feature of the migrant's body.
However, in between such data bodies and the real bodies of migrants accrues a third space where both the
control practices and the subjectivities of migration operate. To avoid the technodeterministic perspectives of
control policies, our contribution claims for a situated analysis from the perspective of migration, that is a
movement contained in the power relations of border zones and operating its own information exchange
channels, sense-‐makings, understandings, and rules to access mobility and to cross borders. Understanding
“doing border” from a 'bottom-‐up' perspective addresses always the question: How is the border onstructed,
managed, and by whom. In this sense, the European database urodac can be understood as a biotechnology of
mobile border.
Drawing on multilocal interviews with transit-‐migrants as well as policy experts and on the findings of our
transnational research in Greece, Germany and Italy) conducted under the FP7 funded project MIG@NET on the
mode of operation of Eurodac, ourpaper will explore the emergence of this biotechnology of the mobile border
space related to the bodily and mobility patterns in liquefying and de-‐materializing of border control
technologies.
Affective Borderscapes: The hidden geographies of African irregular b/order crossings to Europe
Ioanna Tsoni, Malmö University, Sweden
Moving from the peripheries towards the interior of a National (Greece) and a supranational (EU) entity, sub--‐
Saharan migrants entering Europe irregularly through the southeastern border of Greece with Turkeyen counter
successive minefields of borders erupting at a series of nested scales: the liquid political borders just off Lesvos
island on which national and external EU borders coincide; assumedly effaced intra--‐EU borders; the urban
borderlands of Athens; down to ‘the geography Closest--‐in’ of embodied skin--‐ deep lines of distinction
between migrants and other actors, who are intent dwelling, defining or defending the borders irregularmigrants
defy.
‘Border as method’ is employed to examine the overlapping topologies, contesting imaginaries and charged
fields of inter--‐actionthatemerge and congeal into borderscapes, which are then approached through the
evocation of the affect, both humanand non--‐human. The‘irregularly’ mobile, visibly ‘othered’ and, therefore,
border--‐embodying body and its affective capacity in dialogue with actors whose everyday practice and
discourse produce, reproduce and sustain border dynamics are foregrounded as an entry point of analysis of
im/material borderscapes.
Using affect to view the political and symbolic contestation along today’sproliferating borderlines can offer new
insights on how seemingly rigid institutions are actually affected by theunobtrusive actions of supposedly
marginal and minimally agentic, individuals. Emergent, as opposed to engineered affective borderscape
topologies can bear imperceptible but cumulative repercussions at a macropolitical level, as they pose bottomup challenges to dominant imaginaries that the power-lines of national borders and their devolved socio-cultural
boundaries are instrumentally used to affix.
F 45: BORDERS OF MEDIA AND JOURNALISM
Chair: Cedric Parizot, IREMAM (Aix Marseille University – CNRS), France
Room: AU 209
54 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 17:00-18:40
Borders and power relations in Finnish popular journalism during the Cold War
Tuija Saarinen, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
The aim of my paper is to analyse what kind of texts Finnish popular magazines published concerning the
Finnish-Soviet border before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and how the power relationships were portrayed.
An analysis is based on Michel Foucault’s idea, that power is rather a strategy than a property. According to
Foucault, none of its localized episodes may be inscribed in history except by the effects that it induces on the
entire network in which it is caught up.
The Soviet Union was one of the regular themes in the Finnish popular magazines. Finns had a need to handle
the tension the border caused: the Finnish-Soviet border was a border of two different political regimes. It also
separated two different cultures and languages. But the most often discussed theme in the magazines was,
however, the border transportations of the Second World War: Finland lost most of Finnish Karelian area to the
Soviet Union in the Second World War and 400,000 people were evacuated over Finland’s new border. This
border in new place affected in Finnish culture many ways: a huge population had to be transported into new
areas, old communities were broken and Finns were separated Finns from their historical towns. The texts the
popular magazines published treated this situation in different ways and often tried to define again the
prevailing power relationships. According to Foucault power was tactics and techniques. In Finnish context an
illegal border crossing.
Reshaping the borders of journalism – lessons learned from transnational peoples’ journalism
Shayna Plaut, University of British Columbia, Canada
Media, both having one’s “own” media and creating the stories that appear in the “mainstream” media is an
important component of nation building, state building and advocacy (Smith 1983/1991; Gellner 1983; de Jong,
Shaw and Stammers 2005). By framing ideas of rights, wrongs and the strategies for creating and diffusing
alternatives, the role of media, and journalism in particular, has gained a more prominent place in understanding
social-political change -- particularly when framing rights based claims (Price 1998; Tarrow 2006). As noted by
multiple scholars media often plays a role in diffusing new ways of seeing and understanding something; framing
issues as problems and then working with others, often across states, to ensure that it (the problem, the issue, the
people) winds up on “the” agenda of those with the power to do something (Jochim 2003; Carpenter 2007; Baer
and Brysk 2009). But how does this take place with people who identify with, between and across states? This
paper examines the role of journalism as form of political framing and advocacy by and for transnational peoples.
Based on extensive fieldwork and over 45 in-depth interviews with two very different peoples’ who choose to use
journalism in their transnational work – the Saami and the Roma – I examine the intersections and tensions of
media, politics, and the possibilities of change are utilized by people who identify within, across and between
state borders. In the end I identify two distinct strategies: nation building/speaking within and
intervening/speaking outside.
F 46: MIGRATION, CARE AND FAMILY
Chair: Nira Yuval-Davis, University of East London, UK/Umeå University, Sweden
Room: AU 210
Date: June 9th 2014
Time: 17:00-18:40
Crossing the border between Estonia and Finland: transnational families in the making
Laura Assmuth, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Pihla Siim, University of Tartu, Estonia
Deborah Bryceson and Ulla Vuorela (2002, 3) define ‘transnational families’ as “families that live some or most of
the time separated from each other, yet hold together and create something that can be seen as a feeling of
collective welfare and unity, namely ‘familyhood’, even across national borders.” However, whether separated
55 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia spatially or living together in the country of destination, migrating families are far from being unified entities. Not
all family members make the same choices and have the same understandings of migration and family. There are
always as many stories of a family as there are members in it. We will discuss the possibilities of feeling close over
the distances and problems related to distanced models of familiarity.
New patterns of cross-border migration have emerged within Europe after the dissolution of the Soviet Union,
the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, and the enlargement of the European Union. Based on an ongoing comparative project on family migration in North-East Europe from the children’s perspectives, this paper
deals with the case of neighbouring EU countries Estonia and Finland. Transnational migration has rarely been
studied from the children’s viewpoint, although it is widely agreed that children are very much affected by
migration, irrespective of whether they themselves move across state borders or remain at home while their
parent/s migrate. Drawing on fieldwork material, this presentation aims to explore family life in an EstonianFinnish transnational space narrated both from children’s and parents’ perspectives, paying attention to the
cross-border ties and the factors uniting and dividing family members.
Here and There: the Images of “Russia” and “Abroad” in Perception of Adolescents
Anastasiya Halauniova, Saint Petersburg State University, Russia
Liubov Chernysheva, Saint Petersburg State University, Russia
The phenomena of migrational potential has been researched dozens of times, but mostly such research in Russia
were focused on the adults after 18 years old and used quantitative methodology. The problem is that the
migrational orientation can be formed in the adolescence, and, what is more, the orientation does not mean
anything. That is why we decided to analyze the connection between the migrational “mood” and the image of
the world in perception of adolecsents, that is constructed by different agents, such as family, friends, school,
mass media. In order to capture some non-reflective part of the images of different countries and parts of the
world, we used also the method of mental mapping, that can illustrate the presence/absence of the borders, the
character of the borders between various objects at the map, the principle of importance of the objects, the
connection between them and so on.
F 47: CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION IN EUROPE II
Chair: Marek W Kozak, University of Warsaw, Poland
Room: AU 205
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 17:00-18:40
Between Local and National: Multi- scalar Dynamics in the Institutionalization of Cross Border
Cooperation
Ervin Sezgin, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey
It has past more than 15 years after the introduction of the Phare-CBC (now IPA-CBC) programme of the EU that
has served for the establishment and intensification of CBC (crossborder cooperation) between Bulgaria and
Turkey. Although this is a relatively short history, during that period, more than a hundred of CBC projects were
realised, the impact of which could be questioned in terms of outcomes and expectations. Doubtless, however,
during this period thousands of people together with various institutions were involved in that process, have
used these funds for several purposes independent from the partnerships established with the other side of the
border and have taken the first steps towards the institutionalization of CBC in an EU candidate country. Looking
from the Turkish side of the border, CBC goes hand in hand with the internal and external intricate dynamics
mainly related with the EU candidacy and Europeanization that interrupt the predefined frame of CBC and turn it
into an inter- scalar playfield between national and local institutions. This paper, based on a field study in the
western border region of Turkey aims to position various local and national actors such as NGO’s, municipalities,
professionals and central state organizations according to their interests and purposes of using CBC funds. By
doing this, it problematizes CBC as a tool, which central- state actors use in order to intervene to the local/
regional scale and protect the power of the central state against the pressures towards decentralization coming
upwards from the EU and downwards from the local actors.
56 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Spatial planning as a way of discourse on borders
Gyula Ocskay, CESCI, Hungary
Mátyás Jaschitz, CESCI, Hungary
Since the 17th century the idea of sovereignty in Europe has gradually became inseparable from the ideology of
nation state. This immanent process has overwritten the level of local communities by extending the notion of
sovereignty and autonomy to the entirety of the political body. At the same time it has restructured sovereignty
itself on a horizontal way replacing former model of hierarchy.
The new narrative of national identity has been creating subsequently its representing forms from the national
currency and national parliament to the official language. The more transparently it appears in the phenomenon
of state borders. Thus, all the initiatives aiming to erase the borders between the nation states provoke and injure
this idea of sovereignty protected instinctively and deliberately at the same time by the nations.
Based on the theories of Michel Foucault, Henri Lefebvre, Alexis de Tocqueville, Charles Taylor and Henk van
Houtum in our joint presentation we make an argument on that state borders are discoursive facts thus their
status can be changed through the change of the relevant discourse.
Within the framework of CESCI (www.cesci-net.eu) we have developed a new method of cross-border spatial
planning replacing sectorial-based approach by cohesion analysis and cohesion based strategic planning. This
new method seems to us to be able to modify the discourse on the borders by giving back the honour of the
discourse on borderless regionality and locality.
The EGTC: (b)ordering Tool as a Basis for Cross-border Territoriality?
Estelle Evrard, University of Luxenbourg, Luxembourg
Supranational organisations such as the European Union challenge the traditional functions of borders. In
particular, growing functional flows that institutional cross-border cooperations aim at canalising relativizes
“inner” national borders. Established in 2007, the European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) is the first
EU instrument legally framing territorial cooperation (Levrat, 2007). It received astonishing attention: in 2013, 40
EGTCs were operational. If through this instrument a legal entity with competences on a common space is
created, a “bordering” process across national borders occurred. Having received a mandate from its members, it
“orders”, in the sense that it implements on the bordered space the decisions taken in common. If one defines
territoriality as an area on which an expression of power (“control”, Paasi, 2009; “sovereignty”, Gottmann, 1975 or
“appropriation”, Debarbieux) is exercised, one can ask if the EGTC tool favours the emergence of cross-border
territoriality. This contribution will address this question from a twofold perspective. First, being the only legal
framework recognised at EU level and by all member states, it gives to this entity an institutional recognition that
reduces the “institutional ambiguity” (Hajer, 2006) that cross-border institutions usually face. This
institutionalisation is a first step towards the implementation of tasks across borders. Second, territoriality results
in particular from an expression of power in space. The contribution will review if this legal tool favours a
construction and expression of power. Based on expert interviews conducted in the Greater Region Saar-Lor-Lux,
this formal perspective will be contrasted with the interpretation developed by practitioners.
Transnational Cooperation with Macro-Regional Impact: Results and Lessons in the Border Areas of
Hungary, Romania and Serbia
Tamas Gyulai, Regional Innovation Agency (Szeged), Hungary
Raluca Cibu-Buzac, Tehimpluls Association (Timisoara), Romania
Verona Molnar, Development Foundation of Vojvodina (Subotica), Serbia
The cooperation across the border regions of Hungary, Romania and Serbia has been a strategic issue for local
organisations that provide assistance in economic development to local SMEs therefore regional foresight
projects were prepared and transregional action plan was developed and implemented with financial support by
the cross-border cooperation programmes of the European Union. The strategic cooperation was initiated
between the Regional Innovation Agency in Szeged, Hungary and the Tehimpuls Association in Timisoara,
Romania and it was extended to Serbia in bi-lateral cooperative projects over the years.
Results and lessons of the implemented projects can be presented in joint development of R+D infrastructure,
cross-border innovation fair, knowledge transfer in economic development with special focus on regional
57 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia clusters, awareness raising and technology development in biomass utilisation. Some of these projects have
already given the backgound to new cooperative projects on macro-regional or European scale therefore they
might be of direct interest to the participants of the World Conference, as well.
The lessons learned during the implementation of the cooperative actions can be very useful now in the
preparations for the Danube Strategy because the experience of cross-border cooperation can be used now on a
larger scale that covers several countries and the expected impact of the cooperative actions can be even more
visible this way. Presentation of the experience in the HU-RO-SRB area can – hopefully – contribute to the
knowledge sharing between the local actors and stakeholders of the Baltic Strategy and of the Danube Strategy
at the World Conference.
F 48: RE-NEGOTIATING CONTESTED BORDERS
Chair: Sarah Green, University of Helsinki, Finland
Room: AG 106
Date: June 9th 2014
Time: 17:00-18:40
The community border-redefining process in Belgium: to a new state border?
Clotilde Bonfiglioli, Université de Reims, France
The Belgian situation is a relevant case of cultural separation within the context of "global de-bordering". There
are important historical rivalries between the two principal communities in Belgium (Francophones on one side
and Flemish Dutch-speakers on the other) and the clarification of regional and community borders is an on-going
process. The Flemish Dutch-speakers are defending their identity and their territory more than ever and they
seem to exclude any otherness.
Due to the Flemish claims, the sixth State reform in 2011 has split the last bilingual electoral and judicial district of
Belgium. However this event must not be viewed as the end but as another stage of this community borderredefining process. Since October 2013, the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie, the largest political party in Flanders, has
proposed a joint-management of Brussels-Capital, the last bilingual region, by the other two unilingual regions
(the Francophone Wallonia and the Dutch-speaking Flanders).
This shared management of the international bilingual part of Belgium, the Capital city of the European Union,
would finally turn Belgium into two unilingual confederate entities. Therefore the creation of a new State border
in the European Union is today a possibility.
And yet, even on the Flemish side of Belgium, that project faces strong oppositions. This paper will analyze that
opposition in order to understand whether the reinforcement of the regional borders is a prerequisite for the
creation of a new state boundary and / or the climax of community entrenchments at a time of "global debordering".
Contested Borders and Space-building in post-Qadhafi Libya
Antonio Morone, Pavia University, Italy
Post-Qadhafi Libya is experiencing an increasing factionalism and military confrontation. The regime change
brought about the collapse of the special institutional shape of Qadhafi’s Jamahiriya, but the new regime is now a
very fragile State: the central authorities have to daily bargain the power with regional or local actors (militias,
religious groups, qabilas, local councils). The allocation of oil revenue is still the main lever to accommodate the
political and social relations between central authorities and other actors, while regional or sub-regional borders
are more and more exploited to legitimate the claims of those non-State actors. The paper is intended to discuss
the multifaceted processes of minority formation (regional as well as sub-regional levels) in close connection with
the creation or invention of social and human border in Libya after the collapse of Qadhafi’s one single ArabLibyan nation.
Security, Territory, and Cultural Identity in India’s Northeast Frontier
Swargajyoti Gohain, Leiden University, the Netherlands
Tawang on the Northeast frontier of India has been the subject of a protracted border dispute between India and
China. Although the McMahon Line boundary was demarcated between India and the Tibetan part of China by
58 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia British colonial rulers in 1914, China has always disputed the legitimacy of this boundary. Both nations have
deployed massive security forces along the border. On the Indian side, an estimated 4800 Indian troops are
stationed in Tawang alone, an administrative sub-division in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, bordered by the
Tibet Autonomous Region and Bhutan. The large presence of the military troops and their settlements in this
region has changed both the physical and cultural landscape of this region. In this paper, I show how
militarization of this border shapes the project of national integration through both material and cultural
processes, which, in turn reinforce the border rather than lead to a general de-bordering. I also explore local
responses to militarization by looking at new forms of cultural politics among the Monpas, as the ethnic
communities inhabiting this region are collectively called. Struggles between the Indian army and local
population carried out over contesting claims on space and heritage including the right to name local places
indicate how cultural politics are played out in disputed border areas. This paper is based on anthropological
fieldwork conducted in 2008-2010 in Tawang as part of my Ph.D. research in Emory University, USA.
Re-negotiation of space. The case of Polish-German border after 1989
Beata Halicka, University of Adam Mickiewicz in Poznen - European University Viadrina Frankfurt /O
With the shifting of borders in 1945 the Oder region saw an almost complete population exchange, which was a
result of several migration processes. On the both sides of the Oder-Neisse-line new societies have been created
and they were isolated from each other for long time. In spite of the communistic propaganda about the
friendship between Poland and East Germany the boundary remained for most time closed. With opening of the
border two decades ago, a need arose, to establish commonly agreed norms in public and private every day life
across the river. Especially the representatives of communities and organizations have had to re-negotiate not
only their own status with regard to each other, but also their status with regards to the region, the state and its
system.
In my paper I will focus on this re-negotiation of space and how it changed the central narrative amongst the
people from three generations who live in the region on either side of the boundary. The main question refers to
the ways in which the inhabitants locate and identify themselves both explicitly and implicitly in relation to the
space around them. My paper is based on the results of an Oral History project (www.pyrzany-kozaki.eu) carried
out under my direction in 2011, as well as on the analysis of memoirs written by Poles and Germans.
State’s Sovereignty Materialized: An Anthropological Study of a Bi-national Park at the U.S.-Mexico Border
Marko Tocilovac, l'Ecole des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, France
The principal objective of this paper is to discuss how the materializations of an international boundary line come
to transform a geographically and socially marginal location into a central object for the nation-state ongoing
construction. By analyzing the physical barrier put in place at the US-Mexico border, and particularly the San
Diego-Tijuana fence and its recent evolution, the research I propose focuses on the border fence as an expression
of state’s sovereignty and as an element of a larger dispositif that generates both physical restrictions and new
imaginaries. My work analyses a bi-national park situated at the western end of the U.S.-Mexico border -The
Friendship Park- which have been reconfigured by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after the completion of
the triple fence project between San Diego and Tijuana. Its exceptional geographical position, specific
configuration and its multiple uses by different actors shape it as one of the most emblematic places of the U.S.Mexico border area. Based on a series of interviews with the main actors involved in this negotiation regarding
the new configuration of the park, and on an ethnographic work conducted in this location, the anthropological
approach I propose highlights the negotiation logics that led to the re-opening of the Friendship Park, the
practices that take place in this space and the imaginaries generated by this unique materialization of state
sovereignty.
F 49: Contested ‘Citizenship’ in East Asia: Case Study of Japan and Korea
Discussant: Jussi Laine, University of Eastern Finland
Chair: Naomi Chi, Hokkaido University, Japan
Room: AG 102
Date: June 9th, 2014
Time: 17:00-18:40
59 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Western theories of citizenship such as T.H. Marshall (Citizenship and Social Class) refers to citizenship as a civil,
political and social rights, however, such theories provides only a limited insight into East Asian political history.
War, colonialism and authoritarian governments have greatly affected the countries in East Asia, and it is only
recent that social rights have started to be systematically incorporated into the political ideology and
administrative framework of ruling governments. The predominant concern of both the state and citizens were
economic development or material well-being rather than civil liberties. The development state and its politics
took precedence in the very day political process of most East Asian societies.
Citizenship is shaped by social, political, cultural and historical contexts and how it may be molded to serve the
nation state in the age of globalization, while governance relates to all aspects of civic life, including politics,
public policy, administration, civil society and the economy, as well as the core values of society. Citizenship is
also frequently invoked both as an instrument and goal of immigrant integration. Yet, in migration contexts,
citizenship also marks a distinction between members and outsiders based on their different relations to
particular states. A migration perspective highlights the boundaries of citizenship and political control over entry
and exit as well as the fact that foreign residents remain in most countries deprived of core rights of political
participation.
This panel will explore theories and empirical research on the historical and current legal status and political
participation of “migrants” in South Korea and Japan and aim to answer the following questions such as: What are
the links between ‘good governance’ and new forms of citizenship? How do we explain the distinctive features of
governance and citizenship in Asian societies?
Contested Citizenship in East Asia: Migrant Communities in Japan and Korea
Naomi Chi, Hokkaido University, Japan
This paper will consider the concepts of "citizenship" and "community" vis-a-vis the two biggest "foreign"
population in Japan-- the ethnic Zainichi Koreans and Nikkei Brazilians. They are often times subjects of exclusion
or "othering" in Japanese society. The act of othering is a manifestation of power relations, as when people united
as “we” differentiate those united as “they” are may be using a power weapon to delegitimize the other. Often
times, the distinctions are drawn along lines of discrimination and power differences such as gender, ethnicity,
race and class.
Currently approximately 570,000 ethnic Zainichi Koreans (excludes those who have obtained Japanese
nationality) and 275,000 Nikkei Brazilians are living in Japan. Zainichi Koreans’ roots go back to the period of
Japanese colonialism when many “migrated” to Japan, but they lose their Japanese nationality after the war.
Some chose to repatriate to North or South Korea, but many of them who chose to stay needed to integrate to
Japanese society. Nikkei Brazilians return migration started in the 1980s due to the deep and prolonged
economic crisis in Brazil combined with the arrival of the so-called “Japanese miracle. Most came intending
merely to sojourn in Japan, however, some for various reasons have stayed in Japan. Though one is ethnically
Korean and the other Japanese, both have been subject to the act of othering in Japanese society. This paper
examines the historical background, the pressures they experience, and the complexity in their sense of identity.
Borders of the “Korean people” and Reproduction of the Empire’s Logic: Amendment to the Korean
Nationality Law and Dual Nationality
Hyein Han, Kunkuk University, Korea
The destiny of many Korean people was greatly affected by Japanese colonialism. At present, the “legacy” of the
Japanese occupation has left the region with no single term to coin “ethnic Koreans” in the Korean vernacular.
For instance, the people of DPRK are called “Chosun-in” (Chosun refers to DPRK in the Korean language), Chosunjok (refers to the ethnic Koreans in China), Han-in (refers to the ethnic Koreans who “migrated” to Sakhalin during
the Japanese occupation) and Koryo-in (refers to the ethnic Koreans who “migrated” to Central Asia). The
economic development and democratization of the Republic of Korea, or “homeland” has facilitated various
policies for these people; however, this cannot simply be seen in the context of inclusion of the “Korean people”
in the nationalistic sense, but rather in the context of the settlement of the past history of the Japanese imperial
occupation. Such kind of historical settlement has resulted in the cleavage of pro-Japanese and pro-nationalistic
factions caught in the web of the “Empire’s logic.” One of the prime examples of such conflict is the Korean
Nationality Law. More precisely, only certain people who have been affected by the Japanese occupation are now
60 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia permitted to apply for the special status of acquiring dual nationality. This presentation attempts to explore the
range of who is recognized as a “national” in present day Republic of Korea and is the result of the reproduction
of the logic of the Japanese Empire.
Participatory Citizenship and Political Accountability in Overseas Voting System in Korea: Could it vitalize
participatory citizenship across the border?
Sunhyang Lee, Kangwon University, Korea
South Korea enacted a law in 2009 that grants citizens in foreign countries the right to vote in general and
presidential elections. This implementation came in response to a 2007 ruling by the Constitutional Court that
recognized overseas citizens’ rights to vote in their homeland’s elections. About 2.2 million expatriates over the
age of 19 are expected to qualify to vote in the country’s general and presidential election. In the 19th general
election, out of 223 million eligible overseas voters, only 2.5% (56,456 people) took part in the polls. The
governments spent 29.3 billion won ($26 million US dollars) on this programme. To many Koreans living abroad,
it is difficult to participate in elections as such diplomatic offices are usually far away from their residences.
This paper aims to discuss the meaning of participatory citizenship in the process of democratization since 1987,
and also vis-à-vis the political accountability and the political ripple effect of the overseas voting system in Korea.
Thus far, 92 countries have already granted overseas voting rights. One of the questions this paper will attempt to
answer is whether in Korea, the overseas voting system could/would become an institutional venue for
participatory citizenship across the border.
Contested Citizenship, Social Rights and East Asian Community: Prospects and Challenges
Shinchul Lee, Kangwon University, Korea
This presentation will attempt to explore the possibility of and challenges to the creation of the East Asian
Community and how that affects the notion of “citizenship” and social rights in East Asia. The discussion on East
Asian Community cannot avoid but start from the Japanese Empire and its occupation. For example for Korea,
the occupation resulted in the division of two Koreas and thus the creation of the East Asian Community cannot
be separated from unification of the two Koreas and peace-building.
One of the major factors that are hindering the building of the East Asian Community is the historical problems
that the region faces. The recent clashes on territorial issues, the on-going textbook problem, as well as the acute
rise in nationalism all stem from the deep-rooted historical conflicts amongst the countries in East Asia.
Furthermore, the issue of “contested” citizenship and social rights is significantly challenged by the historical
problems and issues in East Asia. Moreover, the issue of North Korea cannot be ignored when discussing about
East Asian Community.
In order to illustrate one of the challenges this presentation attempts to examine the issue of North Korean
defectors to South Korea – their nationality, identity and their rights – and explore the implications for the
creation of the East Asian Community.
F 50: AFRICAN RESPONSES TO GLOBAL TRENDS OF RE-BORDERING
Chair: Werner Zips, University of Vienna, Austria
Discussant: Manuela Zips-Mairitsch, University of Vienna, Austria
Room: C2
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:20
Overcoming Borders Through Sister-City Twinning: An Evolutionary Historical Perspective on Europe,
North America and Africa
Anthony Ijaola Asiwaju, African Regional Institute, Imeko, Nigeria
This presentation stands on a growing literature in comparative borderlands history, recently show-cased in the
contributions by the author and Paul Nugent in A Companion To Border Studies (Wiley-Backwell, 2012). More
specifically, it seeks re-order the argument in Nugent’s particularly illuminating article, “Border Towns and Cities
in Comparative Perspective”, from its high level abstraction, in direction of more practical policy proposition.
61 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Borrowing from Raimondo Strassoldo’s ‘evolutionary historical’ schema (see chapter in Borderlands in Africa,
University of Lagos Press, 1989), which has positioned Europe as the region of the oldest and most evolved
nation-state territories and boundaries and Africa as one for the most recent formations, with North America inbetween, the paper proposes a sister-city twinning that maximizes mutual people-oriented interaction and offers
attractions for a pro-active learning from one another’s history and on-going experiences.
Originally presented at the 1986 Annual Conference of the then Association of Borderlands Scholars at Reno,
NEVADA, U.S.A., the paper is situated within the literature on the Paris-based United Towns Organisation (UTO) or
the Federation Mondiale des Villes Jumelles Cites Unies (FMVJ). The narrative is focused on Bocholt, renowned
German Border town on the frontier with Holland and one of the best-practice Euregios in the European Union; El
Paso, Texas, the largest and best known of the famous U.S.-Mexico border twin-cities in the U.S; and Imeko, the
author’s own well known Nigerian border town on the boundary with Benin in West Africa.
The KAZA project: Integration or Alienation?
Lieneke Eloff de Visser, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
On 15 March 2012 the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Trans Frontier Conservation Area (TFCA) was launched. Roughly
the size of France, KAZA is situated in the Okavango and Zambezi river basins and encompasses parts of Angola,
Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Approximately two million people and a rich diversity of wildlife live
inside its boundaries. An ambitious project of regional integration, KAZA is meant to facilitate annual wildlife
migration and predator/prey cycles across international borders. Its launch was hailed by dignitaries from the five
host countries as a milestone that would benefit all people of the region, and the mantra ‘socio-economic
development through tourism’ was repeatedly invoked. As a project of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC), KAZA enjoys international support from organisations such as the World Bank, WWF and the
German government.
While international borders have been opened to wildlife, they remain resolutely closed to humans. Four months
after the launch ceremony two men from the Caprivi in Namibia crossed the Chobe river to Botswana, where they
were shot and killed by members of the BDF (Botswana Defence Force). According to Botswana officials the men
were poachers who opened fire first. Namibian officials announced an investigation into the incident. Both sides
emphasized ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, and their wish to settle the matter
peaceably. Seemingly, such avowals of neighbourly love were not shared by people of the region. According to
local press reports the two Caprivians were merely checking their fishing nets, and the Caprivi Regional Youth
Forum accused the BDF of random shootings and killing over 30 Namibians without an attempt at arrest. Mutual
acrimony accelerated when Botswana citizens staunchly defended the BDF shootings and accused Namibians of
poaching and destroying Botswana’s resources. Namibians in turn accused Batswanas of valuing animals more
than human life.
The five states purportedly have joined hands in the economic interest of their borderland populations, and as
wildlife is the vital element in this enterprise, they increasingly present a united front in the struggle against
poachers. An important feature is to create awareness of wildlife’s value among local communities. As the
aftermath of the BDF shooting shows, people of the region have indeed adopted a discourse of ownership with
regard to local wildlife, but in contrast to the show of unity by their respective governments, this finds expression
through fierce condemnation of poachers who are identified as coming from ‘the other side’. The paper argues
that the KAZA project illustrates how (partial) regional integration – opening borders in some respects, but
keeping them closed in others – may signal increased cooperation and integration at the state level, but may
inadvertently lead to alienation and opposition in local settings.
Questioning the artificiality of the Senegalo-Gambian boundary
Caroline Roussy, Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, France
The purpose here will be to question the building of the discourse of the artificiality of the Senegalo-Gambian
boundary, following recent developments made by Camille Lefebvre. To begin with the cold war and its end had
no impact on this discourse which, from the colonial period till nowadays, had been the most widespread one.
Unless Paul Nugent, most scientific researches remain convinced of the artificiality – not to say of the absurdity –
of this boundary assuming there is one Senegambian people: most apparently ethnic groups and families are the
same from one side to the other side of the boundary. But I'll show that this discourse inherited from the colonial
period has been appropriated by the anti-colonist to support an integration of Senegal and the Gambia.
62 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The roots of this discourse were French and appeared as the same time as its drawing on a map in 1889. Despite
the fact that their home country government did make this decision, the French colonial administrators acting on
the ground could not understand its logics. Indeed, they had so little impact on its management that, most of the
time, they had no option but observe the movements of goods and populations crossing it. Hence in their
representations, fixed both by the cartography of the Senegalese colony and by the one of ethnic groups (see
Edouard de Martonne), appeared the idea of the absurdity of this boundary, with a view to support an exchange
of the Gambia.
But still remain the question: did the European boundary divide African territories or ethnic groups? Once again
the cartography of these realms (distorted by a westphalian approach) will be considered misleading. Conversely
to a classic historiography, I'll show that African leaders did take part in the demarcation of this boundary. An
argument that once again nuance the option of the artificiality of this boundary.
If, schematically, the colonialist and the anti-colonialist discourses converge on their analyses – although their
motivations clearly differ – still their arguments remain questionable.
A relational reproduction of practices at the border and centre: Reimaging Beitbridge border post and
Johannesburg inner city
Inocent Moyo, University of South Africa, South Africa
Regarded not only as a line that divides South Africa and Zimbabwe to illuminate the interiority and exteriority of
these countries, the Beitbridge border post is viewed as having a life whose central nervous system is the
immigration debates and dynamics at the heart of the nation state of South Africa. Consequently, based on an
eighteen month in - depth interview study of how African immigrants are treated at this border, and in
Johannesburg inner city, this paper argues that the harassment, humiliation and depersonalisation suffered at
the hands of border officials who include the immigration officials, army and police by African immigrants
represented by Ethiopians, Somalis and Zimbabweans among others is indicative of a larger dynamic that exists
in the centre which is represented by Johannesburg inner city. Therefore the symbolic inscription 'unwanted
African immigrant', which greats the African immigrants at the Beitbridge border heralds what happens to and
how they are regarded and treated in their final destination - Johannesburg inner city. Hence, this paper extends
literature on and consolidates debates around borders and borderlands and especially argue that the marginality
of the Beitbridge border is only geographical in that the generative outcomes at the border are a microsm of how
the South African nation state view, perceive and treat African immigrants.
F 51: SECONDARY FOREIGN POLICY – LOCAL INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: CAN LOCAL CROSS BORDER
COOPERATION FUNCTION AS A TOOL TO PEACE-BUILDING AND RECONCILIATION IN BORDER REGIONS?
Discussant: Dorte Jagetic Andersen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Chair: Birte Wassenberg or Martin Klatt
Room: AU 100
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:20
In the Westphalian State system, foreign policy was in principle an exclusive domain of the sovereign (nation-)
state. In the post-Cold War era, this seems to have changed fundamentally. In Western Europe, from the 1960’s,
local and regional political and non-political actors have challenged the state’s monopoly on Foreign Policy by
people-to-people grassroots activities across borders. These have developed into more sophisticated crossborder institutions as euroregions, eurodistricts and European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation. In Europe,
these cross-border regions function as policy entrepreneurs in a system of multilevel governance implementing
EU border region policies.
In other areas of the world, the idea of the sovereign nation state has been more a shallow copy of European
practice than physical reality. Recentluy, infrastructure development and state consolidation have created rebordering, assessing factual centralized control and thus division of hitherto functionally united cross-border
zones in some areas, whereas conflicts of various kinds have destabilized and anarchized the state system in
other areas, creating new forms of civil society not based on (nation-) state structures.
63 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia In our panel, we would like to examine whether it is justified to characterize cross-border regions as peace
builders and contributors to de-bordering and integration on a people to people level, or whether cross-border
cooperation actually reproduces the legitimacy and authority of the nation state by asserting differences. We
included papers looking at the global in the local, on how local, “international” activities, practices and
institutions contribute to de- and/or re-bordering practices in different areas of the world.
The contribution of cross-border cooperation to reconciliation, peace and stability in Europe: a historical
perspective
Birte Wassenberg, Université de Strasbourg, France
Cross-border cooperation has been identified a tool for peace-building in Europe since the beginning of WestEuropean integration, while cross-border reconciliation at the Eastern borders was soon hampered by the
beginning of the cold war and did not begin before the 1990s. Then, the Council of Europe discovered the
possibility to use cross-border cooperation as an instrument for fostering democratic stability in Europe. The
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities developed a number of legal and political tools in order to ensure the
stability of European borders, especially by tackling diverse border problems such as minority questions, human
trafficking or the difficult management of natural and energy resources.
Since the introduction of the Interreg programs in the early 1990s, the European Commission has focused on the
internal effects of cross-border cooperation as a means of attaining territorial cohesion within the EU. It was thus
only when the European Neighbouring Policy was defined in 2004, that the idea was developed to use crossborder relations as a “micro-diplomacy” tool in order to stabilize external borders between EU and non-EU states.
This paper will emphasize the historical development of the function of cross-border cooperation as a peacebuilding and stabilizing instrument: from reconciliation processes in specific border regions after World War II
towards a multilateral approach of cross-border cooperation as a tool of “micro-diplomacy” used today by the
Council of Europe and the EU, the changing “place” of cross-border cooperation in International Relations will be
shown.
Beyond the nation states? Local paradiplomacy in the German-Polish border regions
Elzbieta Opilowska, University of Wroclaw, Poland
After the fall of communism in 1989 the German-Polish border no longer represented the dividing line between
West and East. Instead, it slowly became a bridge in the reconciliation process between the two neighbors. From
the beginning of Poland’s accession to the European Community, the aim of national and also regional policy was
a “return to Europe”. With the introduction of territorial and administrative reform in Poland the regional and
local governments gained more autonomy in developing transborder relations with foreign partners. The crossborder cooperation (CBC) is often considered by border regions as a way to overcome theirs status as peripheries.
The legal, financial, and ideological instruments of Europeanization (Radaelli 2003) are important catalysts for the
transformation of borderlands. Substate actors can conduct paradiplomacy in cooperation with national
governments or bypassing them. Using the concept of horizontal Europeanization, this paper aims to examine
actors, structures and tools of CBC developed in the German-Polish borderlands, their correlations with bilateral
policy at the state level and their impact on the grassroots cooperation.
Para-, proto-, secondary diplomacy, Nebenaußenpolitik – border regions’ international activities within
multi-level governance and cross-border integration: European and North American approaches
Martin Klatt, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Regions in Europe and North America are exceedingly engaged in international activities, which traditionally
were considered reserved for the sovereign state. Political science has dubbed these activities para-diplomacy,
constituent diplomacy or proto-diplomacy.
On the local level, so-called euroregions (Euregios, working groups) have been established across virtually all
European borders. Euroregions as instrument of cross-border governance and integration have been examined
by a wide field of scholars, acknowledging their role in facilitating cross-border cooperation, implementing
projects, but also acknowledging their often limited opportunities in promoting actual integration, their limited
public visibility and their inhabitants’ widespread ignorance of their existence.
My paper will, based on many years of research on the Danish-German border region and field studies taken in
British Columbia, Canada, in autumn 2013, look deeper into the peace-building and reconciliation aspect of local
64 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia cross-border cooperation. While this was definitely an intended aim in the Danish-German context, at first sight
there appears to be no necessity of a reconciliation or peace-building approach in the US-Canadian context.
Surprisingly, mechanisms used and policies employed in both contexts are quite similar: networks (both
governmental and non-governmental), cross-border institutions on different levels, and in the long run regional
development, lobbying with national governments and easing border barriers have turned out as the central
content of cross-border cooperation, while more idealistic goals of cross-border integration and the abolishment
of the border apparently have remained outside the Realpolitik of cross-border political and non-political agency.
Borderfare in the Making: Mobility and Security in North America
Bruno Dupeyron, University of Regina, Canada
Through the historical evolution of mobility and security in the Canada-US and US-Mexico border spaces, one
should witness different modes of regulation, integration and relegation, not only of people and goods, but also
of territories. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s analysis, I argue that while each (federal) state saw its national
territory as an ideal city-state, the city-state now is not national anymore, which has redefined what the national
territory and its borderlands are meant to be in this new global context. In this vein, legal and illegal networks of
cross-border cooperation are re- and/or productive of specific actors’ representations, practices and policy issues
in North America. These cross-border networks may, at the same time, elude existing borders and give rise to new
ones, generating peaceful and/or violent relations. Besides, focusing on mobility and security in borderlands
incites to examine the intersectionality of class, ethnicity, gender and age, which contribute to shape what I call a
model of ‘borderfare’. The goal of this model is to analyze diverse configurations of conviviality and resilience of
everyday life in border areas, in spite of the violence engendered by states and criminal organizations; a
secondary objective is to supplement studies on workfare and prisonfare.
La coopération interafricaine entre préoccupation sécuritaire et ambitions de développement : l’exemple
de la coopération Maghreb- Afrique subsaharienne
Saïda Latmani, Université Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Morocco
Les dynamiques actuelles tendent à démontrer l’importance de la coopération dans la recherche du
développement. De plus en plus d’Etats sont convaincus que le canal de la coopération demeure l’outil
indéniable pour assurer une prospérité économique, sociale et politique. Parce qu’elle est un facteur
d’intégration, de promotion de développement, la coopération est devenue une pratique étatique généralisée.
Plus que tout autre espace, la coopération en Afrique bien que récente, est en pleine mutation. En effet, sa
pratique reste tributaire d’un ensemble de difficultés limitant sa promotion. (difficultés organisationnelles,
lourdeurs administrative, etc..). Ceci explique pourquoi l’Afrique reste l’une des régions du monde les moins
intégrées. Ce qui du reste devrait renforcer et reconsidérer l’importance et le rôle de la coopération.
L’Afrique, en dépit de nombreux défis et difficultés (instabilité politique, conflits etc.) présente un bilan en
matière de coopération assez diversifiée. Entre les régions d’Afrique, la coopération est un enjeu majeur. C’est le
cas notamment entre les régions Maghreb et l’Afrique subsaharienne. A l’instar des autres régions d’Afrique, le
Maghreb et l’Afrique subsaharienne possèdent des liens séculaires, historiques, culturels et religieux forts
donnant lieu à une pluralité des actions de coopération multiforme (culturelle, économique, politique, sociale
etc..).
A cet effet, quel regard peut-on porter sur les expériences de coopérations entre le Maghreb et l’Afrique
subsaharienne? Comment se manifeste cette coopération dans l’exemple du Maroc et l’Afrique subsaharienne?
Quels sont les grands défis à révéler et comment peut-on faire de cette coopération un facteur d’intégration
entre les pays?
F 52: FADING BOUNDARIES AND BLENDING OPPOSITIONS IN RUSSIAN CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE:
LOTMAN’SSEMIOTIC THEORY OF SPACE REVISITED
Chair: Maija Könönen, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: AU 101
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:00
65 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The panel reconsiders Yuri Lotman’s semiotic theory of space by examining its basic postulates about oppositions
and boundaries as the basic formative categories of “Russian space” through examples from contemporary
Russian literature that seems to pose a challenge to Lotman’s well-known ideas and concepts.
“Can All People Swim?” Swimming in Contemporary Russian Literary Texts
Arja Rosenholm, University of Tampere, Finland
When reading contemporary Russian literature, what emerges is the feeling of a special “water culture”, with
water becoming a sign surface representing various psychological changes and social values. In this paper I will
focus on water as an imaginary space which includes both pleasure and pain, and desire and fear; and especially
as a space of ambiguity with a dual syntax of life and death. The contact with water to be studied is carried out
and experienced by a swimmer: the paper discusses some contemporary texts which deal with swimming (such
as Varlamov’s “Vse ljudi umejut plavat”, Griškovets’ “Reki” and Vasilenko’s “Duročka”). It seems that, as swimming
obeys the desire for courage, as well as delivering joy and pleasure, it also accumulates ambivalent dualities. The
element of water – be it a lake, river or swimming pool – can be interpreted as the topological figure of a
boundary, which, according to Yuri Lotman’s idea, is the primary space of semioticizing processes both for
individuals and typologies of cultural collectives. The hypothesis is that water, as an ambivalent space in these
texts, accentuates the de-constructing relation to the dominant binary construction of the world, as well as
emphasizing the transformative potential of the border crossing. This would mean that water, as experienced by
the swimmer, is rather a hybrid zone of contact where the swimmer keeps on moving. The paper aims at
highlighting actual cultural divisions made by the aquatic boundaries in contemporary literature and film, and
asks how the swimmers themselves feel while entering and being in the water. Do they enjoy it, or/and fear it?
What does the swimmer find in him/herself while swimming?
Journeying through Russian Space
Maija Könönen, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
The paper addresses the theme of the traveling/wandering hero in Russian literature. The hero’s journey over
space has a long tradition in Russian literature starting from Radishchev’s famous travel from St. Petersburg to
Moscow. Gogol’s wanderings of Chichikov, Leskov’s enchanted wanderer and Venichka, the alter ego of Venedikt
Yerofeev in ”Moscow- Petushki” testify to the strength of the tradition. In contemporary Russian literature the
poetics of Russian space and movement in space with various border-crossings play a central role in the
construction of the plot line as well as in describing the main protagonist. Natalya Klyucharyova’s novel ”A Train
Named Russia” provides an example of a follower of the tradition. The main protagonist Nikita of the novel and
his journey over today’s Russian space is investigated within the former tradition and the so-called new realism in
Russian contemporary writing. The poetics of the Russian space as rendered by Klyucharyova are examined in the
framework of Yuri Lotman’s semiotic theory of space. During his horizontal journey in the real everyday space
Nikita is acquainted with life stories of his compatriots. Apart from traveling in geographical space, however, he is
also a spiritual discoverer, a pilgrim in Lotman’s terms, who is capable of accomplishing a vertical journey down
and up symbolic space. This transcendental space is embodied textually through the logic of transference and
metaphor.
Liminality in Contemporary Russian Fiction
Marja Sorvari, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
The paper focuses on literary representations of boundary, or, “in-between” spaces in contemporary Russian
fiction. These liminal spaces – understood as dynamic spaces of ambiguity, change, and hybridity – are studied
through close-reading of texts by contemporary writers such as Elena Chizhova (“Vremja ženčšin”) and Dina
Rubina (“Na solnečnoj storone ulicy”), among others, where the narrative (memorizing) subjects are located inbetween spaces (own and foreign, life and death, past and future, faith and reason). In the vein of Victor Turner’s
theory on liminality, as well as Yuri Lotman’s ideas on the semiotic boundary, the hypothesis is that the meaning
of liminality (liminal characters and spaces) is in its representation of symbolic values in opposition to (political)
power and violence. On the other hand, according to Lotman the semiotic boundary is twofold: it functions both
as a force of division and connection. It is a border with something and consequently it belongs to two bordering
cultures, two bordering semiospheres. The purpose of this paper is to clarify, what the representations of
66 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia boundary spaces tell about the formation of the narrative (memorizing) subjects in the context of contemporary
Russian culture: how do they solve the problem of existing “in-between”?
F 53: SOCIAL MEDIA, BARRIERS, AND ROBOPROCESSES: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ROUNDTABLE ON
RESEARCH METHODS FOR POST-COLD WAR BORDERS
Chair: Miguel Diaz-Barriga, The University of Texas-Pan American, USA
Room: AU 102
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:00
At a global level, nation-states attend to the contradictory processes that define post-Cold War borders, including
increased fluidity and securitization, by developing new surveillance technologies, building monumental barriers,
and hardening the binaries of insider/outsider, citizen/non-citizen, and patriot/enemy. At the same time, border
residents employ social media and other modes of communication both to exert control over border regions, for
example in the case of smugglers, and to navigate through and avoid violence and border security measures. In
this roundtable, we propose research methods for understanding how the state and border residents engage
new technologies to contain and engage the contradictions of post-Cold War borders. What are the new
methodologies that border researchers are developing for understanding the technological transformations and
security measures that define contemporary borders? How are the proliferation of social media, surveillance
technologies, and roboprocesses (protocols that automatically conscript social actors into binaries) reshaping the
experiences of border residents?
Research Methods and Research Experiences on the Eastern U.S.-Mexico Border (Texas-Tamaulipas):
Paramilitarization of Organized Crime, Extreme Violence and Social Media
Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, The University of Texas at Brownsville, USA
The present article describes a research experience in one of the most dangerous regions of Mexico in the past
few years, the Tamaulipas border with Texas, where the Mexican state and two violent organized crime groups,
the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas, continue an incredibly violent battle to control the territory, making use of high
caliber weapons and paramilitary tactics. Such an experience leads to the discovery of new research methods due
to the fact that the traditional methods cannot be utilized in a high-risk situation for social researchers, formal
media and the civil society in general. This presentation describes new forms to access and process information
through social media and the so-called “collaborative citizen journalism.” I describe how I conducted fieldwork in
this very violent border region as a citizen journalist/reporter committed to the right to information and freedom
of expression. In doing so I helped pioneer the use of social media to report situations of risk in Tamaulipas.
Research Methods for Exceptional Borders: Border Wall Architecture and Cultural Theory
Miguel Diaz-Barriga, The University of Texas-Pan American, USA
“State of Exception” is a popular way for scholars to characterize the militarization of border regions. At the same
time, cultural theorists frame these regions as an “exceptional” site not only in terms of conflict and violence but
also of resistance. In this presentation, I explore these dual meanings of exception—both as a policy mechanism
for border militarization and as theory for border culture—through an analysis of border walls and their
architecture. Does the state of exception constructed by policymakers displace the exceptional border crafted by
cultural theorists? What are the methodological issues that emerge in understanding border regions in terms of
these dual meanings of exception? How can one best study global exchanges over the designs of border barriers
and the local resistances and/or alternatives offered by community groups and architects?
Roboprocesses and Border Security:Surveillance and Data Management on the U.S. Mexican Border
Margaret Dorsey, The University of Texas-Pan American, USA
This presentation explores the multiple ways in which national and state law enforcement agencies partner with
industry to construct, on the U.S. Mexico border, interlocking surveillance nets that are managed through a series
of roboprocesses (protocols that automatically conscript social actors into binaries). These surveillance net links
67 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia visual data from predator drones, video observation of the Rio Grande River (the official international boundary),
and information gathered from license plate readers and other cameras at internal check points with a wide-array
of data storage and management capabilities aimed at enhancing border security. Through an analysis of border
security proposals and hearings, both at the state and national levels, I explore the multiple ways in which border
residents are enmeshed in security-based roboprocesses that generate wider possibilities for monitoring and
control. I specifically focus on the ways in which border security experts depoliticize security roboprocesses by
focusing on the technical aspects of managing visual inputs and big data with issues related to sharing data
generated from local, state, and national law-enforcement agencies. What are the methodological possibilities for
studying the new forms of software, surveillance technologies and roboprocesses that now guide border security
efforts, not only in the U.S. but globally? How can scholars conceptualize and study the ways that borderlanders
“thread” such roboprocesses?
Art of Research: Methods and Experiences in Crossborder Contexts
Tony Payan, Rice University’s Baker Institute, USA
The members of the Research Group #83 of the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (UACJ), Border Studies,
are currently putting together a book--El Arte de la Investigación: Métodos y Experiencias en Contextos
Transfronterizos (The Art of Research: Methods and Experiences in Crossborder Contexts)--on research
experiences in crossborder contexts, particularly in regard to methods and methodology. This presentation
delves into various question that arise surrounding practices of social science research in the borderlands such as:
To what extent are new research methods needed for understanding the various contradictions at borders
including increased fluidity and securitization? How can scholars research violence at borders and illegal activities
including drug smuggling and human trafficking? And, how are researchers developing new methodologies to
study a range of processes that are increasingly impacting borders including social media, data flows, and
surveillance technologies?
F 54: THE CHALLENGE OF CITY-TWINNING: TRANSCENDING THE BORDERS OF THE ORDINARY
Chair: Jarosław Jańczak, European University Viadrina, Germany and Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland
Room: AU 206
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:00
The alleged similitude and we-ness of twin cities defies the divisive nature of national borders and provides them
with a rather ambiguous nature. The constitutive logic is not one of opposition and their both/and quality breaks
with the various dualities, hierarchies, opposites and clear-cut divisive distinctions generally crucial for the
ordering of political space. Twinning thus stands against the background of ordinary border-drawing premised
on various binaries for something inauspicious and polluting but it may also be viewed as formative as well as
productive in nature in bringing about new constellations. The papers presented explore various cases of citytwinning, the discourses waged, constitutive moves applied as well as the development of twinning over time.
Moreover, the aim is also one of relating city-twinning to other border-transcending departures and processes in
order to be able add to the conceptual and theoretical framing of twinning.
Revised boundaries and re-frontierization: Border twin towns in Central Europe
Jarosław Jańczak, European University Viadrina and Adam Mickiewicz University, Germany and Poland
The aim of the paper is to investigate the dynamics of border changes in Central Europe after the collapse of
communism. It was achieved by analyzing the interactions of border twin towns. This micro-perspective was
applied to three borders in Central Europe (German – Polish, Slovak – Hungarian and Romanian – Bulgarian), and
five town couples. The main observation of the author is that post-war boundarization was followed by refrontierization attempts after 1989, initiated in both top-down and bottom-up processes, due to the central and
local impulses presented above. The numerous outcomes of this process were, however, possible only during the
period of border enthusiasm – a period where political, economic and social transformation, assisted by the strong
political will of the parties involved, allowed the border reality to be reshaped, being inspired by peaceful
68 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia collaboration principle and borderless world myth. As many of the desired cross-border goals have already been
achieved, the re-frontierization tendency slowed down or even stopped after 2004/2007.
Exercises in Marginality, Liminality and Hybridity: Theorizing City-Twinning
Pertti Joenniemi, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Twin cities stand out as sites of contestation in domesticating the international and internationalizing the
domestic. They bridge and break with the various binary distinctions that in general define social life and the
construction of political space. In theorizing city-twinning the paper departs from that twinning has changed
significantly in nature over time, and hence the departure applied leans on the use of marginality, liminality as
well as hybridity as conceptual and analytical inroads allowing for a separation between the different forms that
twinning has taken over time. It is also noted that there exists variations in the politicalness of city-twinning with
some forms being explicitly political in endeavouring at challenging the politics pursued by states particularly in
the sphere of security-related issues whereas the more recent forms tend to be post-political rather than political
in nature in focusing predominantly on networking and economic issues. In general, cities engaging in twinning
figure as entities that are less exceptional than they used to be and stand instead out as part of broader bordertrancending processes constitutive of political space and an international system different from the traditional
one. This change should, the paper argues, also be reflected in the efforts of theorizing city-twinning.
Are IR theories applicable to the city-twinning phenomenon?
Alexander Sergunin, St. Petersburg State University, Russia
City-twinning has become a wide-spread phenomenon in Europe over the last two-three decades. City-twinning
is usually examined in the context of disciplines, such as political and economic geography, economics (microeconomics or regional planning), management, history and even cultural studies. Can this phenomenon be
properly studied by IR theory or should it be left for the less theoretical and more applied disciplines? In
addressing this question, my paper aims at explaining how various IR paradigms (such as geopolitics, neorealism,
neoliberalism, globalism and post-positivism) tried to explain the emergence and nature of city-twinning in the
post-Cold War Europe and what future for this phenomenon they predict.
Limits to communication? Spatial proximity and social distance in divided border towns
Thomas Lundén, Södertörn University, Sweden
Twinning of divided border towns has been tried for several decades, but it is usually a top-to-down affair
financed by non-local agents. The social effects in terms of cross-border interaction have only been studied to a
very limited extent, and there is a lack of relevant theory concerning social spatial behavior in and across
territorial peripheries. This presentation will examine a number of North European border twin cities in terms of
the intended, attained and unexpected social and spatial effects of various forms of twinning.
City-twining within the governance approach
Ekaterina Mikhailova, Higher School of Economics, Russia
Following the interpretation of twin-cities as a special object of governance and a tool of territorial development,
the paper will examine elaboration of managerial analysis of twining process. Performed investigation allowed
the author to employ collective efficacy as both one of primary aims of city-twinning and a catalyst factor of
twinning success.
Described conceptual framework is applied to the exploration of three border city pairs along Russian border
which call themselves twin-cities – Nikel-Kirkenes on Russian-Norwegian border, Svetogorsk-Imatra on RussianFinnish border and Blagoveshchensk-Heihe on Russian-Chinese border.
Although in all case studies collaboration process has started before the end of the Cold War, the overall
character of interaction between border cities in question was substantially influenced by that event. The paper
will present how far the dialog among twin-cities with participation of Russian cities has progressed and what
caused the evolutionary steps.
The City-Twinning process in the Norwegian-Russian borderland: The Case of Kirkenes-Nickel
Peter Haugseth, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, Norway
69 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia This paper is considering the city- twinning process between the border towns, Nickel (RU) and Kirkenes (NO)
situated in the northernmost part of Europe. During the twin city development process two towns have been
spoken into existence just as the Barents region were two decades before the twinning process started. The
Norwegian government initiated the Barents region with the pretence of regional contact between peoples
living in the region. This line of thought can be seen when the Norwegian ministry of foreign affairs challenged
the Mayor of Sør-Varanger municipality in 2008 with the task to establish Twin City collaboration with Pechenga
municipality and Nickel. This was a top down initiative which redefined the regions existence. A political narrative
turned into a social discourse crossing borders and changing the mind-set of the industrial town’s quite different
reality. The on- going twinning process has tied the Norwegian- Russian borderland closer together and recent
events in Nickel expressed new commitment to the agreement by the governor of Murmansk Oblast (RU).
F 55: MIGRATION, ETHNICITY AND ECONOMY IN POST-SOVIET SPACE
Chair: Randy Widdis, University of Regina, Canada
Room: AU 209
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:20
Socioeconomic mechanism in the determination of migration destination under globalization: A study of
Filipino worker inflows to Japan between 1980 and 2010
John XXV Paragas Lambino, Kyoto University, Japan
The paper discusses the case of Filipino worker inflows to Japan. It analyses how the requirements of the
destination country determine the occupational type of foreign workers by looking at the case of Overseas
Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Japan and focusing on the changes in their occupational structure between 1980 and
2010. The paper then analyses the effect of socio-political circumstances as well as policy trends in both the
Philippines and Japan on the occupational structure of Japan OFWs.
Previous researches indicate that the movement of Americans to the Philippine Islands has fuelled the opposite
movement of people from the Philippine Islands to the United States. Similarly, the paper hypothesizes that the
movement (i.e., visit) of Japanese to the Philippines may have an effect on the movement of Filipinos to Japan.
Furthermore, the paper hypothesizes that the socioeconomic requirements of the destination country largely
determine the occupational type of incoming workers. Lastly, the paper hypothesis that the reorganization of
domestic regional economies under globalization has an effect on the occupational structure of Japan OFWs by
giving it a regional character.
The paper is organized as follows. Section 1 discusses the socioeconomic background in the Philippines that
stimulated Filipino inflows to Japan by looking at its inter-linkages with the movement of people, goods and
capital from Japan. Section 2 discusses how the transforming socioeconomic circumstances in Japan have
stimulated further inflow of Filipino workers and the shift in the occupational structure of Japan OFWs.
'Here One Moment...And Gone the Next?' Remittances as a Social Visibility Tool
Hani Zubida, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Israel
Robin Harper, York College CUNY
In many developing countries human labor is as much an export as any good and expected remittances are
critical sources of income for the families and communities left behind. Migrants become essentially “invisible”
for the family left behind: neither present in daily lives nor permanently absent. This condition is mirrored for the
migrant abroad: neither a permanent part of the receiving community nor separate from it. In this paper, based
on our work with temporary labor migrants in Israel, we explore this migrant-family dynamic and the invisibility
of temporary labor migrants. Our research reveals that remittances play a critical role in helping immigrants
bridge borders between their experiences in the receiving state and their relations with the sending state.
Building on the literature on remittance motivations, we argue that remittances can serve as a remedy for the
phenomenon of 'invisibility' that some migrants experience, yielding economic and social benefits for both
migrants and the families they left behind. Unlike current literature that considers the decision to remit funds as a
static decision, our findings reveal how remittances decisions change over time, including ceasing remitting.
70 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia These findings have implications for understanding long-term rationales for remittances, a multibillion-dollar
foreign exchange industry, and for immigrant incorporation.
Intersection of Economy, Ethnicity and Gender on Borderlands: the Case of Turkey-Georgia Border
Latife Akyuz, Middle East Technical University, Turkey
This paper focuses on the economic, social, and cultural transformation process in Hopa border region with the
existence of the Sarp border gate and the changes in its status. In this study, ‘changes in status’ signifies the rigid
closing down of the Sarp border gate in 1937 and the re-opening of this border in 1988. We have taken Hopa as a
case because its multiethnic structure and changes in status of the Sarp border gate allow us to discuss
economic, social and cultural effects of borders on different ethnic groups and genders. This study based on the
qualitative research conducted in the town of Hopa in the Turkey-Georgia border region. The most fundamental
argument of the paper is that border regions have economic activities that are specific to these regions and the
form of participation of ethnic groups and genders in these activities shapes the dynamics of social and cultural
life. The field study which has been build around this argument raises questions on the socio-economic
relationships as well as family and kinship relations involving two ethnic groups, Lazis and Hemshins.
Saddling up the Border: Nomads within the Russia-China-Mongolia Frontier Space
Sayana Namsaraeva, University of Cambridge, UK
Nomadic peoples in disputed frontier land in-between Russia and China have been the subjects of diverse
colonial politics from both sides. How did they make choices concerning on which side to live ? How they
changed allegiance and became subjects of the rival neighboring state ? In my presentation I intend to show
how groups of frontier nomads divided between Russian Transbaikal region and neighboring Chinese Hulun Buir
tried to keep their ethnic space across the Russia-China borderline over centuries, and the consequences of the
drawing of a strict separating line upon their present day identities.
‘Opening’ of the borders for human movement due to improved China-Russia international relations once again
allowed frontier nomads to reshape their ethnic boundaries and to revive their common historical memory. Thus
as the result nowadays many of them (for example, Barga Mongols, Buriads, Ewenkis, Khamnigans, Daurs and
others) tend to view themselves as transborder ethnic groups despite the pressure of the nation building political
agenda in the countries of their citizenship.
Moreover, my presentation also focuses on the new tendencies, that urbanization of the China border regions
pushed frontier nomads from their pastures and they have to look for new economic opportunities either in
China or across the border. Some of them joined newly emerged social groups affiliated with the Russia-China
and China-Mongolia border trade (e.g. ‘camels’, ‘herders’, ‘helpers’ etc.) and regional tourism. I will argue that
despite changing dominance of the Russian and Chinese states and various economic and political negotiation of
the border space, frontier nomads continued to treat the region as a single, undivided space. Presentation is
based on rich historical data, oral histories and my recent fieldwork in the region.
F 56: CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION IN EUROPE I
Chair: Elisabetta Nadalutti, Université du Luxenbourg, Luxembourg
Room: AU 210
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:20
First Steps Towards a Theoretical Reflection about the Production of Cross-border Space
Frédéric Durand, CEPS / INSTEAD, Luxembourg
The presentation will focus on the production of cross-border space. The idea is to confront the current scientific
thinking on space and territory on one side, with the one on border on the other side. The objective is to expose a
theoretical reflection on the production of cross-border space in order to catch its complexity and to analyze how
it is structured. A conceptual framework has been designed to grasp this research question. It reveals on one
hand, that different contextual factors (from local to global) take part in the production of cross-border space,
define a frame in which the production is made up and influence dynamics within this area. On the other hand, it
71 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia brings out two processes, which shape and built this production. Firstly, the bordering process highlights the
paradoxical relation between the (geo)political and societal approaches of the border, linked with different ways
to apprehend it: (re-)bordering and de-bordering. Moreover, it is related to two spatial antagonist processes:
territorialization and “spatial respiration”. Secondly, the cross-border integration process appears as the dynamo
of the production of cross-border space. To understand its mechanism, this multi-faceted concept will be
deconstructed into four dimensions (structural, functional, institutional and “ideational”) and their features will be
described. The last part of the presentation will be dedicated to the analysis of the example of the cross-border
metropolitan region of Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai to illustrate the relevance of the analytical grid of the production of
cross-border space.
European cross-border policies: an essay about local governance
Fabienne Leloup, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
Florine Meunier, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
Since the end of the Cold War, state borders have been redefined and, especially in the context of the European
Union, their roles have been diversified. Our paper is based on two main processes connected to these changes:
the emergence of a cross border governance and the specific role of the public authorities “at the European
border”. It is based on a local approach.
What is the meaning of “governance” in the context of European cross border policies ? none actor is in a position
to dictate to the others; all interact out of the national hierarchy ; broad cooperation, floating rules are required.
At the same time, connected local governments depend on European policies but also on each central state.
When they implement cross border policies, how do local public authorities deal with these different scales of
decision, how do they create negotiation and new regulation? How do they legitimate their position?
Our objective is (1) to present a state of the art, including research from geographers and political scientists
applied to European internal and external borders and (2) to induce a comprehensive model to analyse how local
public authorities adjust and possibly change their relations with upper scales in our contemporary context of debordering and re-bordering.
What to do with ‘loose ends’ in CBC? The case of Olivenç(z)a, a disputed territory at the Portuguese –
Spanish Border
Iva Pires, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
Emily Silva, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
Generally, EU’s greater challenge within cross-border cooperation (CBC) is to promote its practice; to encourage
regions to connect for a deeper regional convergence; to erase historical ‘scars’, creating various programmes
and funds for this end. But what happens when the opposite happens? Both regions want to cooperate but as
unresolved national issues complicate the process, if these regions wish to cooperate, they must do so ‘outside’
any formal support.
When faced with unresolved border delimitation issues, cooperation may exist in practice through friendly
interaction and even joint border projects. However, these cooperation structures cannot be formally recognised,
and therefore do not formally ‘exist’ and cannot benefit from formal support.
Portugal and Spain share one of the longest and oldest borders in Europe, and since their integration within the
EU, have benefitted from border region development programmes. Institutional structures have thus emerged
since 1991 and grown in number along the border, flourishing to a point of apparent territorial overlap today.
However, there remains one stretch of border as yet to be resolved: Olivença/Olivenza. This small town is actually
integrated in various cooperation structures that cannot be formalised because both countries continue to claim
simultaneous sovereignty over this territory.
Disputed strips of land remain as ‘loose ends’ in an overall project of erasing Europe’s territorial ‘scars’. This article
seeks to contribute some discussion towards these situations, when cooperation is called into question because
any structure that includes such a territory cannot be legitimised.
“Soft power” of cross-border actors: case study of Polish Euroregions
Łukasz Lewkowicz, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Poland
72 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The aim of the paper is to carry out the “soft power” analysis of Euroregions that function in Poland. According to
J.S. Nye’a, “soft power” is an ability to achieve deliberate goals thanks to atractiveness not because of compulsion
or payment. The atractiveness is related to culture, political values or ideals. This kind of power is reached by
subnational territorial units such as Euroregions – which are understood as cross-border voluntary communities
of teritorial units interests. Since the beginning of transformation in Poland, the country is actively engaged to
the Euroregional development of cooperation. It results in an existence of 16 Euroregions in all Polish borders.
Since the end of the 90’s European Union funds, which are meant for border areas, are administered by
Euroregions. The majority of Euroregional projects are focused on the development of "human capital" and "third
sector". The paper will depict the conditions of functioning of Euroregions on the external and internal borders of
the European Union. Implemented by Euroregions “cross-border governance” model will be analised as well.
Summing up, the paper will show Euroregions “soft power” influence on transformation of Polish borders: from
disintegrative function to integrative one.
F 57: CROSS-BORDER TRADE AND MOBILITY
Chair: Christopher Erickson, New Mexico State University, USA
Room: AU 205
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:20
Alcohol, cigarettes, and the EU external border’s enclosures: The affective politics of petty cross-border
trade in a Romania-Serbia border checkpoint
Cosmin Radu, University of Bristol, UK
Based on ethnographic observation derived from more than 100 trader-tourism trips across the Romania-Serbia
border in the company of small traders in cigarettes and alcohol from Serbia, this paper wants to show the EU
external border in the light of two interrelated processes. The first is the affective resistance against border
enclosures – various state enforcements aimed at reducing tax evasion and facilitating the Romanian Schengen
accession – which considerably limit the subsistence opportunities of many jobless people acting as traders
across the border. The interactions between traders, customs and border police people, excisable commodities
and restrictive legislation produce spontaneous revolts that escape cognitive validation and are prevented from
rising into organized protest. Ideas and practices of illegality, freedom of movement, justice, precariousness and
inequality blend together into a contestation of state and border that does not necessarily place traders and
border control into opponents. Neither does it validate further organization and action. The second process is
aimed to explain the affective resistance through what I call the passivity of the cross-border trading practice.
While enabling cross-border trade and small businesses little beyond the legal rights of travellers through
personal relations of small bribery and rule exceptions, the border control informally imposes the language,
rights, and permissions upon individual traders. While the largest part of the activity in question is taken by small
traders, the cross-border trade is rather characterized by diversity, passivity and mimesis. The paper also
examines passivity and affect in relation to traders’ nostalgia of assertiveness and control over their practice
prominent in other periods prior EU accession.
Barriers, scales and proximity as keys to smuggling and its repression at Brazilian borders
Adriana Dorfman, Universidade Federal de Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Geographical concepts such as barriers, scales and proximity have been useful in the explanation of the doing
and undoing of smuggling, as examined in the research of illegal trade across the borders of Brazil. Barriers are
divisions in economic space built to differentiate (national) markets, according to public / private interests.
Barriers express national or regional negotiation of priorities, but are not enough to stop smuggling, which is
done by the materialization on the field of the repression measures. Scales can be useful to identify modes of
smuggling and its acceptance as tradition at local scale, crime as national law, repression policies or permissive
lack of these at international scale. Repression to smuggling is influenced by the proximity of police personnel:
there are distinct levels of proximity inherent to each police agency, leading to variation in knowledge of local
networks and in the possibility of repressing / need to respect these: neighborhood policing have an horizontal
73 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia relation to local power networks, while national or international polices may be less sensible to local
arrangements, being capable of enforcing vertically repression measures.
Factors Inducing Cross Border Regional Innovation in Border Management: The Cascadia West in North
America
Donald Alper, Western Washington University, USA
Border management policies and practices, while driven by national governments’ security missions, are
influenced and sometimes even reformulated at the borderland level as regional and local public and private
actors seek functional and practical solutions. These outcomes are inevitably the result of a complex interplay of
stakeholders, local and national officials interacting and negotiating across different levels of government and
other organizations. The interaction between national and local scales of border governance provides avenues
for useful cooperation and ultimately is helpful in adjusting national border management agendas to the
particularities of local contexts. Focusing on the Cascadia west in North America—a region known as a leader in
innovation in border management—this paper examines the factors contributing to innovation in border
management. Drawing on research from literature on regional innovation systems (RIS), the paper will relate
border management innovation to key institutional, cultural, social and geographical elements. The paper will
draw lessons from the Cascadia experience applicable to other border regions in North America and beyond.
F 58: REBORDERING ASIA I
Chair: Sanjay Chaturvedi, Panjab Univeristy, India
Room: AU 204
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:20
Arctic ‘Thaw’ and the East Asian border conflicts
Kimie Hara, University of Waterloo, Canada
Global climate change is profoundly reshaping the Arctic region, not only physically but also in international
politics, generating heated discussions among the Circumpolar states on such issues as border disputes, Arctic
sovereignty, resource exploitation, and the security of new marine transportation routes. Yet Arctic development
is of concern to more than the Circumpolar states. East Asia is no exception. Japan, South Korea and China in
particular are increasingly fixated on the Arctic, where they fund research activities, support resource exploration,
and plan to secure sea lanes. The evolving situation of the Arctic region could also have significant impact to their
political relations and the regional security architecture in East Asia, providing new opportunities for cooperation
and/or additional sources of conflict. This paper will analyze emerging impacts of the Arctic “Thaw” to Japan’s
maritime border issues with its neighbours (Russia, Korea and China), in the context of the regional international
politics in East Asia, where the structure of the Cold War confrontation profoundly remains to this day.
Reclaiming Borders: A New Policy Style in the De-bordering Era
Zhuoyi Wen, City University of Hong Kong, China
Recently, many formerly blurred borders under globalization and region integration have been reclaimed by
states’ new regulation initiatives. Some of these border regulation policies have become permeable for people
and goods. Why do states select regulatory policy instrument to reclaim borders in the de-bordering era? What
are the impacts on society? According to state in society theory, there can be two images of border: one is the
clear territorial boundary of a country, and the other is an intangible social-political boundary between state and
society within a nation-state (Migdal 2004). Based on the theory, the study uses the case of Hong Kong’s can
restricting export on milk formula to explain states’ policy instrument selection. It finds that, after de-bordering
for several years, social affairs have transcended territorial boundaries of public administration. Thus, some policy
issues have been out of a state’s control. And it is unable to provide exact evidence to prove the reasons of the
problems as well. When the blurring border hurts local citizens’ rights and interests, state will make use of its
authority power to re-integrate dispersed social affairs into a new governance framework by adopting regulation
74 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia policy to reclaim borders. But meanwhile, state’s intervention and regulation may result in new social discontent
on infringement of freedom.
Vietnam’s response to China on East Sea islands sovereignty dispute: Incompetence or Compromise?
Khac Nguyen Minh Truong, Kyungpook National University, South Korea
Vietnam and China have 2200 years of historical relations with domination, resistance, compromise and
cooperation correlating with particular periods of time and in specific various aspects ranging from culture to
economics and military. Those relations, nowadays, can be defined by two themes: cooperation and conflict.
Specifically speaking, besides developing a comprehensive strategic partnership, Vietnam and Chinas still have
conflicts over the sovereignty of East Sea islands: Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Paracel and Spartly in English; Xisha[
⻄西沙群岛] and Nansha[南沙群岛] in Chinese).
This paper will present historical and legistrative evidence, from which a deduction can be made in a convincing
manner that Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands belong to Vietnam. The paper also indicates that in spite of these
evidences, China still have claims on sovereignty of these islands. In particular, Tam Sa city [Sansha in English; [三
沙市] in Chinese] of Hainan province was built and is now still in Hoang Sa islands territory. How did the Vietnam
side respond to this dispute from the year 1947 to the year 2011, at which time this issue was finally informed
widely in domestic and international media? To answer this question, the paper looks back on Sino – Vietnamese
relations from after the Second World War until now, more specifically the events and documents related to their
conflict over Truong Sa and Hoang Sa’s sovereignty. The paper presents and proves the hypothesis that Vietnam
government did not respond necessarily to protect sovereignty on these islands unless it was a political
recognition of China’s sovereignty on these islands
The Fall Down of Iron Curtain: Returning of Sakhalin Koreans to the Homeland
Iuliia Din, Russia
The ethnic Koreans migrated to South Sakhalin and Kuril islands when the region was a part of the Japanese
Empire. In 1945 these territories were transferred to the Soviet Union according to Yalta and Potsdam
Agreements. Initially it was assumed that the local population (Japanese and Korean) should be eventually
repatriated to their homeland. However, while the repatriation of Japanese civilians and POW was conducted
rather successfully, the beginning of the Cold War prevented the repatriation of Sakhalin Koreans as their
homeland – South Korea – entered the US sphere of influence. Since the US became the ideological and
geopolitical opponent of USSR, Sakhalin Koreans should wait for another 50 years to return home. It is the Iron
Curtain was the main reasons which prevented the repatriation of Sakhalin Koreans.
Only after the end of the Cold War the repatriation movement could spread widely and eventually reach the
partial restoration of Sakhalin Koreans’ rights. With the financial support of the Japanese, South Korean and
Russian governments, the most of the first generation Sakhalin Koreans (those who were born before the August
15, 1945) has returned to South Korea. The presentation will deal with the some interesting problems related to
this repatriation: the attitude of the Sakhalin Koreans toward their long-waiting homeland, the memories of the
Sakhalin they have lived for some 50 years, and the problem of the divided families since the children and
grandchildren of the first generation Koreans could not and did not want to follow them to South Korea.
F 59: ECOLOGICAL BORDERS
Chair: Paul Ganster, San Diego State University, USA
Room: AG 101
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:20
Ecological damages in the Finnish Russian border region
Alfred Colpaert, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
The difference in land management and administration between Finland and Russia has led two very different
sets of land use. We will look at the area of northern Finland and the Murmansk oblast. On the Finnish side land
use is characterized by free grazing by reindeer and liberal forestry practices on state owned land. In the
75 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Murmansk area the former Soviet Union maintained a strict border policy and the area was not in use for reindeer
grazing, forestry and mining were the main forms of land use.
Free grazing reindeer had a marked and long lasting effect on the ecological balance on the Finnish side of the
border. On the Russian side of the border fence lush lichen vegetation flourished and produces a distinct dry pine
forest ecosystem. On the Finnish side reindeer lichens have been overgrazed at least since the 1980’s and in many
areas the lichen vegetation has been replaces by grasses and shrubs. This process of overgrazing can be
explained using concepts drawn from panarchy and resilience theories. As both reindeer and lichen vegetation
are part of the same original ecosystem, the system regenerates itself as long as the reindeer population is
regulated by natural forces. Unlimited growth of reindeer numbers sustained by human intervention (feeding)
has led to a permanent ecological change, which will be long lasting and possibly permanent. On the Russian
side of the border the absence of reindeer has led to an unlimited growth of reindeer lichens, a condition which is
unfavorable for the regeneration of forest. These changes are visible in satellite images and in situ lichen
measurements.
Re-constructing “Region” with Transboundary Environmental Issues in Northeast Asia
Aysun Uyar Makibayashi, Doshisha University, Japan
Regions have always been defined and crafted through geopolitical consensus among neighbouring states.
Nevertheless, we also have regions, i.e. “eco-regions” that rather evolve around similar environmental zones and
socio-ecological systems. Gap between these two perspectives often lead to problems when an environmental
disaster happens or the impact of an environmental change endangers the capacity of the current political
economic system. We recently witness the incremental impact of transboundary environmental change issues in
Northeast Asia as well. This paper attempts to re-define “region” by correlating the scopes of these two main
approaches while focusing on the changing structure and vision of the existing regional environmental platforms
in Northeast Asia.
The first part of the paper focuses on the meaning of “region” and “regional cooperation” with “environment”
implications in Northeast Asia. The second part looks at the relevant and progressive regional frameworks of
environmental governance in the region. While being a powerful and dynamic “economic region” with trade and
financial flows, the region is also subject to drastic natural disasters, accelerating problems of energy need,
marine pollution, air pollution and loss of biodiversity. The last part argues the rationale for a new form of
“environmental regionalism” approach by combining the two perspectives on region with the current
environmental realities and the need to cooperate “environmentally” in Northeast Asia.
Fish ignoring the borders - towards sustainable natural resources governance in cross-border cooperation
Timo P Karjalainen, University of Oulu, Finland
Ilya Solomeshch, Petrozavodsk State University
Migratory fish and their habitat in the Oulanka river system are shared by Finland and Russia, and therefore,
successful sustainable management and utilization of these valuable fish resources can only be achieved through
cross-border cooperation. Overfishing may threaten fish populations, biodiversity, nature tourism and the
livelihoods of local people. Recreational services in the area are multifaceted and cater to many groups in
addition to fishing tourists. According to the Red list of Finnish species (Ministry of Environment, 2010) the trout
populations in Oulanka River are already classified as endangered. Without sustainable management the trout
populations are subject to overfishing and may decline significantly.
In this paper, we first study how the trout populations of Oulanka River are valued on the Finnish and Russian side
of the border. What are different meanings and social, cultural and economic valuations of trout in two different
cultural and institutional contexts? Second, we study the patterns of reaction of various sectors to the crossborder joint management model in order to secure sustainable management of trout. We claim that in natural
resource management in general and especially in cross-borderlands differences in social and cultural contexts
and wider societal perspectives, such as how to support local livelihoods and wellbeing, are not taken into
account in an appropriate and efficient way. At the end of the paper, we discuss these challenges of governance.
How to move from the ideas of resource management to the wider perspective of governance?
F 510: BORDERS, INTERSECTIONALITY AND THE EVERYDAY
Chair: Elena Nikiforova, Center for Independent Social Research, St. Petersburg, Russia
76 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Room: AG 102
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:20
This panel will bring together theoretical and empirical papers on border research, which address lived,
experienced and intersectional (e.g. gender, age, ethnicity) aspects of state borders. The papers will explore how
borders affect groups with regard to gender, race, citizenship, socio-economic status and sexuality.
Beyond A Situated, Intersectional, Everyday Approach to Bordering
Nira Yuval-Davis, University of East London, UK/Umeå University, Sweden
Kathryn Cassidy, University of East London/Northumbria University, UK
Based on work package 9 of the EU Borderscapes project, entitled ‘Borders, Intersectionality and the Everyday’,
this paper seeks to move beyond a general framing of the situated, intersectional, everyday approach to a more
nuanced understanding of the ways in which theoretical insights in these fields can be grounded in research on
bordering. Taking borders themselves or processes of bordering as their focal point, research in these fields has
often failed to situate itself in broader theoretical and empirical contexts, thus limiting the reach of the findings.
As such, bordering from a situated, intersectional, everyday purview is a product of multi-scalar interactions,
which are not merely connected and co-produced in everyday spaces, but which can be elucidated and
understood through rigorous, qualitative research design. Therefore, a situated, intersectional approach enables
discussion to move beyond the acknowledgement of bordering as an ‘everyday’ process, to explore the specific
nature of the intersection and contested constructions of borders by people differentially positioned along
differing axes of power in the context of state borders whose situated gazed emanate from differential
experiences of bordering even of the same time/place borders.
'The Russians are coming': exploration and appropriation of Finland's borderlands by travelers from
Russia
Alena Andronova, Center for Independent Social Research, St. Petersburg, Russia
Olga Brednikova, Center for Independent Social Research, St. Petersburg, Russia
Olga Tkach, Center for Independent Social Research, St. Petersburg, Russia
Elena Nikiforova, Center for Independent Social Research, St. Petersburg, Russia
For the last years, due to the simplified visa regime with Finland, the number of visitors to Finland from the
Russian North West has remarkably grown. People have different reasons for traveling: some do not go further
than neighbouring border towns, Lappeenranta or Imatra, making day trips for shopping or recreation (visiting
aquaparks), others use Finnish visa as an entry ticket to the Schengen space, and only pass through Finland in
transit. In any case, about 3,5 million people from Russia visited Finland in 2012, and every year the number of
issued visas keeps on growing. Finnish cities and towns, in particular those located in the borderlands, also
experience serious transformations, adjusting themselves to the growing influx of visitors from Russia. The
borderland space, both geographic and social, is rapidly changing: new shops are being opened, and not only in
border towns, but right next to the borderline on the Finnish side, new services - in Russian and/or targeted
specifically to Russian visitors - are being introduced. This paper seeks to explore the ways of exploration and
appropriation of Finland by travelers from Russia. Using the intersectionality perspective, we aim at identification
and analysis of various modes of appropriation and ‘consumption’ of Finland, specifically in the border regions,
and see whether there is any correlation of appropriation practices and social backgrounds, age, and other social
characteristics. We will talk about these processes as of ‘the rebordering of the borderlands’ expressed in the
shifting of cultural and economic boundaries of the domestic, ‘our’ space deeper into Finland across the political
border. The Finland’s responses to this new border dynamics will also be addressed.
Beyond ‘illegal immigration’: Intersectionalnarratives of the UK/Schengen border
Georgie Wemyss, University of East London, UK
Kathryn Cassidy, University of East London/Northumbria University, UK
The closure of the Red Cross Centre near Sangatte in 2002 together with the continuing operation of juxtaposed
immigration controls at the UK/Schengen border have contributed to regular media coverage of young men
77 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia from outside Europe camping in Calais as they try to cross to Britain. In Dover, the local press includes stories of
the capture of usually male, stowaways and smugglers who have evaded the border checks. Dominant political
and media discourses of ‘illegal immigration’ together with those which contest those representations impact on
how different actors conceptualise the border. Moreover they work to obscure other multiple experiences and
conceptualisations of the Schengen/non-Schengen border by individuals and groups who live or work at,
through or near the border
Based on ethnographic research at the Schengen/non-Schengen border, centred on Calais and Dover but
reaching inland and along the coast to other places where the border is experienced, this paper explores the
intersectional, gendered and situated everyday experiences of the border. Individual narratives from both sides
of the border are analysed in the context of industrial decline, unemployment, government and private sector
regeneration, changing immigration regulations and global conflict.
F 60: REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND POLICY FROM “ABOVE” AND “BELOW”
Discussant: Martin Guillermo Ramírez, Secretary General, Association of European Border Regions, Germany
Chair: William F.S. Miles, Northeastern University, Boston, USA
Room: C2
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 13:00- 14:40
Knowledge-driven Promotion of Regional Integration “From Below”: An African Experience in
Transfrontier Cooperation Policy Advocacy Since 1984
Anthony Ijaola Asiwaju, University of Lagos, ABORNE & African Regional Institute, Imeko, Nigeria
Regional integration demands the effective devaluation of barrier functions and effects of frontiers between
participating States. Whether the reference is to a whole continent or its sub-division, depending on the level or
unit of the analysis, the elimination of the border as barrier and its systematic promotion as bridge between
concerned limitrophe States constitutes a critical condition of success.
The Reality of Regionalism in Africa: Top-Down Constraints versus Bottom-Up Processes
Daniel Bach, CNRS-Emile Durkheim Center and University of Bordeaux, France
The contrast between the turmoils of the European construction and the dynamism of
regionalism/regionalisation in Asia and the Pacific highlights how Europe’s trajectory is not longer a global
prototype for region-building. The 'emerging Africa ' (or resurgent Africa) narratives, assume that Africa is steadily
evolving towards a single market and a 'bloc'. Yet, Region-building in Africa, still remains heavily constrained by
the top-down institutional blueprints formally adopted by regional organisations that pretend to emulate the
experience of the European Union (EU). Region-building in Africa is certainly far more dynamic that it was a
decade ago but this is not really due to the implementation of the economic agendas of the Regional Economic
Communities. Synergies between regionalism as a project and regionalisation as a process are building up -- as
illustrated by the East African Community or ECOWAS. In many parts of the continent, it is the inflow of new
investment and the diversification of strategies of accumulation away from the ‘state’ that generate ‘bottom up’
pressure towards 'defragmentation'. Elsewhere, it is the dividends of violence and the criminalisation of politics
that act an incentive towards the recomposition of interactions that, in their own way, equally elude state control.
The Impact of Local Politics on Cross-Border Trade in West Africa
Leena Hoffmann, CEPS/INSTEAD, Luxembourg
The ECOWAS Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, Residence and the Right of Establishment:
Theory and Practice
Ebele Udeoji, National Open University, Nigeria
Long distance movement among West Africans in general has been described as a way of life, which dates to the
pre-colonial era. This paper traces the antecedents of the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS)
Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and the Right to Establish and discusses issues surrounding its
implementation among the member countries. This ECOWAS protocol, which derives its constitutional strength
78 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia and legitimacy from Article 27 in the ECOWAS Treaty, relates to free movement of persons, goods, capital, Rights
of Residence and Establishments and was approved by the ECOWAS Heads of States and government in Dakar on
May 29, 1979. In this study, the strengths and weaknesses of the protocol as it relates to the general movement of
persons, goods and capital is examined but greater emphasis is on the issues of the rights of Residence and
Establishment to determine why ECOWAS still struggles to guarantee entrepreneurs the right of Establishment or
give migrant workers their socio-economic rights. The paper concludes that although the existing efforts to
enhance free movement of persons in West Africa are quite commendable, a lot more can be done to make the
system more effective. Also better and more international measures can be put in place that would enable the
enforcement of the rights of migrant workers.
Authority and unity below and above the state: Notions of the local and the regional for South Sudan’s
‘new’ Azande Kingdom
Mareike Schomerus, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
F 61: BORDER MANAGEMENT: TECHNOLOGIES
Chair: Todd Hataley, Royal Military College of Canada
Room: AU 100
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
Human dimension of new technologies of control at borders
Anna Moraczewska, Maria Curie Sklodowska University, Poland
Contemporary great mobility of persons across borders is perceived by many countries as a source of threat and
risk. Using new technologies of detection, authentication, data collection, many states, based on liberal roles of
border crossing, have returned to security policy aiming at increase of their border control.
Political rhetoric for introducing "smart borders" concentrates on facilities for travellers by speeding up border
crossings and objectivity of the control devices. If this applies to citizens of states who are relatively free to move
so it can be perceived differently by travellers from “outside”, recognised as undesirable. The most advanced
stage of high-tech border control devices is in the U.S. the European Union.
The main objective of the presentation is to show a dinamicaly developing megatrend of ‘technologisation’ of
contemporary borders and the perception of new technologies (NT) of control at borders by travellers crossing
the external borders of the EU. Main dilemas concernig human dimension of NT will be introduced as: Do new
technologies of control facilitate or hinder border crossing? What is the level of acceptance? Are we dealing with
a bio-electronic human hybridization? Is the de-personalized and automated control humane? Do we deal with a
stratification between one citizens and other? One of the hypothesis is that reducing man to alpha- and biometric
data may result in de-humanisation of social communication.
Vision and Transterritory: Notes on Surveillance Practices in European Migration Management
Karolina Follis, Lancaster University, UK
This paper discusses the late 20th and early 21st century evolution of the surveillance of national borders in
Europe, especially in the context of such developments as the 1985 Schengen Agreement, and the establishment
of the “area of freedom, security and justice” in the European Union (Amsterdam Treaty 1992). Building on
research concerning the transformation of Poland’s border with Ukraine into an eastern external boundary of the
European Union (Follis 2012), I track the ways in which new technologies of vision are deployed at European
borders to transcend the physical limits of national territory and extend surveillance beyond the boundaries of
sovereign nation states. Owing to technologies such as thermal vision, remote sensing and surveillance drones,
the policing of migration today relies on observation of neighboring foreign territories and territorial waters of
other states. The objective is to intercept potential irregular entrants while they are still outside EU territory and
before they attempt crossing the border. This practice effectively precludes the possibility of enforcing any
human rights and humanitarian duties which European states might otherwise have with regard to these pre-
79 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia immigrants. Apart from highlighting the consequences of this approach, measured in hundreds of deaths every
year, this paper argues that this technology-mediated expansion of vision is a key characteristic of post-Cold War
border governance. I propose the concept of transterritoriality to capture its effects on sovereignty, citizenship
and human rights.
The Emergence of iBorder: Technology, the Body, and Practices of Late Modern B/Ordering
Holger Pötzsch, Tromsö University, UIT, Norway
According to Bernard Stiegler, Western philosophy has long been oblivious of the significance of formed matter,
or technology, as a third component in-between the dichotomy of organic life and dead matter. Drawing upon
this observation, the present paper addresses the role of new technologies of networking and automation in
contemporary processes of b/ordering. More precisely, I will direct attention to the various ways through which
biometrics, data mining, dataveillance, network ubiquity, the use of social media, and others lead to an increased
automation and individuation of the b/ordering process.
Firstly, I argue that the protocols, operations, and procedures that underlie the above-mentioned technologies
constitute a form of non-human agency that to a growing extent predisposes and guides, and might eventually
replace, human decision-making regarding processes of (violent) in/exclusion. Secondly, these technologies
facilitate processes through which the border disperses and folds into the inside of nation-states. The border
becomes ubiquitous - independent of territorial confinement and topographical location. As a result, the
individual body is turned into a key site for b/ordering practices on the basis of remote assessments of biometric
markers and profiled patterns of behaviour, affect, and/or cognition. Finally, I develop the term iBorder to
conceptually grasp these techno-social developments and their affordances for contemporary politics.
F 62: JAPAN-FINLAND JOINT SESSION ON BORDER COOPERATION IN EURASIA
Discussant: Ilkka Liikanen, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Chair: Akihiro Iwashita, Slavic Research Centre, Hokkaido University, Japan
Room: AU 101
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
The main objective of border cooperation is to reduce conflicts and the negative effects of borders as physical or
administrative barriers to tackle common issues and problems while jointly taking advantage of the region’s
(often times untouched) resources and potentials. The cooperation process can only be enhanced by mutual
trust and understanding through joint management of programmes and projects. Border cooperation consists of
various ranges of issues including: (1) Economic cooperation such as developing and encouraging
entrepreneurship such as tourism, culture and trade; (2) Environmental cooperation such as creating and
improving joint management of natural resources and the eco-system; (3) Administrative cooperation such as
joint use, development or improvement of infrastructure.
The European Union has a long tradition of border cooperation, usually composed by public authorities including
municipalities, districts, counties and regions. In recent years, however, border cooperation has become
intensified in Eurasia as well. The three presentations in this panel will examine and explore the recent trends of
border cooperation in Eurasia, particularly economic and environmental cooperation in the following regions: (1)
Japan-Korea economic and cultural exchange cooperation; (2) Russia-China-Japan environmental cooperation on
Amur-Okhotsk region; (3) Russia-Central Asia-China cooperation.
This panel is a joint session between Hokkaido University and the Karelian Institute at the University of Eastern
Finland on border cooperation. Scholars from Japan will present their work on border cooperation in Eurasia and
scholars from Finland will discuss the papers based on their expertise and experience on border making and
border cooperation while making references to the Finnish border situation with Russia and other neighbouring
countries.
Boom or Bust?: Economic Cooperation and Cultural Exchange between Japan and Korea
Naomi Chi, Hokkaido University, Japan
80 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The physical distance from the city of Fukuoka in Japan to Busan in Korea is approximately 220km and the cities
can be accessed by air and sea with regular flights and ferries every day. Both Fukuoka and Busan are two of the
6sixsupra-regional economic zones in the Northeast Asia including Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, and Beijing. Combined
population of Fukuoka and Busan is 5 million and the GDP is $1.1 hundred billion US dollar. This translates into
this region being the 7th largest economic region next to Seoul, or 17th next to the Netherlands. Furthermore,
GDP of combined Southeast Korea and the entire Kyushu is over 6 hundred billion US dollar thus creating a
gigantic economic region.
Economic enhancement of the region has become possible with the establishment of the “Fukuoka-Busan SupraRegional Economic Zone”, by surpassing and overcoming differences in customs, systems, and the languages of
the two nations. This collaboration between two cities strengthens the region in becoming more competitive in
the global market and revitalization of the local economy as well. Both cities have made great efforts in
cooperating and facilitating numerous collaborative projects toward this end.
However, the recent uprise in nationalism in both countries have casted a dark shadow onto their endeavours.
This presentation will look at the history of cooperation between these two regions, recent trends and challenges
and explore possibilities of overcoming such barriers.
Environmental Cooperation in Northeast Asia and Russian Far East: The Case of Amur-Okhotsk Ecosystem
Yasunori Hanamatsu, Slavic Research Centre, Hokkaido University, Japan
The resolution to environmental problems often needs international or regional cooperation because the
damage to the ecosystem and environment can easily cross borders into neighbouring countries. In the area of
Northeast Asia and Russian Far East, there exist some bilateral or regional cooperative frameworks tackling transboundary air pollution, marine pollution, dust storm, marine litter among others. However, they are not
necessarily established and implemented successfully, and both promotive and obstructive factors that influence
cooperation have not yet been examined carefully.
This paper will focus on the new challenge to establish regional cooperative framework for promoting the
sustainable management of the Amur-Okhotsk ecosystem. According to a recent scientific research, the Amur
River basin and the Sea of Okhotsk are ecologically interlinked by “dissolved iron”, and the high productivity of
marine resources in the Sea of Okhotsk is dependent on the “dissolved iron” transport from the Amur River basin.
China, Japan, Mongolia and Russia share this ecosystem, and scientific community of scholars from four countries
recently began to discuss the issue and have initiated collaboration with governmental and citizen sectors. This
case study will introduce the recent effort to approach this environmental problem, and discuss border issues
from the legal, political and scientific- policy perspectives.
Cooperation or Conflict? Water and Political Balances between Russia, Kazakhstan and China
Tetsuro Chida, Slavic Research Centre, Hokkaido University, Japan
The Republic of Kazakhstan is one of the most vulnerable states in terms of water security in Central Eurasia.
Approximately half of its water resources are inflow from neighbouring countries through trans-boundary rivers
like Syr-Darya, Ili, Irtysh, Chu and Ural. Compared to the other Central Asian states, the specificity of Kazakhstan is
that water problems cannot be resolved solely in the framework of the regional cooperation mechanism of the
International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, because the Russian Federation and People’s Republic of China are
also upstream countries. The paper will focus upon trans-boundary water relations in Central Eurasia between
Russia and Kazakhstan and between China and Kazakhstan. It will also touch upon the future perspective of
multilateral water cooperation among these three countries. More specifically, the paper will explore the
following cases: 1) Kazakhstan-Russian cooperation to rescue the Small Aral Sea; 2) Kazakhstan-Russian
cooperation in the Irtysh River basin; 3) Kazakhstan-China cooperation in the Ili River basin. It seems to be the
source of regional water conflict in the future, when we consider the grandiose water and irrigation development
in the upstream Western China and the Kazakhstan’s potential to construct some large-scale water facility in the
Irtysh River basin. However, the paper will evince that China and Kazakhstan seem to continue to take into
account the (geo-) political considerations to the downstream states, which will ensure some political balance
between cooperation and confrontation in the water sector of the region.
"Governments' ASEAN" to "People's ASEAN": A New Phase of Regional Integration in Southeast Asia
Keiko Tamura, University of Kitakyushu, Japan
81 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia F 63: EXPERIMENTING BORDER MUTATIONS THROUGH RESEARCH, ART AND PRACTICE
Discussant: Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly, UVIC, Canada
Chair: Antoine Vion, LEST (Aix Marseille University – CNRS), France
Room: AU 102
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
This workshop intends to reflect on transdisciplinary experiments elaborated through the antiAtlas of Borders
project. For the last three years (2011-2014), this research program has brought together researchers, artists and
border professional in order to re-appraise the mutations of 21st century borders (www.antiatlas.net/en). The
dialogue and discussion that have been triggered between these different field of knowledge and practice has
not merely allowed the crossing of different and complementary disciplines and perspectives, rather, it has lead
to new methodological experimentation (in the artistic sense of the term) to study borders mutations.
Transdisciplinarity between art, science and practice can generate cognitive gains made of quotations, transfers
and exemplification. Any discipline at any time may function as a vehicle for another one. None of each specific
knowledge is confronted to the collapse of its proper logic, but committed in new experiments, with all the limits
and benefits this may induce. In this way the antiAtlas offers to challenges our disciplinary routines by pushing
everyone for experimentation and taking completely different backgrounds into account. The four works that will
be presented will bring together and confront anthropology, film-making, net-art, geography, alternative
cartography and epistemology of art.
Reassembling Samira: a video installation on biographical and embodied borders
Nicola Mai, Aix Marseille Univesity (LAMES), France/London Metropolitan University, UK
The humanitarian protection of vulnerable migrant groups has enforced new biographical borders. Migrants seek
to obtain state benevolence and legal migration status through the performance and embodiment of
humanitarian scripts emphasizing victimhood and suffering. Only those whose performances of suffering and
humanitarian subjectivities are deemed credible are given humanitarian protection. Gender and sexuality have
become strategic narrative repertoires through which humanitarian and biographical borders are inscribed on
the bodies of migrants. The Emborders filmmaking/research project reproduces the different performances and
narratives of migrants targeted by humanitarian protection as they emerge in interviews with authorities, with
social researchers and with peers and families. It draws on real stories, but is performed by actors to protect the
identities of the original interviewees and mirror the inherently fictional nature of any narration of the self. The
project ultimately challenges what constitutes a credible and acceptable reality in scientific, filmic and
humanitarian terms. Samira is a two-screen art science installation presenting the story of Karim an Algerian
migrant man selling sex as SAMIRA at night in Marseille. He left Algeria as a young man as her breasts started
developing as a result of taking hormones and was granted asylum in France as a transgender woman. Twenty
years later, as his father is dying and he is about to become the head of the family Samira surgically removes her
breasts and marries a woman in order to get a new passport allowing him to return to Algeria to assume his new
role.
A crossing industry: border informal economy through video game
Cedric Parizot, IREMAM (Aix Marseille University – CNRS), France
A Crossing Industry is a videogame on the informal border economy that has emerged over the last 20 years
between the West Bank and Israel. This informal economy has developped in reaction to the tightening of Israeli
mechanisms of control. While providing ways to circumvent movement restrictions, it has also set up a parallel
system of movement regulation. Smugglers and facilitators have become informal regulating authorities aside of
the State of Israel. Drawing from the data collected during ethnographic fielwork investigations (2000-2010), the
game simulates this complex borderscape. It is produced by an anthropologist, Cedric Parizot, a digital artist,
Douglas Edric Stanley, and students from the Higher School of Art of Aix en Provence. At the cross road between
research and art, it explores how simulators, such as video games, can disseminate research analysis in ways the
82 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia linear narratives produced by books and articles cannot.
Do mobile borders need mobile maps? Cartographic interfaces and radical border studies
Anne-Laure Amilhat Szary, PACTE, UJF/ CNRS, France
Sarah Mekdjian, PACTE, UPMF/ CNRS, France
This paper gives an account of a project conducted jointly by researchers, artists and migrants which consisted in
mapping, creatively and critically, the migratory in-betweenness. This experience of participatory mapping
workshops, located between art and science, also allows to question the methodological issues at stake when
tacking in-betweenness within a project involving both creation and research, implying complex inter-relations
of all stakeholders. How to create a framework for exchanges between scientists, artists and the invited guests to
tell about their migration routes ?
On most scientific maps, the spaces crossed by migrants during their travels are often flown over by arrows that
indicate the flow or direction of trajectories. The experiences of border crossings are nevertheless very significant
in individual migration stories. For people who have no right of residence, the traveled border extends into the
so-called reception areas. Thus, in Grenoble, but it could be also in many European cities, travelers still travel…
Four mapping devices between art and science, have been proposed to twelve persons who were either seeking
asylum or who had obtained refugee status, with the aim of presenting ” expanded” borders experiences.
Even produced with a participatory methodology, the map is never clear of power struggles. The interaction with
the artists helped diversify the power of this mediation tool within the relationships between the different actors
of workshops. Accounting of journeys by mapping them has created an original and creative framework for
exchanges both during the workshops and now, within an exhibition space. The production of maps on four
different media, allowed to bypass the dominant narrative register experienced by asylum seekers, that of
chronologically linear life stories required by government agencies. Serving a scientific, artistic and political
project, the maps have allowed the emergence of novel forms of ” undisciplined “knowledge.
Distance and proximity in a multidimensional space
Jean Cristofol, Higher School of Art, Aix en Provence, France
The physical space in which we live is inseparable from the forms through which we represent it. These forms
mobilize objective knowledge, but they also engage an imaginary in which we project ourselves. From this point
of view, the physical space is not only the result of our practices, it is inhabited by subjects who identify issues
within it, and it is defined by fictions and stories. We inherit these stories and fictions, which implement a
continuous space that is based on the opposition of near and far, distance and proximity, here and elsewhere.
Borders draw lines of discontinuity between homogeneous entities. The figure of the journey, that of utopia, the
themes of the island or the labyrinth, the limit and the crossing are incarnations of such stories. But these figures
are not only free constructions of the mind, they are also in correspondence with the forms and media in which
they were articulated. They are actually produced by the relationship to the modes of technical and social
existence of an era. When trade and travel are determined by the flow of information and ubiquitous
autonomous devices affect our modes of perception and our direct action capabilities, how can we conceive and
operate them? What is our relationship to space when it is built in a complexity that disrupts the ways to
understand the very meaning of distance or proximity? If the space in which we live and communicate is a
complex and multidimensional one, how can we represent it?
F 64: TRANSBORDER GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES AND EMPIRICAL
INSIGHTS FROM NORTH AMERICA
Discussant: Marco Bellingeri, University of Turin, Italy
Chair: Francisco Lara, Arizona State University, USA
Room: AU 206
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
83 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Despite a well-established tradition of multi-scalar and multi-sectoral cross-border cooperation, the US-Mexican
border region is still far from possessing a robust and comprehensive governance structure able to promote
transborder regional development. With NAFTA turning 20 years old, it is indeed timely to take a look at not only
where the US-Mexico border region has been but at where it is going in building transborder governance
institutions. The papers in this session do not only provide a variety of conceptualizations of the link between
governance and development in the US-Mexico border region and its impacts on cooperation and integration,
but first and foremost intend to enrich comparative border studies by offering new theoretical perspectives and
recent empirical findings grounded on current research.
Socio-economic development and cross-border collaboration in the US-Mexico border
Maria del Rosío Barajas Escamilla, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Mexico
This paper investigates how actors from different sectors along the border region between Mexico and the
United States participate in bilateral and cross-border collaboration and examines the role of technical and social
skills, as well as of transaction costs, in the construction of cross-border relations. The analysis is based on the
examination of a set of regional projects in which these actors are involved, and whose development faced
different scenarios of conflict and cooperation, as well as distinct governance processes. The data for this analysis
is the result of an strategic project titled ¨Bilateral and Cross-border Cooperation and Governance: Guidelines for
Public Policy¨ and being conducted by a research team based at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte at Tijuana.
Re-building Cross-Border Regions in 21st century: Lessons from the Arizona-Sonora Region
Vera Pavlakovich-Kochi, University of Arizona, USA
This paper explores the role of cities along the US-Mexico border as drivers of transborder regional development
– especially in the Arizona-Sonora region, In recent years, concerns over border securitization and internal
political pressure reduced the ability of state-level actors to engage in transborder regional development. Under
this scenario, border cities – especially large metropolitan areas like Phoenix and Tucson – started playing
stronger roles in cross-border cooperation. This novel form of cross-border outreach is contributing to the
reconstruction of a binational space as well as the reconfiguration of traditional regional networks and
partnerships.
The formation of transborder associative regions: the limits of regional para-diplomacy
Pablo Wong Gonzalez, Centro para la Alimentación y el Desarrollo (CIAD), Mexico
Increasing North-South interaction between the economies of the United States and Mexico seems to have
intensified a type of West-East competition among states on both sides of the international border. An
institutional outgrowhht of this novel form of inter-territorial competition has been the formalization of joint
regional plans to manage economic growth and enhance competitiveness along transborder development
corridors in the US-Mexico border region. This objective of this paper is to describe the formation of
transboundary-associative regions in Noth America, with emphasize in the Sonora-Arizona border area, as well as
its potential and challenges for regional development.
Constructing spaces for transborder cooperation and planning: conscience and regional identity in the
US-Mexico border
Francisco Lara, Arizona State University, USA
This paper asks the question, what is the role of regional conscience and identity in the construction of
transborder policy spaces along the US-Mexico border? It examines what is meant by transborder cooperation
and planning in this border region, its geographies in space, territory, place and scale; its institutional context and
its different varieties. The institutionally differentiated and geographically uneven distribution of transborder
cooperation and planning is analyzed. Although the US-Mexico border region has a long tradition of formal and
informal collaborative networks, most of them have been ephemeral in nature. Both regional theory and
empirical research say that regional conscience and identity play an important role in the establishment of
effective and long term transborder cooperation and planning systems. This paper argues that a fundamental
limitation of transborder regionalism in the US-Mexico border is the lack of a regional conscience and identity
able to provide cohesion and legitimacy to transborder cooperation and planning.
84 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Population dynamics of the USA-MEX border region
Roberto Ham-Chande, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Mexico
Maria Hilda Garcia-Perez, Arizona State University, USA
Vicinity between Mexico and the United States has always triggered social, economic and political relations
including bi-national demographics. Such population dynamics has always been relevant and often vital as it is
recalled by the fact that almost the entire population of Mexican origin living abroad is in the United States. On
this subject the border region stands out. It is characterized by daily and short distance international interactions
whose frequency and intensity define the borderlands. Because of planning needs it is necessary to depict
population dynamics in which mortality, fertility and migration are related to economics, social conditions,
geographic distribution, employment, health services, urbanization, natural resources and environmental
impacts. These variables should not be isolated parameters from the border of each nation, but also in regard to
bi-national interactions. The purpose is not to just to describe demographics but to use it to identify policies and
design programs seeking adequate and sustainable development of the borderlands. The proposed paper
includes the following concepts and their interrelationships. Demarcation of the border region as a set of binational urban systems. The Mexican-origin population in the southern border of the United States. Fertility
levels, trends and geographic differentials. Mortality levels and causes of mortality. Trends and geographic
differentials. Domestic migration to the northern border of Mexico. Migration of Mexican population to the USA
border. Transborder health issues. Age structures and ethnicity. Demographic projections and scenarios of
employment, urbanization, environment, resources and the specific case of water.
F 65: MIGRATION AND LABOUR MARKET
Chair: Enza Roberta Petrillo, Sapienza University, Italy
Room: AU 209
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
What drives residential mobility in border regions? The influence of national proximity and economic
incentives in Luxembourg metropolitan region
Lancine Diop, CEPS / INSTEAD, Luxembourg
The integration strategy of the European Union has facilitated transnational mobility of workers in the Schengen
area. This strategy is supposed to encourage economic development of cross-border regions by reducing the
effect of borders as a barrier for movements of people, goods and capitals. The major manifestation of this new
trend is the emergence of cross-border metropolises (e.g. Luxembourg, Copenhagen-Malmo, Vienna-Bratislava).
However, the question is whether the emergence of these cross-border metropolises leads to a residential
integration or whether it reinforces socio-spatial inequalities?
The aim of this study is to answer this question by examining how the borders influence residential mobility of
individuals belonging to different socio-economic and national groups in the Luxembourg border region. I apply
a dynamic discrete choice model on Luxembourg administrative data between 1999 and 2008. My results show
growing socio-economic inequalities in the space as a result of the economic growth of Luxembourg City and the
related increase in housing prices. Nevertheless, the different economic incentive in the four national real estate
markets (Luxembourg, Belgium, France and Germany) is not the main driver of residential mobility. Instead,
national proximity remains the most important determinant for residential choice.
Cross-Border Labour Market Segmentation: The Case of Estonia-Finland
Markku Sippola, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Since the 1970s, there has been a lively debate among social scientists on labour market segmentation between
those jobs that are located at the ‘core’ and those that are in the ‘periphery’. Segmentation of labour market is,
therefore, a relatively stable phenomenon, although the patterns of segmentation vary according to deliberate or
unintentional strategies of employees and enterprises. The labour market at the construction site of Olkiluoto 3
nuclear power plant – where I have conducted fieldwork – was segmented according to workers’ ethnical status,
85 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia while remuneration for an identical job at a similar site might have varied on the basis of nationality.
Furthermore, my analysis concerning Nordic production plants in the Baltic States gives evidence on that manual,
low value-added jobs are transferred from the Nordic countries to be executed by Estonians, Latvians and
Lithuanians. This research evidences that despite an increasing integration between Estonian and Finnish labour
markets differences have prevailed. The relative difference between average salaries is still the same, four-fold, as
it was in 2007. Estonian dilemma is derived from market reforms that have been effective in macro-economic
terms but turned blind eye to social processes on a micro level. The fruits of neo-liberal policy-making are most
strikingly seen in the aftermath of the 2008-09 economic depression. The wage cuts associated with the austerity
measures in Estonia maintained external economic competitiveness but changed the dynamics of emigration in
such a manner that there are more young Estonians who consider leaving the country for a longer period than
before.
Diffused Borders: Bordering Practices Within and Outside State Territories
Krishnendra Meena, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
Traditionally, borders were located at the edge of the state. With the advent of the recent phase of globalization,
international borders are increasingly difficult to locate. Moreover, there is a diffusion of bordering practices at
locations which are situated at places and sites other than the hard borders of the state. Border researchers have
responded to this challenge by evolving new terminologies which range from ‘borderlands’ to ‘border-scapes’ to
‘border spaces’. Attempts have been made to evaluate borders on the basis of their performance, place,
perspectives on borders and the political nature of borders. Border performance now involves three register of
critical geopolitics, formal, practical and popular. The practice of borders is diffused throughout the society and
the state and at various places. With the acceptance that borders are a mutli-disciplinary domain, a gradual shift
towards multi-perspectivism is visible in the analysis of borders. The dominant perspectives on borders in vogue
are seeing like the state’ and ‘seeing like the border’. The relationship between state power and space is most
apparent at the borders and which reinforces their political character. The paper will attempt to interpret borders
and bordering practices through the abovementioned lenses and in turn locate them in various instances, sites
and situations spread across the state space.
F 66: CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION IN EUROPE II
Chair: Frédéric Durand, CEPS / INSTEAD, Luxembourg
Discussant: Z. Anthony Kruszewski, University of Texas, El Paso, USA
Room: Au 210
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
Along the German-Polish Border: Patterns of Transnational Activities
Ulrike Kaden, Universität Leipzig, Germany
Borderlands are subject to a variety of spatial references, projects and imaginations. This is also true for the
German-Polish borderland, where multiple actors engage in cross-border initiatives and transnational networks.
However, attempts at cross-border cooperation on the sub-national level are often framed through the European
Union’s so-called Euroregions. Funding instruments such as INTERREG are playing a major role in stimulating a
spatial policy that accentuates the role of the Euroregion, and therefrom considerably adds to spatially organise
transnational border spaces. This is well exemplified by the case of cross-border interaction within the GermanPolish borderland: While Poland became a member of the European Union in 2004 and joined the Schengen
Zone in 2007, European Union cross border cooperation between German and Polish border regions started
already in the 1990s. The paper will draw on fieldwork undertaken along the German-Polish border, looking at
patterns of cross-border activities and emerging transnational networks of local actors. Considering that
borderland spatialities are constantly being produced and reproduced, this paper will discuss practices of
borderlanders occurring both within and beyond the Euroregion framework.
86 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The role of the Polish – German border in development of Szczecin – the case of cross border commuting
suburbanization
Ewelina Barthel, Jagiellonian University Krakow, Poland
Szczecin is located almost exactly on the Polish – German border in Pomerania, quite peripheral form the capital
of Poland, where all important decision are taken. After world war II Szczecin became Polish and lost its western
hinterland cause of the closed frontier. Within the transition of the 90ies the German part of Pomerania went into
a demographically and economical crises, while Szczecin and its surroundings developed and increased. Since
2000 the capital of Pomerania is reconnecting to its traditional role of the regional center with its German
hinterland. The most visible sign is cross border migration of polish middle class to the East German villages,
which otherwise would not be able to face their demographic challenges. The paper is giving answers for such
questions as: What is the reason of those process? Which kind of changes for the border region does he migration
bring? Which kind of cooperation between local governance despite of the border is possible? Will it be possible
to create a cross-border metropolitan region of Szczecin in the future? The answers are based on the information
from in-depth interviews with authorities from Polish-German communities, surveys with Polish migrants,
newspaper articles, publication and governmental documents. The chosen German local governance authorities
from this region are creating their development strategies basing on that migration. The local administration is
boosting these processes due to an friendly and supportive policy toward the Polish families coming to settle in
the new suburbia of Szczecin. The local authorities are conscious that their future has to be connected with
Szczecin and their inhabitants. The paper will describe as well the obstacles and problems of these processes,
which are at least for Poland new and unknown.
The cross border cooperation along Pyrenees after 2000: projects, stakeholders and territorial impacts
between Spain and France
Matteo Berzi, Universitat de Girona, Spain
Jaume Feliu i Torren, Universitat de Girona, Spain
Joan Vincente i Rufi, Universitat de Girona, Spain
Margarida Castañer i Vivas, Universitat de Girona, Spain
The research that we present forms part of the study of economic and territorial development that takes place in
border areas along the boundary between France and Spain since the Reform of Structural Founds. Specifically,
we study the characteristics and the impacts of INTERREG A programme, developed through the Cohesion Policy
since 1989 which aim is to reduce the economic, social and mental effect of the border. In this paper cross border
projects are taken as an example and a sample of the dynamics produced by stakeholders and projects between
the two sides of the border during the INTERREG III-A 2000-2006 and INTERREG VI-A 2007-2013 (POCTEFA). To
meet this objective, we have designed a database system to dump the varied information of the projects, which
includes information such as the kind of project, the amount of funds managed by each project, the number of
actors involved and their geographic location or the space affected by the actions resulting from the project. The
information is further processed to extract quantitative results and cartographic images, using the capabilities of
geographic information systems. The result, comparing the two cross borders programmes, shows the most
dynamic spaces in the mobilization of stakeholders and the attraction of resources for territorial development.
Cross-border cooperation activities in EU cross-border regions and Southeast-Asia growth triangles in
comparison: why are new (social, cultural and economic) borders emerging?
Elisabetta Nadalutti, Université du Luxenbourg, Luxembourg
Through a comparative analysis between cross-border regions in Europe and growth triangles in Southeast Asia
this paper aims to generate new thinking on the role that social, economic and political actors have both in
reshaping local, national, global economic, social and political ties and to (re)build-(de)construct ‘borders’. In
doing so, the author aims firstly to elucidate in more detail what agents (ethnic, national, locals, nongovernmental) are involved in cross-border cooperation activities; how their responsibilities, jurisdictions and
relative powers can be or have been altered by the interaction; whether cross-border cooperation can be used as
a tool for further ‘cooperation’ and/or ‘integration’; conversely whether cross-border activities can enhance
‘disintegration’.
The paper hypothesizes on the one hand that cross-border cooperation activities may help to transform the
operation of power across the various levels of governance on a local/national level that is ‘multi-layered’. On the
87 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia other hand administrative asymmetry, jurisdictional ambivalence and inter-regional rivalry/competition can
hamper effective cross-border cooperation and can build instead ‘new’ borders. It will be argued that crossborder cooperation is far from being a linear process that necessarily promotes more cooperation or integration
and boost the economy of the actors involved in the cooperation process. Conversely, cross-border cooperation
can increase the gap between richer/poorer/ more developed/less developed countries. This means that crossborder cooperation instead of being a zero-sum game formula in which all the actors gain by the cooperation,
results in a non zero-sum formula that can hinder both cooperation and consequently integration.
F 67: BORDER WALLS AND FENCES
Chair: Biger Gideon, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Room: AU 205
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 13:00- 14:40
Along the Separation Fence
Zeev Zivan, Ben Gurion University at Negev, Israel
The Israeli Separation Fence was built under pressure of public opinion massive campaign by the press. The Israeli
government didn't rush to spend millions on an expansive project that was against its political agenda. The
success of the civil campaign brought the fence to an end at 2005.A visit along the fence from its northern point
at the Jordan Valley all the way to the Southern point at the Judea Desert follows the different parts in 'empty'
areas like the desert to populated areas like the Sharon Valley where the villages from both sides almost touch
the fence. Only small part of the fence is a wall. Why these areas are different? What's the Human price? Is it
successful in its security goal? How the gates along the fence are operating? In Arab eyes the building of the
fence is a 'great victory' even though the Arab citizens along the fence are paying and suffering from it on their
daily routine. An Israeli ex-minister of Defence just lately wrote a paper that call to turn the fence off. Trying to
make a future observation: Will the fence remain there in 2050?
Can massive border fences help make good neighbors? The impact of the separation barrier on residents
of the Barta'a enclave demilitarized zone
Arnon Medzini, Oranim Academic College of Education, Israel
The route of the separation barrier between Israel and the Palestinian Authority does not coincide exactly with
the Green Line border. This has resulted in the creation of a number of territorial enclaves that the Palestinian
Authority is unable to administer and govern and that the State of Israel has not annexed. These enclaves have
become demilitarized zones of sorts, in which the Palestinian residents live without any organized system of
government. There is no effectual local government, no effective mechanism for collecting taxes, no organized
planning, no labor laws and no veterinary supervision.
The residents of the enclaves have been cut off from the West Bank, which had provided them with essential
services in the past. It was reasonable to expect that this situation would result in a negative impact on the
economic development of the residents of the enclaves. In fact, the very opposite took place. The citizens of the
State of Israel see the separation barrier (and not the Green Line) as a security border and thus perceive of these
areas as safe. Because of this general feeling of security, many consumers engage in lively commercial contacts
with the Palestinian residents. And as a result, business is booming in the villages within the enclaves and the
economy is flourishing. New shopping areas and stores are being built, along with garages, restaurants and
factories, all benefitting from the low tax costs and cheap labor in these areas where there is no established local
government. The lecture will examine how the residents of the villages in the demilitarized zones cope with the
new reality.
On Who’s Side? Scrutinizing Walls from Within
Ian Howard, University of New South Wales, Australia
This presentation will examine issues of access to walls and borders from the perspective of an interested citizen
‘insider’ artist. That is, from an academic/artist’s entreaties to wall/border administering authorities to ‘access’
their wall for research, scrutiny, documentation, interpretation and exhibition purposes. The rationale being, that
88 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia such access and exposure is for the public good.
Walls and borders are made to exclude those outside and to secure those within. What then is the reaction of
authorities to someone from inside requiring direct access to the wall for research and publication purposes?
This question has been put, and responses demonstrated, for more than forty years through facilitating my
creative art practice on walls and borders. Access has been gained to undertake work on, for example: the Berlin
Wall; the Israeli Barrier; the Wagah Gate (India/Pakistan) and the US/Mexican border at San Diego. Historic walls
and borders, including for example- the Great Wall of China, Hadrian’s Wall and the Ancient Walls of Derry in
Northern Ireland represent no lesser challenge for public interrogatory and interpretive access.
The question of public access to walls and borders over this 40 year period has been partially responsive to the
prevailing security and political conditions- whether local, regional, national or international. Additionally
however, access for the citizen-insider-artist is dependent upon value judgment assessments made by authorities
about the role, purpose and outcomes of such access. Finally the question is posed- are there, should there be,
‘rights’ in regard to scrutinizing walls from within?
Walls, Borders and Escape Ways into Freedom (physical and mental)
Katarzyna Stoklosa, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Gerhard Besier, Sigmund Neumann Institute for the Research on Freedom, Liberty and Democracy, Dresden, Germany
Via Prague, Budapest and Warsaw into the Federal Republic of Germany
The mass of East Germans seeking to move to the Federal Republic in the summer of 1989 took a number of
routes Westwards, including that through Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. In all these countries, they
sought refuge and help from the West German embassy in Prague, Budapest and Warsaw, the Red Cross and the
Church. Working on the basis of the political archive in the German Foreign Office, this paper seeks to analyze the
mass movement of GDR citizens and the reaction of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.
Mental De-bordering Processes in Germany after 1989/90
Forty years of separation between East and West Germany had left considerable cultural differences – in spite of
the common language and the common history. Perhaps this mutual strangeness was the most surprising
phenomenon for those who had called “We are one people”. In reality the process of unification took more time
than overcoming the NS dictatorship in West Germany. Until now we meet considerable differences in estimating
values like freedom and equality, but also in everyday life styles. In this paper we are going to analyze the
complex reasons for the different mentalities that have stamped on the period between 1945 and 1989 on the
one hand and the sometimes futile attempts to overcome them after 1989.
India-Bangladesh border wall and international migration
Lena Dabova, Saint-Petersburg State University
India’s development before partition seemed to be a positive case of free migration and cultural assimilation
within a big multinational and religiously diverse region. The inner migration and migration from neighboring
countries shaped and enriched India for centuries. The situation started to change rapidly around the time of
partition of India into India and Pakistan/ Bangladesh and seems to have arrived to a dead end with the creation
of the wall between India and Bangladesh. Somehow, a chance for independent Muslim dominated country led
to deeper poverty, discrimination and even genocide of Bengali population within Pakistan and later Bangladesh.
Subsequently the border between India and Bangladesh became a hot spot instead of promised “guarantee of
peace and welfare”. At the same time on the global level, especially after the 9/11, the world witnessed
“Americanization” of borders with increased conventional and unconventional security systems and continuing
growth in height and length of the land walls, along with increasing tensions on the both sides of the “sea wall”
between the EU and Africa. The cross-border movement seems to be a privilege of the “economic elite”, while
access of the poor to the benefits of globalized “borderless” world becomes more and more restricted. The goal
of the following study on the India-Bangladesh wall is to examine the case of the wall policy of India as attempt of
providing security to its population against the new threat, such as terrorism. The hypothesis of this study is that
the case of illegal cross-border migration between India and Bangladesh proves the general trend of diminishing
effectiveness of the “top down” control over the modern state borders while the inter-state rivalry cedes control
over the state borders into the hands of international crime groups. The following research was conducted within
the premise of regional geopolitical competition between India and Pakistan translated into cross-border
89 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia migration policy of India; and by application of critical borderland studies approach and comparative sociopolitical analysis of similar to India-Bangladesh wall projects, such as the US-Mexico border regime.
F 68: REBORDERING ASIA II
Chair: Dhananjay Tripathi, South Asian University, India
Room: AU 204
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
Non-Traditional Security and China’s Relations with Myanmar
Md. Abdul Gaffar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
China’s foreign policy is directed toward establishing peaceful environment in its periphery and in the world to
engage in economic development of the country. Its policy toward Myanmar is marked by the ‘neighbourhood
diplomacy’, which aims at establishing friendly good neighbourly relations, which is crucial for expanding
Chinese interests in the region. The non-traditional security threats are one of the major problem areas in ChinaMyanmar relations. The security threats posed by ethnic insurgency, drug trafficking, Human Immunodeficiency
Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), refugee problems, environmental degradation, illegal
migration and human trafficking continue to hamper the bilateral relations. The number of anti-government
ethnic armed groups operating along the border areas have long association with poppy cultivation, drug
trafficking, weapon smuggling and other transnational crimes posing security threats to China.
China’s cooperation in this field is driven by these problems along the border and the need to secure its
economic interests in Myanmar. The risk of investment in such border areas continues to plague Chinese
entrepreneurs for long as many ethnic minorities oppose development projects. However, securing the border
areas and helping Myanmar in maintaining peace and stability to serve its strategic interests is the ultimate policy
of China toward Myanmar. Within these contexts, the paper would discuss the non-traditional security threats in
relations between the two countries. It would analyse how ethnic conflicts in Myanmar is hampering the
development and investment projects of China.
One-Way Vectors? The ‘New’ Reading of the Borders by India and China
Nimmi Kurian, Centre for Policy Research, Dharma Marg, India
Delhi and Beijing’s ‘new’ reading of the borders speaks a comfortable cosmopolitan language and lays claim to a
universal vision of globalism. But the language of the global strips away the messy complexity of its politics and
overlooks the bordering practices that happen within states by focusing largely on movement across borders.
The paper critically engages with the powerful geoeconomic mapping that informs the border imaginary in
particular the moves to restore the Southern Silk Route. The paper will also draw on the author’s experiences as a
member of the BCIM Forum (Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar), a subregional network of scholars,
practitioners and media, since its inception in 1999. The moves to project borders as bridges raises three critical
questions. Firstly, what sort of a powerful collusion of economic and political power would the revival of the Silk
Route represent? Secondly, what potential do Track-II dialogues such as the BCIM offer to bring together multiple
actors including stakeholders from the borderlands to address issues of governance, livelihood and resource
sharing? Thirdly, how will the evolving network of multiple actors negotiate norms of benefit sharing, mediate
trade-offs, and allocate risks and burdens on collective goods and bads in a transborder region? The manner in
which some of these questions are addressed could offer policy makers and scholars a richer repertoire of
alternative learning processes to experiment with and help bring people back into Indian and Chinese border
discourses.
Sino-Indian border dispute and its Changing Contours in Contemporary Times
Shubhi Misra, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
Borders are those entities within which compartmentalization takes place. They are features which have a unique
dynamism affecting social, economic and political life on either side. Post cold war world witnessed several
changes that led to the emergence of new geopolitical scales. With this new regional and international political
90 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia spaces became perceptible. Consequently there were integration and differentiation over the territorial spaces.
Border disputes which earlier were a common subject of geopolitical conflict re-emerged in a new form. Borders
continue to be an integral component of statecraft. They mark a state’s sovereignty over the territory.
In south Asia the most contested of all the issues is the Kashmir issue. Territorial disputes over Kashmir started
with the British withdrawal from India that set a wave of decolonisation. The westernmost, Aksai-Chin, is claimed
by India as part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and region of Ladakh but is controlled and administered as
part of the Chinese province of Xinjiang. India and Chinese forces clashed over the Aksai-Chin area. China was
continuously publishing claims to Himalayan mountain area. The other large disputed territory, the easternmost,
lies south of the McMahon Line. It was formerly referred to as the North East Frontier Agency, and is now called
Arunachal Pradesh. The McMahon Line was part of the 1914 Simla Convention between British India and Tibet, an
agreement rejected by China.
Till date the two nations have not been able to resolve their problems. This paper seeks to investigate this.
Durand Line: New Geopolitical frontier of war and Indo-Afghan relations
Kashif Imdad, Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, India
The global Geopolitical gravity centres has faced a major shift after declaration of war against terrorism by United
States. International border between Pakistan and Afghanistan has become one of the most notable victim of war
led by allied forces. Afghan-Pakistan relations were never very easy, but no one expected that post 9/11 situation
will make this region geopolitical frontier of global politics. However Pakistan assisted US led forces to bring
down Taliban government but new Afghan government does not have cordial relations with Pakistan on various
issues. On one side Pakistan has been on back foot due to domestic unrest for helping allied forces and on other
side the domestic terrorism is increasing day by day. Afghan-Pakistan controversy has already evolved into quasi
alliance between Kabul and New Delhi, which is a matter of great concern for Pakistan government. Present
paper attempts to identify various domestic and international issues related to Afghan-Pakistan conflicts and
eventually links whole situation with India. It also attempts to explain India’s Pakistan policy from Afghan
prospective.
F 69: BORDER MANAGEMENT AND TRANSBORDER DEVELOPMENT ON NORTH AMERICAN BORDERS
Chair: Christian Leuprecht, Royal Military College of Canada
Room: AG101
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
The construction of an index of transborder development: theoretical and practical challenges in the
context of the United States-Mexico border
Francisco Lara, Arizona State University, USA
Composite indices are often used as policy tools to evaluate or compare the performance of national or
subnational territories, but they rarely are transborder in concept and scope. This paper discusses the conceptual
and practical challenges associated with the construction of a composite index to measure transborder
development in the US-Mexico border region. The Transborder Development Index (TDI) is a conceptual
framework incorporating a variety of social, economic and environmental elements correlated with cross-border
interdependency and asymmetry in the US-Mexico border. Four development domains have been proposed for
the TDI to reflect a useful and meaningful breakdown: quality of life, sustainability, competitiveness and security.
The paper addresses issues related fucntional scaling, aggregation, weighting, comparability and
communication.
North American Border Challenges: terrorism/drugs/trade & American Indians
Laurence French, University of New Hampshire, USA
Magdaleno Manzanarez, Western New Mexico University, USA
The United States has long been held conflicting sentiments toward its neighbors in North America – Canada and
Mexico, especially its Indian populations. Since its independence, the US has been embroiled in conflicts
91 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia designed to expand its holdings into both Canada, with the War of 1812; and Mexico with the Annexation of
Texas (1836), the War with Mexico (1846-48), and the Gadsden Purchase (1853). For the most part, economic
factors replaced these strong-arm efforts during the 20th century. Canada and Mexico emerged as important U.S.
trading partners for both licit and illicit goods and services. Indeed, until the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks on the U.S.,
the U.S./Canada border was the longest “open” border in the world. The North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) (01/01/94) further opened these trade routes. However, both NAFTA and increased security efforts post9/11/01 had its greatest impact on the indigenous populations of all three countries. These security measures,
initiated by the USA, led to the militarization of the Mexican border as well as greater travel restrictions overall
with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) (initiated 01/06/09). WHTI allowed for Free and Secure Trade
Express (FAST) passage for trade partners but required Passports for all others – including American Indians, of
which many did not have valid birth certificates required for obtaining Passports. Consequently, Indigenous
peoples, notably those 40 tribal groups whose traditional lands transcend either the Mexico/US or Canada/US
borders, are the ones most affected by these increased security measure.
The economy of the El Paso del Norte transborder region since the end of the Cold War: NAFTA, 9/11 and
Narco Violence
Christopher Erickson, New Mexico State University, USA
The Paso del Norte provides an interesting microcosm of the internal and external forces influencing the
economic dynamics of the U.S.-Mexico border. The region has long been a major manufacturing area and is the
home of a large maquila sector. The end of the Cold War in the Paso del Norte was characterized by a period of
increased trade, policy coordination, and strengthening international cooperation along the border, which was
highlighted by NAFTA in 1994 and was accompanied by a de-emphasis of the border. This trend was halted and
reversed by the 9/11 terrorist attack, which led to increased ethnic tensions, the building of fences, and
imposition of heightened scrutiny at border crossings. Border security that funneled smuggling activity into the
Paso del Norte region is often blamed for narco warfare that caused Ciudad Juarez to become notorious for
violence. Despite the ethnic tensions, increased emphasis on border security, and the violence, the Paso del Norte
region transborder economic activity continued to grow, slowing down only with the advent of the great
recession. In general, the economic growth of Pase del Norte is driven more by the economic health of the U.S.
economy than by the status of the border and is also unaffected by violence. Important investment projects
include the $400 million, Union Pacific Strauss Yard intermodal transportation hub located in Santa Teresa, NM
and the $230 million, 20,000-employee Foxconn factory located just across the border from Union Pacific in
Jeronimo, Chihuahua.
Conspicuous Consumption and Drug-Trafficking in the U.S. – Mexico Border
Rodolfo Acosta Pérez, New Mexico State University, USA
Drug-trafficking has existed for many decades but it was not until President Felipe Calderon declared a “war on
the drug-cartels” in 2006 that drug-related violence escalated in Mexico leaving more than 30,000 deaths in less
than 5 years. It is often argued that this war is behind the increase in drug activity and drug-related executions in
the U.S. – Mexico border.
However, this paper explores an alternative hypothesis. Drawing upon Thorstein Veblen’s theory of conspicuous
consumption and a combination of case stories, historical facts, and statistics on drug trafficking in Mexico, this
paper tests whether there is a positive correlation between executions rate, conspicuous consumption, the retail
value of cocaine in the U.S., the index of impunity in Mexico, and control variables such as the share of young
males, average years of school completed, and asset-based poverty.
By using data from Mexico’s 31 states plus the nation’s Federal District, over 4 years (2007 to 2010) and a crosssectionally heteroskedastic and timewise autoregressive model (Kmenta 1986, Section 12.2, pp. 616-625), it is
concluded that conspicuous consumption does have an impact on the increase of drug-related executions.
Control variables such as the cost (probably of being incarcerated) and benefit (retail price of cocaine) of working
for the drug-trafficking industry, asset-based poverty, and age are also correlated with drug-related homicides.
Out of the border states, Chihuahua, Baja California Norte, and Sonora show a positive and significant correlation
with executions. All of the variables herein account for 77% of total variation in executions.
Railroads and Borderland Spaces: The Canada-U.S. Case
92 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Randy Widdis, University of Regina, Canada
Alexander Paul, University of Regina, Canada
Transportation has played a decisive role in transforming the economic and social geography of both the United
States and Canada and in this context, railroads have been prominent. Their extension in both the American and
Canadian hinterlands was designed to organize territory, increase the number of settlements, support resource
exploitation, and facilitate the development of regional and national markets. Yet, as history has demonstrated,
while geopolitical protectionism played a somewhat more prominent role in the development of railroads in
Canada than the United States, railroad expansion in both countries was not circumscribed by the international
boundary. In fact, in many cases the border actually transcended such development. In other words, the CanadaUnited States border has historically presented both limitations and opportunities to railroad interests. This paper
presents an historical overview of cross-border railroad networks, focusing on key elements such as nodes, hubs
and corridors. The paper also develops the argument that because such networks responded to changes in
technologies, regional development and market forces, their role in shaping the Canada-United States
borderland zone varied over space and time.
F 610: TRANSNATIONAL PRACTICES OF ETHNIC MINORITIES IN BORDER REGIONS
Discussant: Doris Wastl-Walter, University of Bern, Switzerland
Room: AG 102
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
Border minorities in the Baltic Sea Area – questions of definition, identification and cross- border relations
Thomas Lundén, Södertörn University, Sweden
Ethnic and linguistic minorities often inhabit border areas, either as a result of territorial definitions leaving minor
parts of an ethnic group on the “wrong” side of a nation-state border, or of stateless peoples divided into
territories of majority populations. The Baltic Sea Region includes minorities of both types, but the history, ethnic
and cultural identities of these groups vary enormously, from a strong identification with a neighboring nation
state to a weak group affiliation to a language or dialect. Their relations to a possible or imagined kin-state also
vary from a full identification to a denial. During the 20th century leading up to the transformation process of
North-Eastern Europe the situation has changed both on the western and eastern side of the former Iron Curtain.
Their self-identification as well as their formal status within their territorial state as well as their relations to a kin
nation depends on the political history of the area. This paper will analyze the situation of minority groups in the
Baltic Sea Region and beyond, with particular emphasis on border relations.
Caucasian Encounters: frontiers of cultural identity in contemporary Russia
Tiina Sotkasiira, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Political instability, violence and economic hardship are among the reasons why masses of people have
emigrated from the North Caucasus over the past decades. In principle all Russian citizens can freely choose their
place of residence. However, this does not necessarily mean that they would feel comfortable living and working
in their new place of residence. This is the case for many migrants from the North Caucasus whose arrival in new
destinations has caused controversy. This paper looks at the resettlement of North Caucasian population in the
north-west of Russia from two perspectives. Firstly, it explains how the media and local authorities came to terms
with the ‘Caucasus question’, which for long has been simmering under the seemingly quiet surface of the
Karelian borderlands. Secondly, it looks at the issue at hand from the perspective of young people who come
from the North Caucasus and who in the early years of 21st century lived in the North-West of Russia, namely in St
Petersburg or Petrozavodsk. The paper answers questions, such as how cultural and political borders between
local and migrant communities were drawn by Karelian authorities during the aftermath of the conflicts that
appeared between locals and Caucasian newcomers and how migrant youth from North Caucasus themselves
view their positioning in Russian society and what identification strategies they use in doing so.
93 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Transnational practices of deserters, students and professionally active persons in the Hungarian-Serbian
border region
Béla Filep, University of Bern, Switzerland
This paper explores transnational practices of Vojvodina Hungarian deserters, students and professionally active
persons in the Hungarian-Serbian border region. As a consequence of the Yugoslav Wars and the decelerated
process of Serbia’s EU integration, they have, over the last 20 years, often chosen to live a transnational life. Their
everyday activities, their mobility, emotional attachments, and economic relationships have brought about a
transnational region, which, although hindered by numerous institutional frameworks like the EU external
border, is produced and reproduced by people in the course of their daily regionalization.
Shifting borders and the repositioning of Romani minorities in the post-Yugoslav space
Julija Sardelic, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
This paper examines how the shifting borders after several disintegration(s) of the Socialist Federative Republic of
Yugoslavia (SFRY) impacted the re-positioning of individuals identified as belonging to different Romani
minorities (besides Roma also including Sinti, Ashkali, Egyptians, etc.), who were SFRY citizens and resided in its
different republics and autonomous provinces. The first hypothesis set by this paper is that Romani minorities
were and still are specifically affected by the shifting borders from the first SFRY disintegration in 1991 to the EU
integration processes in newly established post-Yugoslav states also due to their unique position in the common
socialist Yugoslav state. Furthermore, the paper aims to examine, how the effect of shifting borders redefined the
position of individuals belonging to Romani minorities, which often found themselves as non-citizens at their
place of residence without regular alien status and with the ineffective citizenship of their own states, i.e. de facto
stateless. The paper will highlight the obstacles Romani minorities face in accessing citizenship in the postYugoslav space and hence the rights attached to the citizenship status. In addition, it will also focus on the
transformations caused by the EU integration processes and EU visa liberalization regimes. It will show that even
in those cases, when Romani minorities are included into the body of post-Yugoslav citizenries, why they often
do not enjoy the same rights as other citizens (e.g. freedom of movement).
F 70: BORDERLAND CULTURES AND THE PERFORMANCE OF STATEHOOD
Discussant: Wolfgang Zeller, ABORNE, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
Chair: David Coplan, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Room: C2
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 14:50-16:30
Beyond Westphalia: Africa’s place in Borderland Culture Theory
Olukayode A. Faleye, Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Nigeria
Questions of Sovereignty: Invention and Intervention on the Kenya-Somali Border
Julie MacArthur, University of British Columbia, Canada
Double-Crossed: A dyadic view of border performance in Africa
David Coplan, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Bloodlines, Borderlines and the Performance of Statehood in The Gambia-Senegal Borders 1960-2013
Mariama Khan, Centre for African Studies, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
F 71: BORDERS IN GLOBALIZATION RESEARCH PROGRAM
Chair: Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly, University of Victoria, Canada
Discussant: Helga Hallgrimsdottir, University of Victoria, Canada
94 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Room: AU100
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 14:50-16:30
Borders In Globalization
Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly, University of Victoria, Canada
Borders in Globalization is an innovative, integrative, and sustainable network of academic partners from Canada,
the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, which is engaged with nonacademic organizations that are
involved in the management of borders and borderlands in Canada and worldwide. The basic goal is to build
excellence in the knowledge and understanding of borders. To this end, the partners will work together to create
new policy and foster knowledge transfer in order to address such globalization forces as security, trade and
migration flows, and also to understand the forces of technology, self-determination and regionalization that are
affecting borders and borderlands in regions around the world. Our program of research places Canadian
scholars at the core of an international partnership, with the objectives of developing policy and knowledge from
an international perspective and thus developing professional and academic training. A central tool to this end is
roundtables between policy makers and academics that inform all our work from its inception; Round-tables lead
to research, policy forums, summer schools, conferences, policy reports, briefs and books, and inform both theory
and practice related to borders. Border studies are global in reach, and so we ground our core partnership in
Canada and associate with key research centers worldwide. This provides support for a global policy-research
agenda that serves Canadian interests.
Since 9/11, border studies knowledge has expanded in ‘leaps and bounds’. This proposed research develops the
field significantly, is interdisciplinary across all social sciences, and is organized around a few critical themes that
frame key discussions: self-determination, governance complexity, local culture, political clout, market and
migration flows, and borders in motion. Policy makers, policy activists and social scientists need more than the
existing partial – narrowly defined or territorially limited - explanations of border issues that are available. They
need to go beyond, for example, the study of the internal and external borders of the European Union or the
study of the maritime borders of Japan.
This proposed research program moves the field forward by developing a global scholarship to theoretical
conceptual thinking on borders, while privileging the practical issues that policy-makers face daily. Partnerships
with public/private sector groups will be the measure of our success: we plan to facilitate the international
exchange of expertise, and organize debates on border policy, security, management and governance. We will
foster innovative dissemination, training and outreach through (i) 18 round-tables with our non-academic
partners, (ii) a web site with a Blog, and bi-annual newsletter, (iii) a world-wide data base of borders and
borderlands contacts (public, private, academic non-academic Organizations), (iv) 22 Policy Forums with our 11
international and 34 non-academic partners, (v) three international conferences, (vi) 10 summer schools for
professionals, and (vii) 8 books, (viii) 80 papers in prominent scholarly journals, (ix) 28 Policy Briefs, and hire and
train about 100 students / full time equivalent Ph.Ds/ Post Doctoral students to implement our research program.
Borders in Globalization: Security Template
Christian Leuprecht and Todd Hataley, Royal Military College of Canada
The Iron Curtain, the Berlin Wall, the “Peace Lines” that divide Belfast, the Demilitarized Zone between South and
North Korea, the Green Line that ran through Beirut and still divides Cyprus, fences that separates parts of the
United States’ border with Mexico, Gaza from Israel, as well as the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Mililla, the walls
that run through the West Bank: what walls and fences were to security in the twentieth century, flows are to
security in the twenty-first century. That entails a paradigm shift from the “castle” approach that has the
Westphalian state drawing a moat around its sovereign territory to one of governing and securing flows of
people, good and information. Securing the flow of goods and people starts at their place of origin. Sovereignstate frontiers are “pushed” outwards, relegated to a line of last defence. In domains such as climate change and
cyber, borders per se are largely irrelevant to governing and controlling flows. As a result, governing and securing
borders increasingly becomes a collective-action problem because the flows and associated risks that the
institutions of the nation-state are looking to govern and secure are increasingly beyond their purview. This raises
tactical, operational and strategic challenges. Tactically, inter-agency cooperation and interoperability become
95 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia ever more important. Operationally, such cooperation has to be achieved vertically and horizontally across
multiple jurisdictions. Yet, strategically government and governance actually encourage many of the flows that
they are trying to counteract tactically and operationally, through policies that create countervailing transaction
costs by opening up markets of opportunity. To this end, the security theme is subdivided into three main areas
of research: mapping and analyzing flows and the risk associated with them; governance and policy challenges
that arise from coping with these flows; and operational challenges to implement policy and optimize
effectiveness. All three dimensions seek to reconcile two fundamentally different perspectives of the state and its
relationship with its citizens that are at crux of the tensions that inform public, policy and operational debates
with respect to border security. From a Hobbesian perspective, security is a state’s imperative vis-à-vis its citizens;
but from a Lockean perspective, security is a service, rendered by a stated to its citizens that is constrained by
limited intervention in their lives, and with the objective of advancing human flourishing in the form of selfactualization by realizing freedom, equality, and justice. In short, the overriding objective of the security theme is
to provide evidence to facilitate better border security within the limits and possibilities of constitutional
democracy and the rule of law.
Market Flows, Migration and Borders Framing the Issues for the Borders in Globalization Study
Geoffrey Hale, University of Lethbridge, Canada
The concept of market flows, as related to borders and globalization, reflects the interaction of domestic, crossborder, and broader international transactions, linkages, networks, and related processes of governance that
affect four broad types of economic activity: goods, services, people, and capital. The concept of migration
involves movements of individuals and families for purposes of durable or permanent residence between
countries and, in Canada, between sub-national jurisdictions. Major regional variations in patterns of net in- and
out-migration have been central to broader demographic shifts since 1990, which suggest that the Canadian
economy contains a series of regional economies variably integrated on a sectorial basis with other parts of
Canada, North America and broader international markets. The progress of North American and global economic
integration has contributed to the growth of supply and value chains that have blurred traditional national
borders and created dynamic, but sectorally and regionally variable networks for investment, production and
distribution. These networks are subject to continual change as a result of technological innovations, changes in
business processes, and turnover in the ownership and control of corporate organizations and assets. These
developments create substantial challenges in both public and private sector governance (and their interaction),
as well in relationships among different participants in segmented but overlapping networks of governance
which frequently cross national and provincial borders.
The policy and regulatory functions of borders – that is, the intended effects of government policies affecting
market and migration flows – and their practical effects of these policies, whether intended or unintended, vary
widely across economic and policy sectors and sub-sectors. The design and purpose of such policies are
influenced by the institutional processes and structures of governments, by the past history of selected policy
instruments, and their relative alignment or variation with those of other major trading partners and migrants’
countries of origin. They also reflect the competition and cooperation of governmental, economic, and societal
interests engaged with and affected by these policies. As noted by Brunet-Jailly, policy and regulatory functions
may also vary depending on the relative influence of border communities on particular federal and provincial
policy regimes.
Perhaps the single biggest challenge for purpose of the “market flows and migration” components of the Borders
in Globalization project is to identify representative aspects of multi-level governance that can address core
concepts addressed in the broader research proposal including:
a) complexity of policy / governance issues (e.g. overlapping and competing sectoral and issue-specific
policy considerations, subject to multiple forms of variability, including shifts in political or policy
priorities);
b) variability of borders – resulting from overlapping jurisdictional issues within Canada and different
jurisdictions within the United States, but also possible implications arising from the recent Canada-EU
Comprehensive Trade and Economic Agreement (CETA), and other shifts in international governance
arrangements;
96 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia c) variations in the cultures and political clout of borderland communities (e.g. differing priorities in
addressing resource development, environmental, and distributive issues along various supply chains,
which may be magnified by the effects of electoral cycles and effects);
d) market and migration flows – including shifts in ownership, technology, forms of business, industrial and
labour organization;
e) all contributing to the intertemporal and intersectoral “mobility of borders”.
History and borders in Canada and elsewhere
Randy Widdis, University of Regina, Canada
Under current dialectical conditions of globalization and increased demands for security, borders are no longer
just symbols of sovereignty and national histories; they are evolving into new forms and as such are taking on
new functions. Yet while borders continue to exist and are arguably more fluid and dynamic than ever before,
this doesn’t mean that borders prior to the current phase of globalization (1945 onwards) were relatively static
and stable. What is constant is the fact that borders are always in a state of becoming.
Canada’s relations with the United States illustrate this conundrum: Canada has long vacillated over the question
of reciprocity, experienced what is arguably the most passionate debate in its history over NAFTA but ultimately
voted in favor of free trade. While the discussion covered a wide range of economic, political, cultural, and
ideological themes, at its very core, it pitted those who argued for against those who were critical of
neoliberalism. Advocates reasoned that free trade was a necessary step if Canada was going to succeed in a new,
i.e., neoliberal, global economy. Specifically, they maintained that the country needed a greater volume of trade
and capital flowing through the economy. Ironically, this debate was taking place during a transitional period in
which Canada was moving farther away from a position of dependency to one in which it was extending its own
imperialistic tendencies beyond its borders.
Tom Naylor and Wallace Clement argue that during the 1950s and 1960s, American multinationals established a
continental structure of corporate power, with headquarters in the United States and Canadian branches
managed by a ‘comprador’ elite. Yet as William Carroll has so effectively demonstrated, this changed during the
transition to post-Keynesian globalization taking place during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s when a weakening of
interlocks between Canadian and U.S. corporations, and an expansion of ties between Canadian and European
firms took place at the same time increased concentration and integration took place within North America.
Carroll illustrates that during the period 1976-1996, the Canadian-based financial capital segment gained greater
control over domestic industry, became more transnational in its operations, and actively participated in global
policy circles through membership in organizations like the Trilateral Commission. His work suggests that during
this time, there was “a resurgence of Canadian capitalist control of big industry” and that Canadian capital was
strong enough and sufficiently independent enough from American imperialism to finance investments both at
home and invest abroad. Canadian finance capital, Carroll shows, is no longer dominated by a comprador class
but is actively engaged in the globalization process. In other words, by the end of the 1980s and the beginning of
Canadian-American free trade, Canada was well on its way to becoming a full member of the global imperialist
club even as the stage was set for increasing trade and economic integration with the United States. Hence new
borders and border functions.
Culture, Borders, and Imagining Across Boundaries in Globalization
Victor Konrad, Carleton University, Canada
In the 21st century, both culture and borders remain over determined concepts in human efforts to imagine and
comprehend a world that is increasingly characterized by both flows and barriers. Culture is everywhere yet
nowhere; culture is an idea ever more produced and re-produced by society. The interplay of a broadened, more
elaborately scaled, more demonstrative, more accessible, and more malleable array of cultural ideas, with a more
extensive display of borders, suggests that imagining across boundaries may provide a rich insight to how
borders work and how people deal with boundaries. The culture that we produce not only meets at borders, but
also now these cultural constructions are often more evident and demonstrative of the meanings that people
ascribe to the act of dealing with boundaries in an ostensibly borderless world, and to the boundaries, barriers,
fences and walls themselves. The porosity and selectivity of borders to flows of goods, people and ideas plays
differentially with the array of cultural expression that is encountered at and near the boundary. Understanding
the result of this interplay is our goal. Do borders simply create a cacophony of notes in their intersection with
97 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia cultural constructions, or does the interplay create melodies, songs and perhaps symphonies of interaction to
interprete? A recent fictional account about living and coping with the new security border in the North
American Pacific Northwest uses this metaphor of “Border Songs” to capture the essence of borderlands culture
in transition (Lynch, 2008). In this project we propose to seek this essence and to record some of the border songs
that convey the imaginary across boundaries.
This template is envisioned in three parts: a critical interrogation of Borders and Culture in Globalization, an
evaluation of Cultural Expressions at the border and an exploration of Imaginaries Across Boundaries.
Thematic and territorial issues in Borders In Globalization
Helga Hallgrimsdottir, University of Victoria, Canada
F 72: CHALLENGES TO CONFLICT AMELIORATION IN BORDERSCAPES
Chair: Katarzyna Stoklosa, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Room: AU101
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 14:50-16:30
Border security regimes, historical legacies of border change, economic recession and continuing territorial
disputes present significant challenges for borderscape conflict amelioration. Borderscapes are the locale of
ethno-religious and ethno-national communities steeped in the legacy of Imperial and state border change and
resistant to nation-state homogenisation. Consequently, borderscapes display manifestations of cultural and
political diversity; they present contested discourses and meanings; and they involve struggles over inclusion and
exclusion between competing and/or conflict groups. In the context of conflict amelioration borderscapes also
offer opportunities for inter-cultural dialogue and cross-border cooperation. However, if cross-border mobility
and interaction are integral to the conflict amelioration impetus of EU cross-border co-operation then the
Schengen border compromises an EU peacebuilding objective within the EU and across its external border.
Imperial legacies of overlap and competition, as well as contemporary economic recession present the EU with
further challenges in the pursuit of this objective. In the Middle East, ongoing territorial disputes mean that UN
efforts to establish border recognition by parties to conflict is, at best, tenuous, and may itself be the cause of
future conflict. The EU and the UN are faced with rather different challenges in terms of ameliorating conflict in
borderscapes. However, the panel will draw out some underlying commonalities which arise from the prevalence
of neo-imperial forms of governance in both Europe and the Middle East.
Stopped at the Gates? Conflict Amelioration Across the EU’s External Border
Cathal McCall, Queen’s University, Belfast, Ireland
Cross-border mobility and interaction is integral to the conflict amelioration impetus of EU cross-border cooperation. Yet, mobility is hindered by a number of factors, not least the border security regime that it confronts.
The post-2004 enlargement of the EU to include 28 member states, and the EU's active engagement with
neighbouring states 'beyond the EU Pale', increased the number of real and potential border conflicts with which
it has to contend. However, the Schengen border regime presents a formidable challenge to cross-border cooperation across the EU’s external frontier because it frustrates mobility, inter-cultural contact and
communication, and therefore undermines a conflict amelioration objective. Drawing on empirical evidence
drawn from the EU FP7 research projects EUBORDERSCAPES and EUBORDERREGIONS, this paper assesses the
obstacles faced by the European Commission in extending its conflict amelioration objective beyond its external
frontier into neighbouring states.
Civil Society Mobilisations, Institutional Change and the Economic Crisis: Opportunities and Challenges to
Conflict Amelioration in the Basque Case
Xabier Itçaina, CNRS, Centre Emile Durkheim, Sciences po Bordeaux, France
Marc Errotabehere, Université de Bordeaux, France (not present)
98 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Given the lack of an institutionalized cross-border process of conflict resolution in the Basque case, the European
policy encouraging cross-border cooperation has been frequently perceived as contributing to an implicit
process of conflict amelioration in this border territory. Civil society organisations, and particularly those
structured on a cross-border basis, seized the institutional cross-border opportunities that had been flourishing
since the early 1990s. The decrease of political violence since 2010 seemed to pave the way for a political
normalization of the Basque Country, including the stabilization and the routinization of cross-border and crosscommunity relations. However, as it will be argued here, the relations between cross-border relations and conflict
amelioration are far from being unequivocal. First, the attempts to institutionalize a process of conflict
resolution/transformation, essentially concentrated on the Southern part, had difficulties assuming and
integrating the cross-border dimension of the conflict. Secondly, most of the cross-border policies and initiatives
in the Basque region responded to functional, socio-economical or cultural, goals, and had no explicit discursive
linkage to a process of conflict amelioration. Third, the global economic crisis that hits both territories since 2008,
and particularly the Spanish Basque one, undermined the cross-border institutional frames, and forced civil
society actors to search for alternative resources and pathways. The paper will rely on an original qualitative
survey conducted among third sector cross-border experiences in the Basque Country (research programme Vers
une gouvernance transfrontalière en réseau ? Experiences transfrontalières du tiers secteur en France et au RoyaumeUni, Sciences po Bordeaux - Région Aquitaine, 2010-2014).
UN Missions and Border Issues: a Comparison Between Lebanon and Iraq
Daniel Meier, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, England
Several UN missions in the Middle East have to cope with border issues, particularly in Iraq and Lebanon. It the
latter, UNIFIL has been deployed since 1978 to monitor the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon (UNRSC 425) and
support Lebanese Armed Forces’ deployment in the south of the country (UNRSC 1701) up to the Blue Line that
separates the two States. This mission has appeared to be successful in securing the borderline and in settling
some border disputes. In Iraq since 2003, the UNAMI mission was called in to provide care for the Iraqi population
and to advise the Iraqi government.
The territorial disputes between the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and the central Shi’i-led government
were a key issue for the federation, despite the common acknowledgement in 2005 of a Green Line separating
the central and northern regions of Iraq. In spite of its 2009 study on the disputed territories, UNAMI seems
unable to resolve this issue. Two types of claim seem to block any agreement: the presence of Kurds straddling
the Green Line and important hydrocarbon resources underneath several disputed areas. Beyond their
differences, these two UN missions revealed some specific dimensions that are at stake in the success of their
task. I will underline the importance of the level of dispute, relying on Prescott’s scale of contested borders
between “territorial disputes” and “positional disputes”. Moreover, I will argue that these notions have to be put
in a system of action deployed by each UN mission in order to succeed in building confidence between parties in
conflict.
Violent Conflict on the Frontier: the Importance of History
Liam O’Dowd, Queen’s University, Belfast, Ireland
The paper will argue that any understanding of the links between borders and conflict
management/transformation must be rooted in a historical analysis of how frontiers or borderlands have come
into existence. Concentrating on Europe, the paper suggests that the most violence-prone frontiers are those
characterised historically by legacies of imperial overlap and competition. Inter-imperial war and the general
retreat from empire has frequently left a inter-locking patchwork of ethno-religious and ethno-national
communities that have proved resistant to the homogenising project of nation-state building. Alternatively,
armed conflict has led to massive ethnic cleansing or population displacement which manages conflict by the
rigid separation of peoples. The paper examines the prospects for conflict management and/or transformation in
contemporary Europe in the light of (a) the re-invigoration of imperial forms of governance; (2) the highly
variable infra-structural power of frontier states and (3) the relative strength of inter-urban networks in frontier
zones.
F 73: PERMEABILITY AND IMPENETRABILITY: CLOSE UP LOOKS ON ISRAEL’S BORDERS
99 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Discussant: David Newman, Ben Gurion University at Negev, Israel
Chair: Nir Gazit, Ruppin Academic Center, Israel
Room: AU 102
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 14:50-16:30
Israel’s borders are an interesting case to theorize on due to their versatile nature, their concentration within a
relatively small space and the controversies surrounding them. Israel has four international borders (though not
necessary recognized as such) with Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, as well as two semi-internal borders with
the Occupied Palestinian Territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Many of the phenomena that
characterize contemporary borders are or have been observable here, from militant activity and smuggling to
illegal migration and official crossing of laborers, tourists and pilgrims.
This panel focuses on these borders’ actual workings, assuming that they are not merely clear-cut lines but rather
wider entities, both metaphorically as well as practically. We have borderlands and border-zones, with a unique
border milieu, as well as neo-frontiers, opened and closed intermittently and concurrently. We consider the
materiality of these borderlands, and question the effectiveness of fences, while recognizing the separating effect
of non-material factors. We also explore processes of border-making and the hidden logic behind their
demarcation. Our hope is that this panel’s studies, covering different neighboring borders and a variety of
disciplines, will create a complementary picture whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Crossing the Line: the Israel-Lebanon Borderlands and People 1982-2000
Asher Kaufman, University of Notre Dame, United States
When one considers the political boundaries that separate Israel from its Arab neighbors, images of sealed and
impregnable lines come to mind, resonating strongly with what Oscar Martínez has defined as “alienated
borders.” According to Martínez, alienated borderlands exist “where cross-boundary interchange is practically
nonexistent owing to extremely unfavorable conditions. Warfare, political disputes, intense nationalism,
ideological animosity, religious enmity, cultural dissimilarity, and ethnic rivalry constitute major causes of such
alienation.” By focusing on the Israel-Lebanon borderlands, this paper challenges this perception, demonstrating
how even in times of intense conflict, cross-border interaction could take place, making the hard boundary line
much more flexible and permeable than one might first imagine. This paper explores cross-border interaction of
labor, legal and illicit trade, education, leisure and marriage as manifested along the Israel-Lebanon borderlands,
demonstrating how a “borderland milieu” (another term coined by Martínez) took shape there from the early
1970s until the withdrawal of Israel from South Lebanon in May 2000.
From walls to border-network: Rethinking the materiality and location of Israeli-Palestinian boundaries
Cédric Parizot, IREMAM (AMU/CNRS), France
Antoine Vion, LEST (AMU/CNRS), France
Wouter van den Broeck, Erasmus University College, Belgium
This presentation will present a dynamic visualization of the relational chains observed by an anthropologist
throughout his field work within the Israeli Palestinian space (2005-2010). This work is an outcome of the
transdisciplinary research program, the antiAtlas of Borders (www.antiatlas.net/eng). It involves an
anthropologist (Cedric Parizot), a sociologist (Antoine Vion) and a specialist of complex data visualization (Wouter
Van den Broeck). The aim of this project is two fold. First, it attempts to reconsider the materiality and location of
boundaries separating Israeli and Palestinian spaces in the post Intifada period. It argues that the networks of
informal interactions fostered by the permit system imposed by Israel on Palestinians since the 1990s has
provoked the emergence of thicker boundaries than the most visible Israeli mechanisms of control: the West
Bank Wall. Second, it assesses to what extent and in what ways students of the Israeli Palestinian conflict actually
co-evaluate with the networks they analyse and, hence, contribute, in their way, to the functionning of the
separation regime.
The Egyptian-Israel border: The lost dream of a neo-frontier
Efrat Ben-Ze’ev, Ruppin Academic Center, Israel
100 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Nir Gazit, Ruppin Academic Center, Israel
During the past decade, the Israeli-Egyptian border has undergone a series of transformations, triggered by the
influx of African migrants crossing north and, more recently, by the political instability in Egypt and the Sinai. In
response, Israel extended its military presence on this borderzone and fortified it. In 2012, it hastily built a high
fence along the 240-kilometer stretch. To the Jewish settlers who moved to this borderzone following the Peace
Agreement with Egypt (1979), these developments were disturbing. Their ethos of this zone can be described as
one venerating a neo-frontier, incorporating a sense of freedom, far from the center, close to the Sinai, oriented
towards desert life and ecology and one that blurs a clear borderline. How do the Jewish settlers react to the
closure of this border, we ask here, and answer through an ethnographic study carried out in the last two years.
On the theoretical level we explore the inherent tension between openness and closeness that characterizes
borders in general and Israeli borders, including this one, in particular.
Constructing Israel’s Boundaries: People, maps and the messy practice of delineating borders in a conflict
region
Christine Leuenberger, Cornell University United States
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 purportedly marked the beginning of a new era of a borderless and
interconnected world. Border studies scholars, however, have pointed out that not only has the post-1989 period
lead to a worldwide proliferation of borders, boundaries and physical and virtual frontiers, that divide people,
cultures, and territories, but in conflict-ridden areas, such as in Israel-Palestine, establishing firm boundaries so as
to delineate territory and attempt to differentiate between ethnically and culturally diverse social groups remains
a desired form of social organization.
This paper relies on qualitative data including ethnographic observations, archival research as well as indepth interviews with cartographers and surveyors that speak to some of the technical, cartographical, political,
environmental and social complexities they encountered when attempting to delineate and demarcate some of
Israel's borders. Their stories reveal not only how top-down colonial demarcations in the region can impact
binational or unilateral boundary demarcation processes to the present, but also how maps are used as tools to
delineate borders and define nations.
Moreover, their tales point to the importance of what political sociologists call “infrastructures of coordination”
(Eitan Alimi; Charles Tilly) between opposing parties. Accordingly, rather than technical solutions
solving boundary disputes, a social infrastructure that enhances dialogue, the exchange of information and
provides the basis for coordinated action more often than not tipped the balance towards a successful political
resolution. Boundary-making, therefore, ultimately is a relational achievement enabled by coordinated action
and a willingness to negotiate so as to attain commonly shared goals.
F 74: THE MANY LAYERS OF CROSSBORDER GOVERNANCE IN A CONTEXT OF LOW LEVELS OF LOCAL
AUTHORITY
Chair & Discussant: Kathleen Staudt, University of Texas at El Paso, USA
Room: AU 206
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 14:50- 16:30
Crossborder governance is influenced anywhere by the ability of local actors on either side of a borderline to
create norms and institutions that best serve their interests. In contexts with low levels of local authority—as the
federal systems of both Mexico and the United States, norms do exist, but they tend to have high levels of
informality and actors continually negotiate their crossborder interactions in high levels of uncertainty and a
constant inability to control outcomes, many of which depend on more powerful actors in the national capitals.
These papers explore how these actors create and negotiate these norms and institutions of crossborder
governance under circumstances of scarce local autonomy.
Intercambio y tensión en la zona fronteriza Ciudad Juárez-El Paso
Patricia Barraza de Anda, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Héctor Gómez, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
101 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Se analiza el intercambio y la tensión existente entre los representantes de los sectores educativo, empresarial y
político de Ciudad Juárez con el gobierno central en torno a la reforma fiscal del 2013. Lo anterior, con el objetivo
de evidenciar la persistente incertidumbre en el entorno fronterizo para formular agendas efectivas y que
respondan a requerimientos locales. Esta evaluación se hace para conocer los posibles efectos de las futuras
negociaciones con sus homólogos en El Paso, Texas.
Elementos que definen la cooperación transfronteriza para Ciudad Juárez-El Paso
Consuelo Pequeño Rodríguez, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Alejandra Payán, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Definimos la cooperación transfronteriza como la colaboración que permite generar una agenda mínima de
intercambio entre Ciudad Juárez- El Paso. Nos interesa documentar los aspectos que articulan las agendas, las
redes, los consensos y los obstáculos para formalizar loa acuerdos y los disensos entre ambas ciudades. En ese
contexto, el objetivo es conocer los elementos que los diferentes actores gubernamentales y no
gubernamentales de Ciudad Juárez identifican como requisitos de esa colaboración y por supuesto, de las
posibles “buenas prácticas” de la gobernabilidad transfronteriza en nuestra frontera.
Gobierno y participación comunitaria: Mujeres tarahumaras en Ciudad Juárez
Martha Estela Pérez, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Isabel Escalona Rodríguez, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
La comunidad tarahumara en Ciudad Juárez se caracteriza por sus circunstancias de pobreza, falta de
oportunidades en la educación, en el empleo y la discriminación de que son objeto. Esto crea un contexto que les
resulta muy difícil de sobrellevar y de superar, porque quedan anclados en un círculo de vulnerabilidad. Cabe
destacar que los tarahumaras de esta frontera se rigen bajo reglas democráticas y de orden social en sus formas
de gobierno, porque eligen en común acuerdo a sus dirigentes y participan de manera comprometida en la toma
de decisiones para la resolución de sus problemas. Encontramos que en su última elección, favorecieron con su
voto a dos mujeres, quienes ostentan el cargo de gobernadoras. Ellas han creado estrategias propias y formas
particulares de acción política, han demostrado su capacidad para mantener orden y liderazgo con un alto grado
de capital social y reconocimiento político. Además, las gobernadoras se adjudican una tercera jornada de trabajo
al aceptar su cargo, pues además de ser madres, esposas y trabajadoras, hacen su labor pública y comunitaria con
alto sentido de compromiso y sin recibir un salario por esta labor.
F 75: ZONES OF EXCEPTION
Discussant: Shinichiro Tabata, Hokkaido University / Hokkaido University Helsinki Office
Chair: Ivana Trkulja, Centre for Advanced Studies, Bulgaria
Room: AU 209
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 14:50-16:30
This panel continues research that examines migrant transnationality and how globalisation has impacted upon
the relationship between home/ host country, often challenging official authority as represented by ‘transitional
zones of exception’. The understanding of international migrants now identifies people who variously keep
regular ties across national borders to home countries, integrate into their new host countries, or maintain a
combination of both practices to varying degrees of success. The impact of migration is mixed: economic benefits
are felt in both host and home countries, and social and cultural remittances, eg ideas, practices, and social
capital are important development resources in the home country while migrants enrich the cultural and social
environment of their new homes. Concretely, this panel will look at how migrants construct (or engage with)
their notions of space/place, belonging, loss, home and home-coming, or building a ‘new home’ abroad within
this ‘space in-between’.
Where located the borderline between Central Asia and Russia?
Igor Savin, Institute of Oriental studies Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
102 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Concept of borderland and borderline is changing now. In previous historical period border, even in broader
sense, were linked mostly with geographical and political and political entities. In modern period we can meet
every day phenomena that was created in different from “our” geographical, mental, ideological sphere. But now
the understanding what is “our” itself is also changed. People in modern Russia should make unconsciousness
mental operation to identify in what degree that concrete phenomena belong to “our” city, region, society etc.
The results of that procedure depend on discursive manifestations and social practices that surround concrete
situation. Researches of identification mainly concentrated on the analyses of discursive sphere. In presented
paper I will try to concentrate on complex investigation of situation where people in Moscow try understand the
changing social world around them concerning new neighbours from Central Asia. I will investigate not only their
opinion but also their interaction with migrants. The base for investigation were series of focus groups and
interviews conducted by author in June-November 2013 in Moscow.
Janus Crossings: The Ledra’s Street Checkpoint in Nicosia and its Two Faces
Thodoris Kouros, University of Cyprus, Cyprus
Thanos Koulos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus
In Roman ancient religion, Janus was the god of gates and passages. He was depicted as having two faces. This
paper will examine the conceptualization of borders as areas that exist in both sides of a boundary. It will focus
on Cyprus, an island state ethnically divided after a Turkish military offensive in 1974, and look at the border
between Northern and Southern Cyprus as two distinct boundaries, as the two faces of Janus: one constructed by
the ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’, and the other by the Republic of Cyprus. Crossing this border from one
side is different than crossing it from the other in terms of official policies and institutionalisation of identity, as
well as in terms of identity and identity politics. Going to ‘the other side’ one is thoroughly checked, while
returning to ‘our side’ is usually more simple. Although there are similarities in the ways both sides handle the
border crossing, there are also differences that can be explained through their respective definitions of the
boundary. From the 1974 war that ethnically cleansed the island into a Turkish North and a Greek South, until
2003 the border was sealed and there was no communication between the two communities. A handful of
checkpoints were opened along the boundary line in 2003 that allowed for the first time since 1974 the
movement of people throughout the island. This makes this case of particular importance for the study of
identity politics, social memory, and the construction and re-construction of boundaries.
The Comprised Mobility of Moscow’s Labour Migrants: States of Exception in a Super-diverse City
John Round, University of Birmingham, UK/Higher School of Economics, Russia
While Moscow is a super diverse city with between 4-5 million of its population international labour migrants, the
majority from Central Asia, and despite the state recognising their economic importance, levels of integration
and tolerance are extremely low. This paper argues that increasing xenophobia and unclear legislation forces
many migrants to live and operate within shifting states of exception, ensuring a precarious everyday which
impacts greatly on their mobility. While often used to describe migrant camps this paper argues that the state of
exception concept applies to Moscow as a whole as even documented migrants are prey to state officials and,
increasingly, its citizens due to the uncertain everyday life that imprecise legislation creates. Thus migrants share
informal knowledge about the safest places in the city and the routes around it which reduce their chances of
interactions with the police. Furthermore, many who desire formality are forced into informality by their
employers and landlords refusing to register their documents correctly, increasing their vulnerability and denying
welfare access. Compounding this, while it is extremely unclear who can demand a migrant’s documentation
they are routinely stopped by the police and increasingly by members of the public, with groups such as ‘Moscow
Shield’ proclaiming themselves as the city’s protectors. This ensures that migrants wish to spend as little time as
possible in ‘public’ spaces to reduce the risk of confrontation, punishment and violence. For many their
spatialities of Moscow are reduced to their work place and accommodation and there are very few places where
integration occurs. Through the work of Lefebvre and de Certeau the paper then addresses how migrants
develop informal tactics to ‘cope’ with these everyday realities and carve out spaces of the city for themselves.
Creeping Migration, Conflicts and Border Discourses in the Kyrgyz-Tajik and Burmese-Thai borderlands
Paul Fryer, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
103 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia While the phenomenon of labour migration of Central Asian citizens to Russia or Burmese to Thailand is
frequently discussed and examined, the less well-known issue of ‘creeping migration’ in the borderlands of these
regions is often ignored by the outside world. And yet for the communities involved, these movements represent
economic and social challenges to preconceived notions of home territory. For Kyrgyzstan, the gradual
occupation of lands in its southern regions by citizens of both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan seems to have been a
mounting problem over the last decade. But given the country’s recent history of instability and lack of resources,
what actions can the Kyrgyz authorities realistically take to strengthen state sovereignty and secure these conflict
areas for its own citizens? In contrast, along the Thai-Karen State (Burma) border, years of armed conflict and lack
of central control in Burma has allowed the western border to be crossed freely, with Burmese workers employed
by Thai farmers in Thailand and Thais renting farmlands on the Burmese side of the border. In light of the recent
peace process, how will these labour migrations be affected? Both cases will be examined and contrasted against
a background of border discourses maintained by both the authorities and local residents. The main question
asked will be: Is creeping migration a problem or advantage in these borderlands?
F 76: EQUALITIES AND PROSPECTS FOR MIGRANTS’ WORKING LIFE
Chair: Filippo Celata, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy
Room: AU210
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 14:50-16:30
Commuter Migration across Arbitrary Borders: The Story of Partitioned Communities along the
Zimbabwe-Mozambique Border
Anusa Daimon, University of the Free State, South Africa
This paper explores how partitioned borderland African communities view and use the Zimbabwe-Mozambique
border. Using ethnographic data gathered from the communities straddled across the border, it analyses why
commuter migration across this boundary is rampant. It observes that to the borderland communities, the border
is non-existent. They have traditionally viewed it as an imaginary boundary or a transnational environment
without borders where social inter-connections, movements and trade can be made without restrictions. Thus,
they daily practice commuter migration on foot using illegal crossing points scattered along the mountainous
boundary. Most Mozambicans prefer commuting to the better Zimbabwean schools and hospitals across the
border, while most shopping and kinship rites are conducted in Mozambique. Likewise, some of the divided
communities recognize and use single traditional authorities. In the process, the Zimbabwe-Mozambican border
has been reduced to an artificial and arbitrary boundary which does not respond to what the local people believe
to be rational boundaries. Consequently, the border has become highly fluid and elastic as it constantly shifts
according to the dictates of the partitioned communities.
Borders, Migrancy and the Ethics of Co­habitation in Nairobi
Lorenzo Rinelli, Loyola University, Italy & Samson Opondo, Vassar College, USA
On the whole, in this large research project whose first segment is entitled “Affective Economies: Urban Anxieties
and the Mapping of Diasporic City Space”, ( Africa and Black Diaspora Journal, May 2013) we engage dynamics of
co-habitation, violence and estrangement in Eastleigh ⎯aleksi the prominent East-African commercial hub where
the majority of Somali refugee live. This intervention is the result of our fieldwork in Nairobi during summer 2013,
where we trace the nationalist anxieties and violence that accompany the government of Kenya’s attempt to
bring an end to Al-shabab militancy and the Westgate shopping mall attack on September 21, 2013. As a site of
study, Eastleigh is intended to act as a form of borderscape that reveals the movement of Somali and Kenyan
bodies and capital whose moments of encounter make it difficult to distinguish between the national and the
foreign. More specifically, the essay engages the ethical limits, that is the borders, of the refugees’ policies by
illustrating how the counterhegemonic invocation of the category of ‘the people’ and its concomitant calls for
‘change’, development or new beginnings produce racial, religious, nativist forms of violence with far reaching
implications for how refugees live in these cities.
104 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Inequalities and Global Flows in Mexico’s Northeastern Border: The Effects of Migration, Commerce,
Energy Industry, and Transnational Organized Crime
Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, University of Texas at Brownsville, USA
The present paper analyzes the effects of global flows on socioeconomic inequality in the four Mexican states
bordering Texas: Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila and Chihuahua. In particular, this work analyzes the effects of
migration, transborder commerce, extraction and trade of hydrocarbons, and transnational organized crime. The
results of the present research clearly show higher levels of inequality in the municipalities of greater economic
dynamism and presence of global flows (formal, informal or illicit). Transnational organized crime has a strong
presence in these states of the Mexican Republic and seems to operate in the same direction than the rest of
formal global flows, that is, reinforcing inequalities within these Mexican states as well as inequalities between
Mexican and Texan border cities.
Living At The Cutting Edge: Forced Migrations in the Border-belt of Indian Punjab Since 1947
Jagrup Singh Sekhon, Guru Nanak Dev University, India
The study is a modest attempt to provide empirical evidences on forced migrations of the people living in the
border-belt of Indian Punjab since the partition of the sub continent in 1947 .The findings of the study explain
various distress factors both manmade and natural which are responsible to push these people out from their
respective houses and villages on regular basis for the last more than six decades. The post-partition history of
India –Pakistan relations has been marred by various violent conflicts and wars which adversely affects the lives of
people living in the border belt of Indian Punjab.
F 77: EUROPEANISATION AND ITS LOCAL RESPONSES
Chairs: Heidi Fichter-Wolf & Hans-Joachim Bürkner, Leibniz-Institute for Regional Development and Structural
Planning (IRS), Germany
Room: AU 205
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 14:50-16:30
The multi-layered (multi-faceted) process of Europeanisation at the German-Polish border
Heidi Fichter-Wolf, Leibniz-Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning (IRS), Germany
In the focus of this research are the changing perceptions and images of the German-Polish borderland against
the backdrop of the European integration process. Political discourses at both sides of the border at the local and
regional level are analysed in order to gain an understanding of the various everyday conceptualizations of
borders. It will be discussed whether and how these bottom-up interpretations of European borders by local and
regional stakeholders may contribute to altered or diverging understandings of Europe or whether and in what
ways these approaches contribute to the process of Europeanisation.
Creating the perfect resident of a border region? Enabling, regulating and normalizing cross-border
relations in a securitized Schengen border regime
Judith Miggelbrink, Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Germany
The assemblage of the Schengen border regime has often being blamed for its strict regulation of border control.
Indeed, when the Schengen border replaced bilateral border regimes in Central and Eastern Europe, this has not
only led to a homogenization (‘harmonization’) of borders but also to an still ongoing securitization. Regarding
the local population in the respective borderlands ‘outside’ the Schengen area, new procedures and
requirements have impeded border-crossing thus affecting all kinds of everyday practices extending beyond the
state border. Moreover, not only small and everyday cross-border interactions have been altered, there have also
been changes in terms of identity and identification. However, although prevention of ‘unwelcome travellers’ is a
major driving force in refining techniques of control and surveillance, there have also been attempts to admit and
encourage cross-border contacts between residents of Schengen- and non-Schengen states. Based on an EU
regulation, local border traffic (LBT) agreements have become an important instrument to facilitate desirable
relationships between local populations on both sides of the border. My presentation will analyse how local
105 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia border traffic agreements that have been established since 2006 are located in the logics of EU border policies
and how they work as an attempt of structuring social relations and subject positions within an established
discourse of ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’.
What role might civil society play in developing regional partnerships?
Margit Säre, Peipsi Center for Transboundary Cooperation, Estonia
The political and socio-economic changes in Europe during the last two decades have posed new challenges to
cross-border cooperation in general and to the development of local communities and everyday living conditions
of inhabitants in border areas in particular. At the same time, the role of conventional international relationships
has remarkably decreased and new cross-border actors have emerged, who shape inter-state and inter-regional
relations.
This paper intends to give an insight into the dynamics of civil society actors in CBC in the Estonian-Russian
border region, while presenting findings of the EUBORDERREGIONS project financed within the EU’s FP7
programme. The article discusses the impact of EU policy and support programs on local institutions, the border
areas and local development in general. It is argued that Estonian-Russian CBC at local levels is very much
influenced by EU policies but also by the general political climate between the countries.
Currently the ENPI Estonia-Latvia-Russia CBC program 2007-2013 is implemented in the border region. Several
interviews show that local actors are dissatisfied with the high level of bureaucracy of ENPI programmes and the
excessive focus on technical details (reports, audits etc) of the projects rather than their content. Also,
dependency of civil society organisations on EU/foreign funding is shaping the local civil society sector and crossborder partnerships, which is not entirely positive. As the empirical study shows, cross-border partnerships,
initiated within the ENPI programmes are often not sustainable in the long run. Therefore, more decision-making
power in shaping ENPI and other EU/national programs should be given to local actors
Europeanisation from below – how can it be grasped?
Hans-Joachim Bürkner, Leibniz-Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning (IRS), Germany
As an analytical term, Europeanisation has been hard to handle. Many suggestions made by political or social
scientists assign it a logical function similar to notions such as “European integration” or “European Cohesion”: Its
task is to indicate a general trend towards a unified Europe, propelled by the dissemination of “European” norms,
values, rules, symbols and imaginaries among nation states, regions and local communities. While this highly
normative idea of “top-down” diffusion often blurs analytical perspectives, the complementary idea of bottomup Europeanisation seems to avoid the pitfalls of normativity. It lends itself to clearer theoretical
conceptualisations and empirical explorations of the “European” implications of cross-border cooperation,
community-building, regionalisation, migration, etc. Nevertheless border studies have hardly ever developed this
project. The paper seeks to explore the varieties of bottom-up Europeanisation and discusses first steps towards a
re-conceptualisation of Europeanisation as a multidirectional process.
F 78: NEW ASIAN REGIONALISM
Chair: Christine Thurlow Brenner, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA
Room: AU 204
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 14:50-16:30
The Present Scenario of Caspian Sea region in the Era of Globalization
Nikkey Keshri, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
Ravi kant Anand, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
The globalization is a word which has make scenario of borderless world. In this era of globalization human
societies across the globe have established closer contacts over many centuries. After Second World War the
process experience new increasing trend that resulted in new degree of economic and societal integration
through international cooperation. The expansion of world trade and production give rise to a worldwide
competitive pressure on business and government. The Post Cold era has the influence of globalization all over
106 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia the world which results the changing significance of border. Here in this paper the discussion is about the
Caspian Sea Region, which has gains prominence in recent years both geo strategically as well as politically in
global politics. Huge Hydrocarbon resources, strategic location and changing geopolitical landscape have
increased the significance of Caspian Sea Region. The external actors and internal political processes are shaping
the identity of this region. Due to growing demand of oil and gas in recent years geopolitically this region play
prevalent role for meeting energy needs of the world. After disintegration of Soviet Union, CIS countries
comprising Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan came into existence. But globalization created
problems because USA explored oil and gas in this region but Russia did not wanted that so Russia and Iran
created a problem regarding Caspian legal status. But today due to globalisation exploration of oil by both
superpower (USA and Russia) are bound to work together neglecting the border dispute problems between
Caspian States and Caspian Sea status.
Why Northeast Asia is not Europe: regional conditions of transborder cooperation
Anton Kireev, Far Eastern Federal University, Russia
The model of European integration has a strong influence on the ideological and institutional framework of
policy for the development of NEA transborder cooperation. This effect is due to the widespread paradigm of
qualitative homogeneity of the world space, which allows to transfer the successful experience of the
development of some regions of the world to another. However, comparison of the structural, the most
fundamental and sustainable, natural and social conditions of transborder relations in Northeast Asia and Europe,
led to the conclusion that, with respect to these two regions, this approach is too simplistic.
The more unfavorable in comparison with Europe structural conditions of transborder cooperation in Northeast
Asia include: 1) a relatively large area of natural (orographic and hydrographic) barriers to transport
communications; 2) sharp continental location of China and Asiatic Russia; 3) high polarization of NEA countries
on population density; 4) low population density in most of the areas adjacent to the land borders of countries of
the region; 5) high polarization of NEA countries on economic density and distribution of the main factors of
production; 6) civilizational diversity of the region and a higher than in Europe internal ethnic and cultural (and
ideological) homogeneity of individual countries; 7 ) low level of involvement of non-state actors in international
cooperation; 8) historical immaturity of institutions of “nation-state” in the countries of Northeast Asia and nonexhaustion of opportunities for their development.
Chinese Practice of Border Control: Internationalization or Localization
Franziska Pluemmer, Utebingen University, Germany
Using a comprehensive framework that combines insights from both securitization literature and regional
integration theory, this research paper deals with the local effects of Asian regionalism on Chinese practice of
border control. Previous research on how regional integration impacts the construction and perception of
borders mainly focuses on internationalization of borders, how they become more selective and how they deal
with the security‐ freedom dilemma which primarily applies to the case of the European Union. Asian
regionalism, however, is not only underrepresented in literature so far but especially relevant in this regard
because it is mostly informal, built on non‐interference and based on consensual decision‐making. In IR, very
little work on externalization of Asian borders has been done so far which is also true for empirical research. I
argue that Asian regional integration has a distinct effect on border control as local practices and beliefs
constitute a counterweight to trans‐nationalization trends. I test my assumptions for the case of Chinese
practice of border control by looking at how the domestic discourses are locally responded. The Chinese case is
particularly relevant as external security is traditionally related to internal stability. While some regional legal and
normative frameworks like the APEC mobility regime or SCO security cooperation require border cooperation and
homogenization to some degree, the local practice of how borders are managed depends on local markets and
cadres. I argue strategies of internationalization and localization are in permanent conflict and translate into
competing interpretations: regional, national and local whereas the respective identities actively try to define the
meaning of the border.
India-Myanmar Trans-Border Region: Moreh-Tamu Sector: A Discourse on Borderland Politics
Jiten Nongthombam, Manipur University, India
107 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Conceptualization of North East India from the emic point of view is an essential pre-requisite to a proper
understanding of its peoples and the corresponding socio-cultural transformations that they are engaged in. We
are often prisoned by the granted cartography of the region as a ‘frontier area’ without careful retrospection of
the silenced life-world that connects space, people, society and culture. So, without considering the historicity of
this region, conceptualizing the region as a frontier area in conformity with colonial mind-set, has made a deep
impact on the minds of the political elites of post-colonial India, has always tried to depict, from the narrow
‘centralistic point of view’ and ‘easily conclude’ narrative, this region as a strife-torn area, land-lock region,
insurgency pronged area, uncivilized and under-developed region, illicit trafficking routes for drugs and smallarms, HIV/AIDS infected population, etc. These hold untrue. We must understand who is attributing the cause of
problems to this borderland – by the ruling elite or the common people. Ironically, the region once stood as
‘cities and kingdoms’ transformed into the status of a ‘borderland’ area which eventually turns into a near fail
State. This shows how ‘we’ and ‘they’ have perceived the region in line with the discourse of ‘geography of
knowing’ and ‘geography of ignorance’. Here lies the need to understand the sharp divergence in the aspirations
and the attitude among the people of this region towards the centralistic mindset. This area however, has
remained as a periphery and more marginalized area in academic research while defining India and North Eastern
States. The paper will help to understand the ground realities of the social, cultural and economic interaction of
the ethnic groups which still remains as academically unexplored area.
F 79: NATURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Chair: Paul Ganster, San Diego State University, USA
Room: AG101
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 14:50-16:30
Passive Borders, Active Ecologies
Yehre Suh, City College of New York, USA
Transboundary Resource Management: Wetlands and Ramsar Convention
Ritika Dabas, University of Delhi, India
Enclaves are geographical entities which are surrounded by the territory of another state. There are one hundred
and eleven enclaves of India and Bangladesh and fifty one enclaves of Bangladesh in India. The fate of the people
of these enclaves has always been in the hands of the political conditions of these countries. For example, Sheikh
Hasina’s tenure in Bangladesh has always raised hope in the border management of the India Bangladesh region.
On the other hand, during the tenure of Khaega Zia, the bilateral relations became sour resulting in the ignorance
of the issue of border management. There have been some unsuccessful and incomplete steps taken by the
governments to resolve the issue of enclaves through the agreements to exchange these territories. The
residents of these enclaves cannot even get the social, economic and political right due to the problem of
accessibility. Despite having sovereign rights over the territories, the concerned nation cannot cross the border
without the permission on the nation whose territory surrounds the enclave. The residents are like prisoners in
their own homeland. The paper will attempt to show the problems that exist in the enclaves of India and
Bangladesh. It will highlight that how the border management between these nations can bring positive changes
in the bilateral relationship as well as in the lives of the residents of these enclaves who became the victim of the
ill fate. It answers that why border management is the best solution in today’s scenario.
Transboundary Park Gerês-Xurés: a common territory of action?
Juan-Manuel Trillo-Santamaría, U. Santiago of Compostela, Spain
Valerià Paül, U. Santiago of Compostela, Spain
In 1997 two natural protected areas located on the border between Portugal and Galicia (Spain) signed a crossborder agreement: the Peneda-Gerês (Portuguese) National Park (designated in 1971) and the Baixa Limia-Serra
do Xurés (Galician) Natural Park (designated in 1992). Since then, the reference to the so-called Transboundary
Park Gerês-Xurés is quite common. In fact, a second bilateral agreement was signed in 2007. Furthermore, in 2009
108 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia both parks were declared a Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, so-called Gerês-Xurés, by the UNESCO. Despite
these political agreements, the cooperation between both sides seems to lack a common agenda and
determined cross-border policies.
In this context, the purpose of this contribution is to analyse the management and governance of this
Transboundary Park. In order to attain this aim, we first propose a model for this analysis, based on the specialised
literature on the matter. Taking into account different guides of good practices (Sandwith et al., 2001; Oszlanyi,
2001; Fall and Thiry, 2003; Vasilijević and Pezold, 2011; Erg, 2012) we have selected some specific key themes that
the governance of any transboundary park should accomplish to build up our own analytical model. Secondly,
and with this theoretical model in mind, we will deal with our case study, making use both of official documents
and reports and, more importantly, a qualitative approach. In particular, semi-structured interviews have been
used in order to achieve a deeper understanding of interviewees’ beliefs, perceptions and values on the issue. We
defend that a governance analysis deals with the knowledge of the relations between actors, and for that a
qualitative approach is preferable over a quantitative one. Different groups of actors have been identified:
• Technicians and steering committees of the parks.
• Local council representatives.
• Civil society (green/cultural activists).
• Tourist companies.
• Other entities for tourist management.
• Associations for rural development financed by European founding.
We will finally present some conclusions and possible actions for the future regarding the Transboundary Park
Gerês-Xurés.
F 710: MIGRATION MANAGEMENT AND MULTICULTURALISM IN EUROPE
Chair: Markku Sippola, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: AG 102
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 14:50-16:30
From Discourse to Practice: Documenting the Trajectory of EU’s Latest Migration Management Strategy in
Neighbouring Third Countries
Martine Brouillette, University of Poitiers, France
Freedom of movement is a founding principle of the European Union which, paradoxically, legitimizes the
recourse to restrictive and coercive policies, contributing to the “re-sacralization1” (Bigo, 2002) of the external
borders of this political community. The plethora of repressive measures in place at the margins of this space
informs of the nature of the threats weighing on the internal security of the Union, as perceived by its decisionmakers. Meanwhile, the cooperation initiatives promoted by the European Commission have flourished since the
Tampere Summit, and claim for a more leveled and integrative collaboration with third countries.
Our communication proposal wishes to tackle these contradictory imperatives by asking the question: How does
the perception of the migration phenomenon by the policy-makers of the EU translates in the recent “migration
management” cooperation initiatives with neighboring countries?
The answer to our interrogation is two-fold. We would first like to present the results of a content analysis of the
institutional literature produced by the organ responsible for orienting the EU’s migration policy. This data
collection offers an understanding of the belief system emanating from this direction, and its rendition on the
policies and practices in the field.
Secondly, we will be presenting the conclusions of a field research on a case-study revealing the acculturation
process taking place under this policy umbrella, but also the resistance and adaptation strategies mobilized by
third countries to mold these structuring paradigms to their regional context. We have selected the Mobility
109 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Partnership between the EU and Moldova as our case study to conform to the theme of the conference and to
underline how Eastern European countries have, since the end of the Cold War, witnessed the edification of a
new kind of fortress at their doorstep.
The Global Trends of Capoeira Angola and Its Local Forms in Russia
Tatiana Lipiäinen, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Capoeira angola presents an interesting case in the contemporary Russian context. It is a recent exogenous, yet a
genuinely bottom-up, influence in the Russian society. Capoeira angola is an Afro-Brazilian art-form and a global
grassroots movement. Unlike international NGO initiatives or local governmental programmes in Russia, capoeira
angola is freely initiated and organised by ordinary citizens. The values and practices of capoeira angola are not
forced upon ordinary Russians but they are rather voluntarily pursued by some of them.
In my doctoral dissertation I am ethnographically studying such ordinary Russians involved in capoeira angola
practices as well as some other grassroots initiatives. The aim is to write ethnography about grassroots activities
in two Russian cities, Samara and Ufa. In the presentation I will reflect on how the local interpretations of capoeira
angola in Ufa and Samara compare to the wider global trends of the capoeira angola movement. The global
outreach of capoeira angola will first be outlined, thereafter describing how the movement has been shaped in
Ufa and Samara, based on my fieldwork in these cities.
Attracting Foreign Students as a Direction of Migration Policy in Russia
Elena Pismennaya, Russian Academy of Science, Russia
The presentation examines trends in educational migration in Russian universities. Identified key problems of
adaptation and learning of foreign students in Russia. Analyzed reflection educational migration in public
documents in Russia, including the concept of the state migration policy until 2025 is proposed strategy to attract
foreign students from various countries in the universities on the basis of geo-political and socio-economic
priorities for Russia.
F 80: BOOK SESSION ON WILLIAM MILES’ SCARS OF PARTITION: POSTCOLONIAL LEGACIES IN FRENCH AND
BRITISH BORDERLANDS
Chair: William F.S. Miles, Northeastern University, Boston, USA
Room: Carelia
Date: June 9th-10th, 2014
Time: 16:50-18:30
Respondents
Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly, University of Victoria, Canada
Daniel Bach, CNRS-Emile Durkheim Center and University of Bordeaux, France
Anthony Ijaola Asiwaju, University of Lagos, ABORNE & African Regional Institute, Imeko, Nigeria
F 81: SOVEREIGNTY AND SUBVERSION: CLASHES OF STATEHOOD AND EVERYDAY PRACTICES IN
BORDERLANDS
Chair: Judith Miggelbrink, Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Germany
Discussant: Kristine Müller, Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Germany
Room: AU100
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 16:50-18:30
Rooted in national discourses on statehood, nationality and security, sovereignty claims are related to a certain
territory and call for its protection; thus resulting in a conglomerate of regulations, technical infrastructures and
110 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia procedures. Within these settings, each nation state follows its own agenda of sovereignty, but also relies on the
cooperation with actors representing the adjacent powers. Borderlands are therefore a crucial site of encounters
of sovereignties exerted through border regimes.
At the same time, borderlands are zones of a wide scope of trans-border activities, ranging from institutionalized
cooperation projects to informal and illegal practices that challenge sovereignty. These practices follow their own
spatialities, which do not always correspond with political-territorial logics. They include for instance cultural and
language ties, historically grown relations, economic interests and entrepreneurial orientations as well as
intensified cross-border cooperation, both formally and informally.
In consequence of these activities, specific negotiations or subversions of the politically determined border
regime can be observed, establishing a constant challenge for the latter.
This session aims to discuss borderlands as such a site of colliding sovereign and subversive practices. Referring
to experiences from the North American, European and Asian borders, the papers presented will discuss
examples of compositions of state and non-state practices and the specific clashes of spatialities related to them.
Sovereignty and Security: Evidence from the US-Canada and US-Mexico Borderlands
Matthew Longo, Yale University, USA
Since September 11, 2001 there has been redoubled interest in border security. This article examines trends in
bordering in the US after 9/11, following two landmark agreements, the Beyond the Border Agreement with
Canada (2011) and the 21st Century Border Management Accord with
Mexico (2010), as well as the recently-released 2012-2016 National Strategy of US Border Patrol. This research
reveals how US borders are getting wider and are increasingly dual-managed. First, borders are getting wider
infrastructurally, both in terms of their expansion inland and via increased surveillance; they are also widening
administratively, with federal and local forces working in tandem and even recruiting services from local
borderland populations. In this way, border lines are expanding into zones. Second, there is a concomitant move
towards the co-location and cross-designation of border forces across the border, thus making borders jointlyadministered. These developments render contemporary bordering practice at the US perimeter to be Venn
Diagrammatic, participant to a larger global trend of neighboring states behaving as partners in a joint effort at
eliminating a common threat - i.e. irregular migration (immigrants, smugglers, terrorists) – rather than adversaries
linked by a thin line of truce. This article concludes with a discussion about the re-location of power in a postWestphalian world - and specifically examines challenges to sovereignty-qua-territoriality, a circumstance I refer
to as Venn Sovereignty.
Sovereignty Claims in EUrope's Borderzones: Rescaling of State Power and the Schengen Zone
Corey Johnson, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA
There is a rich body of work in political geography and other disciplines on borderlands as key sites where nationstates stake claim to territory. Sovereignty claims, or in the work of Murphy "regimes of territorial legitimation,"
are indeed a fundamental part of the state-sovereignty-territory nexus. This contribution explores the
relationship between scholarship on sovereignty claims in borderlands by nation-states on the one hand, and the
emergent new state spaces associated with the EU on the other. Do new state spaces such as the Schengen Zone
require us to rethink the lenses through which we understand sovereignty claims?
Trading Against the State: Subversive Economies in Russian Borderlands
Tobias Holzlehner, University of Fairbanks, USA
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent opening of its borders have created new economic
opportunities for a range of state and non-state actors. Taking an ethnographic case study from the RussianChinese borderland as a starting point, the paper explores how small-scale entrepreneurs and smugglers engage
in informal cross-border trade and thus challenge the state’s monopolies on taxation and border security.
The disintegration of the Soviet economic system has evoked creative and subversive economic responses in
Russia’s eastern borderland as the opening of the border to China and the introduction of new travel and visa
regimes have led to a substantial growth of formal and informal trade. Informal cross-border trade networks
flourish despite strong regulations and formal economic organizations, connecting Chinese manufactures and
middlemen with Russian entrepreneurs and tourist traders largely outside of state control and reach.
111 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Engaging with the social and economic reality of illegality, the paper explores the social fabric of informal
economic networks and specifically focuses on the important role of trust and social ties in an economic
environment that is characterized by a widespread lack of confidence in state institutions and power. By
exploring informal cross-border networks of small-scale traders, the paper analyzes the social reality and
spatiality of subversive economic practices in the Russian-Chinese borderland.
Shuttle trade between white and grey: Circumventing state control on the Finnish-Russian border
Anna Stammler-Gossmann, University of Lapland/Artic Centre, Finland
Crossing the Russian border checkpoint is a culminating point in the efforts of the petty trade business. The
border crossing between Finland and particularly the Murmansk region of Russia could be counted to the hardest
in the world. To bypass all the border controls and bring in commodities that in reality do not abide with the rules
of customs duty-free goods may appear impossible. However, there are various ways of circumventing or
reducing customs expenses. Moreover, shuttle traders have been producing even more sophisticated by-passing
schemes in order to adapt to the constant toughening of customs rules and other means of state control.
Traders‘ justification of the ‘beat-the system’ practices operates around their relations to the state and between
dichotomies of trust – distrust, efficiency – legitimacy, normal – abnormal. Taking an anthropological perspective
I investigate the shifting nature of the relations between the ’formal‘ and ‘informal‘, ‘white’ and ‘grey’ domains in
small scale economic activities. In doing so, the paper draws attention to the ways in which shuttle traders
articulate their practices of circumventing state control. It analyses why people prefer to trade informally and
what are the factors that foster the practices of ‘competing‘ with the regulatory system.
F 82: Screening the border experience for television and cinema
Chair: Virginie Mamadouh (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands / IGU Commission on Political Geography)
Room: AU 101
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 16:50-18:30
This panel focuses on the ways through which borders, border crossings and borderscapes are represented in
audiovisual works. It includes papers that investigate the production, the content, the circulation and/or the
reception of motion pictures, television series, animated cartoons and/or documentaries that represent the
border experience in its many expressions in different places and times. The papers engage with a variety of
border sites (among open borders, fences, walls, check points, border cities, no-man’s lands, borderlands,
international cities, international airports, maritime ports and railway stations, gated communities and camps)
and the associated dramas linked to bordering processes such as transit, trade, smuggle, migration,
transgression, militarization, securitization , displacement, ethnic violence, and segregation. More specifically the
papers examine the representations of key aspects, such as the role of the built environment in the border
experience, the translation and interaction processes between the cultural spheres meeting/clashing/merging at
the border, gender issues, and the configuration of multiscalar processes at work (including geopolitical
transitions, globalization processes, nation building and local initiatives), as well as the impact of such
representations on the material and social processes they are supposed to represent in the first place. By bringing
together papers comparing either different representations of the same border site in a specific period or at
different times, or representations of different border sites of the similar type, the panel allows us to explore the
cinematic production and circulation of border imaginaries pertaining to the border experience, both at specific
borders and in general.
Borders lost in translation? Bridging borders and languages in televised fictions: Watching Broen/Bron
and The Bridge
Virginie Mamadouh, Universiteit van Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Bridge (Broen / Bron) is a European crime drama television series, coproduced by Sveriges Television,
Danmarks Radio and ZDF (Germany) in 2011, that has gained cult status in several (Northern) European countries
and the UK. It follows two detectives (one Swedish, one Danish) investigating a murder after a body was found
exactly on the border between Denmark and Sweden on the Øresund/Öresund bridge that connects
112 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Copenhagen with Malmö. An American adaptation has been produced by FX Network in 2013 under the name
The Bridge. It follows two detectives (one American, one Mexican) joining efforts to investigate a serial killer
starting with a body found exactly on the border between the US and Mexico on the Bridge of the Americas. The
paper investigates the translation work involved in the transposition process: from a typical European audiovisual
coproduction to an American one, from a European social and institutional setting to a Northern American one,
from the Øresund/Öresund bridge epitomizing the removal of EU internal borders to the Bridge of the Americas
over the Rio Grande between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, part of one of the most highly guarded borders in the
world, and from the use of a lingua receptiva mode of communication between Danish and Swedish, two related
Scandinavian languages, to bilingualism between English and Spanish. It also compares this translation to a later
adaptation: the Anglo-French production The Tunnel (Sky/Canal+) following a duo investigating the murder of a
body found on the Anglo-French border in the Channel Tunnel.
From “South of the border” to “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”: The US Mexico border as a gendered
borderscape
Elena dell’Agnese, Dipartimento di Sociologia e Ricerca Sociale, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Italy
If a landscape may be described as a spatial representation of human relationships with nature, a “borderscape”
may be accepted as a spatial representation of the geopolitical relationship between two countries. In Victorian
geographical descriptions, the language of landscape representations was often metaphorically charged to stress
the uneven power relation between the colonialist and the colonized; a similar “homology between sexual and
political dominance” (Nandy, 1983) can be created today, using gender figures and metaphors in the
representation of a borderscape analogously signed by a strong asymmetry of power. The cinematic
representation of the US-Mexico border offers an intriguing example. In the North – South perspective, the
border is generally screened as a “frontier”, that is as an inviting open space. The “South of the Border
experience”, from B Westerns of the 1930s to recent movies like The Hangover Part III (2013), is usually reserved to
a bunch of (male) buddies. They may have different reasons to cross to the other side, to help poor peoples and
peons, to solve local mysteries, to experience the taste of an “exotic” weekend, but, predictably, they are bound
to face a coming-of-age adventure, usually spiced by senoritas, a short period of reclusion in a very dark Mexican
prison, and other sexual symbolic innuendo. Reverting the schema in terms of gender is apparently so bold that
can be faced only by very adventurous females. And they must be Latinas, such as the valiant reporter interpreted
by Jennifer Lopez in Bordertown, or the little Chihuahua Chloe.
Tangier on screen
Luiza Bialasiewicz, University of Amsterdam,The Netherlands
Tangier has, in many different ways, been created by the cinema. This is true both for the nostalgic and exotic
imaginations of this border city in films (it was Tangier, after all, that inspired Casablanca (1942) whose producers
only subsequently changed the title to a name that sounded somehow more ‘romantic’), but also for the ways in
which cinema houses have marked in crucial ways the cultural landscape – and identity – of the city, from the
1950s to the present day. In this paper, I examine this interplay of imagined geographies and real/reel spaces in
Tangier past and present, thinking also about how the Tangerois have looked to the cinema as a way of
articulating a distinct urban identity.
Arraianos, a film about the Galician-Northern Portuguese border people: A critical reading
Juan Manuel Trillo-Santamaría, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Borders and borderlands represent a special context where different narratives and interpretations can be
produced. Borders can be conceived as particular in-between spaces, the meaning of which results from a
variable myriad of readings. These are possible thanks to border poetics, understood both as the aesthetical
products made by artists and the analytical tools to study them. Audiovisual works are of special interests, as they
combine different elements in the interpretation of the border: images, sounds, music, words, etc. In this
contribution, we aim to study the representation of the border between Galicia (Spain) and North of Portugal in
audiovisual works. Besides different documentaries on the border, this paper will specially focus on a recent film
called Arraianos (“Borderland people”). This film is of interest in a twofold way. Firstly, because it seeks to show
how border people live and experiment the border. Secondly, because as an aesthetic product lies in the border
of artistic genres, because it is not a classical documentary, neither a movie. The main findings of this analysis will
113 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia be exposed, and some comparative work with other aesthetic products on the Galician-Portuguese border
(mainly novels) will be finally developed.
F 83: RE-CONCEPTUALIZING POST-COLD WAR BORDERS
Chair: Sylwia Dołzbłasz, University of Wrocław, Poland
Room: AU 102
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 16:50-18:30
Borders and social change
Carsten Yndigegen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
The purpose with the paper is to theoretical reflect about how borders affect and are affected by social change,
more specifically how territorial imagination develops as a consequence of bordering and debordering.
The focus on people has established a paradigm within border studies that differs from those of the classic
scientific disciplines (van Houtum 2008). Theories of borders as mental and social constructs have established a
new interdisciplinary field where individuals are in focus of study (Paasi 1996). The aim of this paper is to develop
an aspect of the conception of borders as social constructions by scrutinizing the dynamism in such construction
processes.
The paper will analyse borders as phenomena that are intertwined with social change, where borders can both
induce and be induced by social change. The starting point will be taken in the social dynamics that are caused
by both the construction of borders and the removing of borders. It will be analysed what needs that are set free
or suppressed by the change, and how life worlds and life chances alter. The analysis will construct a typology of
reaction patterns that the sudden change in so Henk van Houtum & Rodrigo Bueno Lacycial conditions as a
consequence of the establishment and demolition of borders have developed.
Cases will be taken from significant historical and contemporary events, such as the Berlin Wall and the Schengen
agreement. The analysis will be based on secondary sources, such as news articles, features, memoirs and literary
fiction.
Borders, territories, terrains
Paolo Novak, SOAS, UK
The paper engages with the theme of the conference by drawing from two influential approaches within the field
of border studies, namely Marxism and Postcolonialism. While both approaches aim to offer a radical critique of
global hierarchies, capitalism, modernity, and contemporary systems of knowledge production, the two have for
the most part neglected each other. The paper sets in conversation contributions by Marxists and postcolonial
geographers concerned with notions of space, scale, and territory, as a way of capturing in full the implication of
Paasi’s conceptualisation of borders as dynamic social processes that spread across the whole of society, in a
Post-Cold War context.
In particular, the paper contrast and articulates Marxist concerns with the functional role of borders vis-à-vis
capitalist accumulation, with postcolonial scholars’ sensitivity to the fluidity, situatedness and hybridity of the
territories and identities defined by borders, seeking points of encounter and potential articulation between
these traditions in the tension between the inescapable materiality of borders and the incompleteness of the
spaces they define. This is not a deconstruction of the ‘us/them’ ‘here/there’ binaries, or an attempt to theorise
from the border, whether by emphasising resistance or hybridisation, or a way to think about the inside in
relation to its constitutive outside. Rather, it is an attempt to capture the global and multi-scalar significance of
borders through their different manifestations. Put differently, the paper argues that fruitful points of contact and
articulation between Marxist and postcolonial border studies can be found by focusing our gaze on ontological
as opposed to epistemological questions.
The ‘National’ and the ‘Local’ in the Indo-Bangladesh Boundary: Construction and Contestation
Md Anisujjaman, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Boundary making process takes place through establishment, demarcation and control. Boundary is not merely
statist line that divides two states, but it is through social practices and discourses boundary is produced and
114 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia reproduced. The practice of boundary formation takes place at various scales, from national to local. Boundaries
exist and gain meaning through practices and discourses at different spatial scales. In most of the discourses of
border studies, boundaries have been seen through the prism of the state. These studies generally focus on legal
issues and disputes of boundaries. The present study will try to examine boundaries from the vantage point of
local scale. In a borderland, geographical scales of various level cut across each other. The Indo-Bangladesh
boundary divides two countries at national scale. But at local scale (Linguistic), the boundary divides Assam
(federal state of India, ) and Bangladesh but unites West Bengal (federal state of India) and Bangladesh. Assamese
and Bodo are the official and major language of Assam, whereas Bengali is the official language of West Bengal
and Bangladesh. So in the construction of Indo-Bangladesh boundary, the local scale contests the national scale.
Therefore, border studies should consider the local scale to understand the boundary making processes.
The border assemblage: a conceptual framework and empirical exploration
Christophe Sohn, CEPS, Luxembourg
This paper is an attempt to conceptualize borders multiplicity by mobilizing the theory of assemblage developed
by Deleuze and Guattari. The aim is to examine how multiple meanings emanating from various actors constitute
a border assemblage and how this heterogeneous grouping of different parts helps us to unravel the uneven
power relations that are both constitutive and mediated by the border. First, an analytical framework addressing
borders multiplicity in terms of structure and agency is elaborated. Based on their enabling or constraining effect
over agency, debordering and rebordering processes are interpreted according to four ‘conceptual invariants’: a
threat, a resource, an obstacle or a shield. Second, the concept of assemblage is mobilized in order to understand
how these different meanings that do not form a coherent whole relate one with each other. The border
assemblage is thus conceived as a relational approach to borders multiplicity. The theory of assemblage also
allows us to take into consideration the changing significance of borders, notably the non-linear processes of
territorialisation and coding that stabilize or disrupt borders ‘identity’. Third, the conceptualization of the
connections that hold together the disparate elements is undertaken in order to represent a border assemblage
in contextuality. Based on discourse network analysis and on the mobilization of empirical data collected in the
framework of the EUBORDERSCAPES project, a tentative mapping of a real world border assemblage is presented.
Defining Sovereignty and its Contemporary Relevance
Alex Chung, UNSW, Australia
As an idea, sovereignty plays a central, if not fundamental role in modern international relations theorization
(Lake 2003; Lawson & Shilliam 2009; Osiander 2001; Thomson 1995). The constitutive role of sovereignty in IR has
resulted in robust debate regarding its changing nature, substantive content, descriptive, interpretative and
normative dimensions, and alternatives to the recognized classical model (Korencia & Doli 2009; Lake 2003,
Lawson & Shilliam 2009). The classical perspective finds its basis in the Westphalian model of sovereignty or
‘Westphalian sovereignty’ (Jackson 1999, pp. 438-441; Korencia & Doli 2009, pp. 7-8; Lawson & Shilliam 2009, p.
661; Osiander 2001, pp. 14-15). This paper explores the evolution of sovereignty from its Westphalian roots to its
contemporary definitions; where emerging norms such as R2P, and challenges to state sovereignty by sub-state
actors serve to redefine current conceptualisations of sovereignty.
F 84: UNFAMILIARITY AS SIGNS OF EUROPEAN TIMES
Chair: Bas Spierings, Urban and Regional Research Centre Utrecht, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Room: AU 206
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 16:50-18:30
This panel disseminates results from the collaborative European Science Foundation project entitled Unfamiliarity
as signs of European times: scrutinizing historical representations of otherness and contemporary daily practices and
experiences in borderlands.
The main objective of the collaborative project is to unravel how mental barriers and bridges for mobility are
constructed and deconstructed in the minds of EU inhabitants, how historical commonalities and fractures have
115 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia an impact on the representations of borders and otherness as well as sameness and what influence political plans
and media campaigns may have to change these representations. More specifically, the project focuses on
finding out what being and feeling (un)familiar implies in cross-border context, whether and how representations
of (un)familiarity changed during the course of time and still influence contemporary practices and experiences
in borderlands and why these representations and related practices and experiences have (not) changed.
To achieve this aim a diversity of borderlands along both inner and outer EU-borders have been analysed by the
following partners: Utrecht University, Radboud University Nijmegen, University of Southern Denmark, University
of Eastern Finland, Free University Brussels, University of Maastricht, University of Lodz and Institute of
International Sociology, Gorizia.
Unfolding unfamiliarity
Bas Spierings, Urban and Regional Research Centre Utrecht, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Based on a relational perspective on borders and borderlands, a dynamic ‘bandwidth of (un)familiarity’ provided
the starting point of the collaborative European Science Foundation project entitled Unfamiliarity as signs of
European times: scrutinizing historical representations of otherness and contemporary daily practices and experiences
in borderlands. The bandwidth of (un)familiarity implies that for cross-border mobility not only a maximum level
of unfamiliarity and a minimum level of familiarity are needed but also – although much less acknowledged in
academic and political debates – a maximum level of familiarity and a minimum level of unfamiliarity are
required. The bandwidth and its dynamics proved to be a helpful tool for answering several of the projects’
research questions and also stimulated the further development of types and typologies of (un)familiarity needed
to answer other research questions. This paper discusses how the (un)familiarity concept was further unfolded by
the collaborative research partners and how it enriched and deepened our understanding of (un)familiarity as
signs of European times.
Mediascapes and the bandwidth of unfamiliarity: the Finnish-Russian and the Finnish-Estonian contexts
Ágnes Nemeth, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland
Henrik Nielsen, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland
James Scott, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland
Jussi Laine, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland
Alexander Izotov, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland
The project ‘Cross-border Co-operation Practices, 'Mediascapes' and relative (un)familiarity in the Finnish-Russian
and the Finnish-Estonian contexts’ developed the notion of (un)familiarity as a bandwidth of different
perceptions and associations. Empirical work ranged from televised documentaries, to newspaper editorials to
institutional practices of cross-border interaction in terms of expressing relative forms of familiarity and
unfamiliarity. The common denominator in these different perspectives was an attempt to understand how
familiarity and unfamiliarity with Russia and Estonia are expressed (in Finland) with regard to historical memory,
cultural identities and attitudes, and references to Europe and “Europeaness”. The results suggest a highly
selective and heterogeneous bandwidth of perceptions (from rejection, to cautious appreciation to enthusiastic
curiosity) that themselves reflect changes that have taken place in Finnish society since the end of the Cold War.
In sum we suggest that:
• Working familiarity” facilitates regional cooperation in the Finnish-Russian case – here we see routines of
project-related interaction
• Civilisational divides seem to remain a major narrative that makes Russia really different (and interesting),
but often hard to understand
• Civilisational divides exist less in the Estonian case but this does not appear to promote cooperation. Is it
a case Estonia being different enough to make interaction challenging but not different enough to make
it rewarding?
• Cooperation with Russia has great symbolic significance – it provides Finns with a sense of Europeanising
mission in terms of promoting development and understanding
Shopping for differences: (un)familiarity in the Dutch-German and German-Polish borderlands
116 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Bianca Szytniewski, Radboud University Nijmegen &Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Borderlands are spaces where often relatively large differences occur simultaneously and meet at the same time.
These differences are relational in the sense that they are constructed through personal perceptions and
interpretations, border practices and spatio-temporal circumstances (Massey 2005). Individuals constitute their
own borders. At the same time, national differences resulting from different political, socio-economic and cultural
narratives continue to play a role in cross-border practices, and are part of people’s assessment of otherness and
the subsequent feelings of (un)familiarity. The latter concept of (un)familiarity is especially interesting. Because of
the physical proximity and the often distinct presence of otherness in borderlands, perceived differences may be
felt near and familiar, but at the same time far away and unfamiliar (Bauman 1993). (Un)familiarity consists not
only of feelings of proximity, but also information, self-assessment and experience contribute to the dynamics of
the concept (Baloglu 2001, Andsager and Drzewiecka 2002, Prentice 2004, Prentice and Andersen 2007,
Szytniewski & Spierings forthcoming). These dynamics develop differently along different borders and in different
borderlands.
This paper aims to contribute to the discussion on feelings of (un)familiarity by examining the relationship
between (un)familiarity and cross-border shopping practices in two different borderlands: regions that straddle
the Dutch-German border and the German-Polish border. Although different degrees and forms of (un)familiarity
are at play and develop differently during daily encounters, differences between these neighbouring states
continue to be important drivers for cross-border shopping in both borderlands.
(Un)familiarity in mobility practices: contemporary and historic experiences from Schleswig and former
Yugoslavia
Dorte Jagetic Andersen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
René Ejbye Pedersen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
In our paper, we apply the concept of (un)familiarity in empirical research into (im)mobilities and practices. Our
first example is a historical study of labour migration in rural municipalities (1870-1920) in the north of Schleswig,
a territorial part of the Danish monarchy until 1864, located in the periphery of the German empire near the
Danish border. Here labour mobility was characterised by distinct local and long-distance patterns of migration
influenced by the local labour market(s) close to Denmark as well as specific occupational and habitual practices.
The other example departs from the regional space of contemporary Dubrovnik-Neretva, the most Southern part
of Croatia, which is also an exclave. Mobility patterns in this area can be characterised as flows towards the city of
Dubrovnik, flows influenced by the region’s location at the sea as well as its hinterlands consisting of mountains
that are also the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We argue that the concept of (un)familiarity is helpful to understand and explain the spatial dimension to
(im)mobile practices. However, in our research we do not find any clear cut regional cohesion in these practices in
their relation to feelings of (un)familiarity. In other words, the region as a space of (un)familiarity may or it may
not be a decisive factor when movements are made and borders are crossed. What we do see is a tendency that
spatially anchored networks are far more important for the direction of (im)mobilities and that such networks
may help create a (un)familiar space disconnected from the space of the region. When investigating (im)mobile
practices cross borders, it would thus be helpful to untie the concept of (un)familiarity from the space of the
cross-border region.
F 85: AFTER OUTSIDE PRESENCE WANES: NEGOTIATING BORDERLANDS AND LOCATING SECURITY IN
CENTRAL ASIA
Discussant: Renée Marlin-Bennet, Johns Hopkins University, USA
Chair: Jeremy Smith, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: AU 209
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 16:50-18:30
117 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The imminent withdrawal of NATO military presence from Afghanistan raises the question of possible
repercussions of this transformed environment for matters of border control and state stability in the Central
Asian states in immediate proximity to Afghanistan. These states are grappling with unprecedented outside
attention directed at their respective regimes of border management and strategies of domestic socio-political
control over their peripheries. Coupled with contemporary memories in the region of recent geopolitical and
socio-political transition following the collapse of the USSR, these states are faced with negotiating the
institutions of the border and credible security performance in terms of both their shared Soviet legacy and
perceived proximity to Afghanistan.
The panel seeks to examine the interplay between Central Asian states’ respective bilateral inter-state relations
(within their multilateral context) and the local and regional borderland networks that are affecting and
themselves are affected by these states’ control of their peripheries, for example in the Ferghana Valley and
Afghanistan’s borderlands. Specific attention shall be paid to how socio-political transition (both the post-Soviet
case in Central Asia and the imminent post-NATO case at Central Asia’s southern frontier to Afghanistan) impacts
upon centre-periphery relations within these states as well as the reception and negotiation of state legitimacy
by borderland populations themselves. The panel also asks how external attention to local borderland processes
and conditions of border control is mobilized in the entire region by states seeking to negotiate their
relationships with each other as well as with Russia through the medium of border control.
Return to Geopolitics? Borders and Security in Post-2014 South-Central Asia
Simbal Khan, Islamabad Policy Research Institute IPRI, Pakistan
The withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan in 2014 is likely to impact the security of regional states in
complex ways. Due to certain geo-political faultlines, several border zones in Afghanistan’s immediate
neighborhood are seen as zones of conflict and insecurity. State narratives and border management policies and
practices, including relations with border communities, often reflect this conflictual relationship. Many of the
regional states have found it expedient in the last decade to subsume the socio-political and economic
challenges faced by post-colonial centralizing states, under the meta-narrative of the global War on Terror. This
paper examines whether the decline in the currency of global terrorism as a defining security concept in the post2014 period will see a return to more localized and older forms of border disputes and inter-state conflicts.
Until recently the dominant view was that militant and terrorist organizations pose a primary threat to the
security of south-central Asian states. The ability of non-state actors to operate across geo-political boundaries
and run trans-border criminal networks was seen as adding to regional-level instability. Despite the rhetoric
concerning global terrorism, state approaches to borders and peripheries continue to be shaped by old geopolitical interests. These underlying interests also shape state practices and policies in relation to communities
that straddle borders.
The end of the international war in Afghanistan is likely to shift the focus back to inter-state negotiation of power
in border zones and will impact how states respond to challenges generated by trans-border militant movements
in the region.
Between Russia and Afghanistan: Tajikistan’s Borderlands Dynamics in the Stress Moment of the Endgame
Helena Rytövuori-Apunen, Tampere Peace Research Institute (TAPRI), University of Tampere, Finland
Furugzod Usmonov, Tajik National University, Tajikistan
This paper looks at a number of violent outbursts which have created security alerts in Tajikistan and,
geographically and discursively, connect with its different borders during the past three-four years. It asks how
the events, in their signification in media and policy contexts, become signs of a more general (type of) threat
and have practical implications for action and policies on the local, regional and national levels, as well as for the
relations with the neighboring countries and Russia. Russia, being concerned about the proliferation of radical
Islam, militant insurgency and drug traffic, has requested a larger role for its security units and military in
Tajikistan. The paper examines what is discursively made of the local and borderland events in the centerdirected, national-level narratives; how are they utilized to mobilize external attention and to negotiate
Tajikistan's role in the macro region-wide endgame of Afghanistan after 2014? What are the implications for
Tajikistan's historical role as Russia's borderland and geopolitical-cultural frontier in greater Central Asia?
Local Understandings of Border Control and Sovereignty in Southern Kyrgyzstan
118 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Steven Parham, Tampere Peace Research Institute (TAPRI), University of Tampere, Finland
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, all the new Central Asian Republics have been faced with complex
socio-political realignments. In this they have been bound politically by the conventional rules of a ‘nation-state’
system that tolerates no territorial inconsistencies in terms of state sovereignty and that is loath to renegotiate
lines on maps. This has allowed friction between groups that now find themselves on territories claimed by states
struggling to assert their legitimacy to be expressed in three arenas: internally to a domestic audience, externally
to other post-Soviet states, and on an international stage to an audience accustomed to regarding the entire
region through the twin images of contested ethnopolitical categorisation and a decline in geopolitical stability,
so often (since 2001) expressed in terms of these post-Soviet states’ proximity to Afghanistan. In the case of
southern Kyrgyzstan’s territory in the Ferghana Valley, these three arenas come together over the composition of
this state’s borders, which can be seen as the locus in which conflicts between villagers become weighty matters
of state.
This contribution shifts our attention away from representations of Kyrgyzstan’s borders as being dysfunctional
and in need of fixing in the interest of ‘regional security’. Instead I ask how Kyrgyzstani state authorities and locals
express, contest or argue for the new significance of border control; and how the powerful narrative of threat
emanating from Afghanistan relates to local lifeworlds in a region of Kyrgyzstan in which the state has been
struggling to assert its control.
Soft Power Diplomacy of Kazakhstan: New Approach towards Security in Central Asia
Elnara Bainazarova, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan
The imminent withdrawal of ISAF troops from Afghanistan is pushing Central Asian states to pursue new foreign
policy approaches to address the emerging security challenges. Security in Central Asia is challenged by several
issues of national development in Afghanistan, which still lacks the social rooting of political and, more generally,
public institutions, is burdened with a weak economy, and has to deal with a militarized approach to human
security issues.
This paper reviews the range of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy activity since gaining independence and specifically
focuses on foresight analysis and the assessment of security initiatives within the Central Asian region. The lastmentioned issue is becoming even more crucial following the Astana OSCE Summit with its “Eurasian security”
concept, Russian President Putin’s notions on the flexible involvement of Eurasia in the Asia-Pacific, and the US
shift towards Asia-Pacific with the “New Silk Road” program.
The recent reforms in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy concept strive to implement features of Asian regionalism
(multilateralism, non-formality, consensus) with a special emphasis on the official development assistance
program (ODA) for Central Asia and Afghanistan. What is more, ODA policy has to deal with border management
issues on Kazakh-Uzbek, Kazakh-Kyrgyz borders, in order to eliminate the root causes of drug trafficking, illegal
migration and corruption. Finally, the paper asks whether such “soft power” policy and implementation of
regionalism principles in Central Asia can impact the overall security environment as well as the practical role of
multilateral networks in the wider region.
Changing Hubs and Spokes: Negotiating the Flows of Power and Resources in Greater Central Asia after
2014
Mika Aaltola, The Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Finland
Juha Käpylä, The Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Finland
Central Asia has long been viewed in terms of a game board for outside powers. In this sense, 2014 is not going to
be an exception. However, the practices of power in the region are undergoing a transformation as local
resources are becoming linked with over-all technological and economic changes. This paper approaches the
region and the imminent dynamics of power in terms of global flows. The flows of resources (e.g. drug
production) out of the region and financial and arms flows into the region comprise a dynamic system. These
mobilities and circulations are disjunctive in the sense that they change the underlying geopolitics of the region
by accentuating certain localities and making others more peripheral. The flow patterns allow for a more dynamic
understanding of the borderlands. The paper provides an overview of how the emergence of regional hub-andspoke systems influence the practices of various outside actors like the U.S., Russia, and China.
119 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia F 86: NATIONAL IDENTITY IN POST-SOVIET SPACE
Chair: Pertti Joenniemi, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: AU 210
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 16:50-18:30
Frontières et coopérations religieuses en Euro-Méditerranée
Rémi Caucanas, Institut Catholique de la Méditerranée (ICM), France
Since the 1990s and the disappearance of the Soviet empire , many authors have sought a new border between
two great civilizations essentialized by their religious character : Western civilization centered on its JudeoChristian character and Islamic civilization with Islam. Religions are thus gradually emptied of their spiritual
dimension to be transformed into "identities" that can easily become " deadly " in the words of Amin Maalouf .
Authors, political scientists, scholars of Islam have fueled this diagnosis: the American Samuel Huntington, author
of the " clash of civilizations" and Bernard Lewis are the best known. A French author Jean -Pierre Roux in " the
long struggle of Islam and Christianity " analyses the history of relations between the Christian and Muslim faiths
through the logic of confrontation, the specific conflicts such as those stirred the Balkans or Algeria to remain in
the twentieth century.
The fight is all the more bitter the border is porous. Geographically, because of the Xxth migrations, Muslim
communities have been created in the heart of the traditionally Christian Western Europe. Religiously, the
conversion process underlying tensions between communities. Irrational fears, anxieties feed Islamophobic
discourse and push the Europeans to build new border guards: the search for " Christian roots " within the
installation of the device " Frontex " and the so-called "Fortress Europe “.
Opposite, across the Mediterranean , rejection is no less great . However it is based, not on the fear of the future
as in Europe, but resentment of the past, from the Crusades to colonization, if long history of confrontations.
The logic of confrontation is however not the only key to understanding the Euro-Mediterranean area in the years
after the Cold War. In the religious sphere, the participants in the dialogue are as numerous and attempt to renew
relations between southern and northern Mediterranean . This communication will therefore be to explore the
concept of interfaith dialogue as a challenge and means of cooperation, as reinterpretation of the border.
Religion and National Identity in the Borderlands: The reinvention of Greek Catholics and Hungarian
Reformed in Transylvania
Beth Admiraal, King's College, USA
In the borderlands of Transylvania, the postcommunist decades have showcased low-level contests between
religious groups, each struggling to regain resources lost during the communist years. The struggles have
emphasized identity as much as economics, exclusion at the expense of progress. With the national government
preoccupied with (purportedly) more pressing issues, the intimate discourse of the local populations in this
border region suggests an eager if uncoordinated effort by the Romanian Orthodox Church--a clear majority in
the region--to question the place of minority religious groups within the larger Romanian identity.
The first case involves the Greek Catholic community, historically considered Romanian, being labeled
'Hungarian' by members of the local Orthodox population. This allegation comes from the pulpits and indirectly
through exclusionary political policies surrounding the return of confiscated property from the communist era.
The second case addresses the Hungarian Reformed Church, which is fighting its exclusion from Romanian
advantages by increasingly identifying its church as Transylvanian rather than Hungarian.
At a theoretical level, these two cases engage with the debate in the literature over national identity: is this
identity best treated as a descriptive concept with substantive content; or is this identity better understood as a
dynamic event that is practiced rather than identified? The religious dynamics in this area suggest that a model
that bridges these two approaches is more applicable to border areas: the nation is invoked and practiced while
the content of the nation--who belongs and who doesn't--is modestly and slowly shifted.
Borderland as a concept for self-description of Belarusian identity
Andrei Dudchik, Belarusian State University, Belarus
120 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The recent growth of interest to the Belarusian case in the East European and Post-Soviet area studies is
presented by a number of articles and monographs, (Bennett, 2012; Wilson, 2012; Fritz, 2008) that state and
summarize the most widespread opinions about political regime and its international and geopolitical strategies.
At the same time research in the discourse of self-description of Belarusians themselves could make some
peculiarities of contemporary Belarus more comprehensible.
Our research will be focused on the concept of ‘Borderland’ as one of the most important and widely presented in
different Belarusian discourses (official and oppositional rhetoric, social essays etc) and used for self-description.
The genealogy of the concept in discourse of Belarusian intellectuals will be represented (including its
transformations and receptions from the Western intellectual tradition). The main strategies of its contemporary
interpretations will be analyzed and main peculiarities and functions of its understanding will be explicated. A
number of scientific texts (articles, monographs, chapters of textbooks written by experts in philosophy,
sociology, history) dealing with the concept of the borderland provide a wide material for research of the
transformations of understanding of the concept.
Methods of history of ideas, conceptual history and discourse analysis will be used. The hypothesis is that the
concept has synthetic character and combines elements from different discourses (including Russian and
Western European ones) while peculiarity of its Belarusian interpretation still exist. The concept has not only
descriptive but normative functions and prescribes some important characteristics of contemporary Belarusian
identity. Analysis of the concept could make specific of contemporary Belarusian identity more comprehensible.
When perception crosses the border
Henrik Dorf Nielsen, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Crossing a state border is more than crossing an arbitrary line, in most cases it also involves crossing into a
different culture, some more different than others. Sometime the difference in culture is why we choose to cross;
sometimes it is the reason why we choose not to cross. What these two scenarios have in common is perception.
We all have perceptions of other places and people. These perceptions are often made even before we meet “the
other” and they are often negative. Perception is, however, important as it influences our political as well as
economic decisions.
These perceptions can change when we interact with “the other” but they can also stick in our minds to a degree
that we look past our flawed perception and only focus on the elements that supports them. This study
investigates two very diverse groups of students, from the University of Eastern Finland, aging from 18 to +30
and from all over the world. The first group (around 25 students) went to Russia on an excursion as a part of their
studies while the other group (around 100 students) went as tourists.
Their perception of Russia and the Russians before and after the trip has been under scrutiny and by using
questionnaires, one before leaving and one upon returning, this study tries to determine what happens to
perception when we meet the perceived, does it change or is it reinforced instead? The preliminary results
suggests that there is a negative perception of Russia but also that the perception of Russia and the Russians is
very different, the latter being quite positive. Finally, perception does change after interaction but both in a
positive and negative direction.
F 87: CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN BORDERS
Chair: Oscar J. Martinez, University of Arizona, USA
Room: AU 205
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 16:50-18:30
Central America: integration processes, border conflicts and ungoverned spaces
Ignacio Medina-Nuñez, University of Guadalajara, Mexico
This paper offers a diagnosis of major border disputes in Central America, locating a particular case study on the
Nicaraguan-Costa Rican border. We wish to show how these conflicts have hindered the integration processes in
Central America (SICA: Central American Integration System) showing only a scheme where the nations of
Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua, from different positions, have been advancing in agreements
121 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia for the transit of people and activities of economic cooperation while Costa Rica and Panama want to follow a
different path. Besides, the different political trends of each government also originate clashes that hinder such
integration and produce ungoverned spaces.
Vigilance, Violence and Poverty at Chilean borders
Sebastian Reyes, Universidad de Santiago, Chile
My presentation is about the results of an ethnographic journey that will take place during the next days to some
border zones between Chile, Peru and Bolivia. This wide frontier area has been the subject of many historical
disputes over territories. Today there is a conflict about traffcking of illegal goods and drugs. It is also a major
migratory path for people from Peru and other Latin American countries. The presentation will focus on the
cultural problems of the people and communities who are affected by different legal and ilegal traffic and
activities. The presentantion will be accompanied by photographs of the famous artist Paz Errazuriz, who will join
me during this research trip. This project is part of a wider investigation about the geopolitical and cultural
border of the Southern Cone developed at Universidad of Santiago, Chile, where I work as an assitant professor of
literature.
Integrated Border Monitoring System: a Brazilian case study
Eloisa Maieski Antunes, UFPR, Brazil
Fábio Leite Costa, Eceme, Brazil
The formation of economic blocs has brought a new dynamic concerning the territorial issues to the countries of
South America. These new relationships between space and power set an unprecedented geopolitical
configuration, where borders have become privileged and fundamental spaces for the integration. The Brazilian
space designated by law as boundary zone is up to 150 km wide along international boundaries, encompassing
588 municipalities and a population of about 10 million inhabitants. At the same time, the region has large illegal
transboundary and environmental flows due to the different social, economic and political realities on each side
of the border. In this scenario, the Brazilian Army has designed the Integrated Border Monitoring System
(SISFRON) in order to increase the capacity of state action in the border region. The system aims to integrate a
range of sensing resources to decision makers and actuators, covering an area of 16,886 km that extends over 10
Brazilian states, on the border with 11 countries. The objective of this paper is to analyze the preliminary results of
the system adopted by the Brazilian Army and the impact on the neighboring countries as far as the border
surveillance is concerned.
Vulnerability of borders: challenges of National Strategy for Public Security on the Borders of Brazil
Adriana Dorfman, Universidade Federal de Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Jorge das Neves Alex, Ministério da Justiça – Secretaria Nacional de Segurança Pública, Brazil
Brazil shares borders with ten countries stretching for 16.8 thousand kilometres. Internally, the eleven states and
588 municipalities can be grouped in three arches. Currently there is no threat of international conflict within
Brazilian borderlands and the regions display development capabilities, although the full exercise of citizenship is
hampered by historical shortcomings arising from the concentration of State action in the Centre-South of the
territory.
Border control is aimed at transnational and national criminal organizations that exploit border vulnerabilities
resulting in heightened levels of violence and crime. The three arches are distinct and demand specific action: in
the Central Arch, the aim is to control organized crime dealing with drugs and weapons; in the Northern Arch, the
vulnerabilities are the low population and the large rivers used as corridors for illicit products; in the Southern
Arch, the vulnerability is linked to high connectivity and to the enhancement of citizen security.
In 2011 Brazilian Government established the National Strategy for Public Security on the Borders of Brazil
(ENAFRON), aiming at interagency integration and furthering dialogue with bordering countries, through
permanent and structural actions. The actions are in full implementation in the border areas, leaning on local
public security engagement.
The major difficulties in the implementation of ENAFRON are found in the Northern Arch (due to the
disproportion between limited personnel-equipment and extended area) and in systematic cooperation with
neighbouring Nations (related to traditional orientation towards the interior of national territories).
122 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Homicides in Brazilian Border Strip: An ecological study of the international border Brazil-Bolivia and
Paraguay
Paulo Cesar Peiter, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brazil
Alberto Junguen Wider, Ponta Porã, Secretary for Health, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
Brazilian Homicide rates are high, around 27, 2 homicides per 100.000 inhabitants. Acording to specialists fast
urbanization, unstable economy, social inequalities, increase in drug use and trafficking, inefficiencies in police
and judiciary systems are the main factors behind this situation. The international border is specially vulnerable,
as it is highly targeted for illicit activities (smuggling, drugs and weapons trafficking). Furthermore, Brazil has
become an important international trafficking hub and an important drug market itself, leading to the increase of
violence and homicides. Brazilian borders with Bolivia and Paraguay are affected. This paper aims to identify
differential risk of homicides in the international border of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, and identify its main
determinants in the period 2005-2010. This is an ecological correlation study, which correlates homicide rates
with socioeconomic, demographic and health attention aspects, using secondary data. Statistics analysis used
SPSS 13.0 ® software. Brazilian border strip municipalities were compared with municipalities outside it. Homicide
rates were mapped with GIS Terraview ®. The spatial distribution of homicide showed a critical area on the South
of Mato Grosso do Sul, frontier with Paraguay. The highest homicide rates occurred in municipalities at the
international boundary line, and in municipalities crossed by BR-463 and MS-463 highways (main connections to
São Paulo and Paraná). Analysis showed weak but significant correlations between homicide rates,
socioeconomic indicators and health coverage. The male population aged 15-24 year had the highest risk.
F 88: GOVERNANCE, DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSFORMATION OF BORDERS IN SOUTH ASIA
Chair: Krishnendra Meena, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
Room: AU 204
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 16:50-18:30
Government and governance in the state of Nagaland, India
M Himabindu, University of Hyderabad, India
Nagaland is one of the seven sister states in India located at the north eastern side. The population in the
geographical area is divided according to their tribe they belong to, their language, and culture, tradition, and
food habits. The Indian government took over the charge and giving special privileges to the north eastern
states. But the negative role of governance was tasted by the north eastern states through its insurgency.
Therefore the border disputes and ethnic tensions between these north eastern states and as well as with the
Indian state as a whole is considered as one of the major critical issues facing by them. This paper emphasises on
the role of government, the governance of the local government and the border disputes are discussed, in
Nagaland in particular and in north east in general.
Negotiating Borders via Development: Cross-border Development Projects in India’s North East
Babyrani Yumnam, State University of New York at Binghamton, USA
As contemporary processes of globalization intensify cross-border economic, political, and economic networks,
transnational interlinkages have profound implications for border regions and “borderlanders” (van Schendel
2002). Besides ‘de-bordering’ policies that facilitate increased flow of goods and people across borders, emergent
forms of border negotiation are visible in state practices of governance and policymaking. This paper examines
the role of “geoeconomics” (Cowen and Smith 2009) in border negotiations when seen in conjunction with
specific national development goals. Using the case of India’s North East, I discuss how India’s geoeconomic
calculations in the Asia-Pacific region have produced a framework of border relations for forging economic,
political, and cultural ties with Myanmar, Bangladesh, and southwest China through common goals for regional
development. In projecting its North Eastern Region (NER) as the natural gateway to these countries, India has
evoked shared memories of historical, geographical, and cultural connections between communities across the
border(s). While such interlinkages could be understood as part of global capitalist expansion, the NER’s
123 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia peculiarity is the pairing of its political stability and economic development with cross-border connectivity;
increased connectivity would transform this heavily militarized borderland into one of peaceful development.
Focusing on India’s trading and infrastructure development projects, I argue that cross-border linkages, when
translated into national development policies, serve as a global imaginary that legitimize certain state policies
and actions. Market-oriented calculations motivated by economic regionalism have cast a new meaning to
border security and management. In turn, the restructuring of capitalist relations produce geo-economic
interests that shape both domestic and external policy-making.
Intact Borders and Deepening Boundaries; The Age-old Story of South Asia
Dhananjay Tripathi, South Asian University, India
The post cold war world order characterised by globalisation, is generally regarded as borderless world.
Information technology virtually brought citizens of world together which is almost rendering the Westphalia
notion of nation-state as obsolete. These are glaring and positive changes in the international relations accepted
by all. Despite these euphoric presentations of new world order, there are regions where the same old-story is a
part of regional politics. South Asia is one such region. South Asia is regarded as one of the least integrated
regions of the world where borders are intact and boundaries are only deepened in the recent past. Number of
border related intricacies mars the bilateral relations between countries of South Asia and it ultimately affects the
entire process of regional integration. Simultaneously, the divide between rich and poor has only widened in the
region ironically at a time when every country of South Asia is doing well on the scale of economic growth. The
socio-political divide in society has increased in every South Asian country and fundamentalist elements also
prospered in last couple of decades. As a consequence the intact borders are now highly securitized and
boundaries in every country of South Asia are more apparent than ever. This paper will discuss aspects of borders
and boundaries in South Asia where boundaries are regarded as socio-political and economical issues.
Arunachal Pradesh in India’s Look East Policy: Of the Stilwell Road and Still Waters
Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, Assam, India
Arunachal Pradesh, famously pronounced by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as ‘our land of the rising
sun’, has received relatively less attention from policymakers in terms of India’s Look East Policy (post Cold War
foreign policy), in comparison with other states of Northeast India. The reopening of the historic Stilwell Road
constructed during World War II, which connects Ledo in Assam through Pangsau Pass in Arunachal Pradesh to
Kunming in China’s Yunnan province, has been the focus of the state (provincial) governments of Arunachal
Pradesh and Assam in the past decade. This paper explores the potential of Arunachal Pradesh, to emerge as the
key to India’s Look East engagement, given the huge hydropower (still waters of dammed rivers) and connectivity
development projects the border state has witnessed in the past few years. Arunachal Pradesh is veritably the
energy powerhouse of Northeast India, with its enormous hydropower potential, along with its yet untapped
coal, oil and gas reserves, and it could well be the fulcrum of India’s energy cooperation with Myanmar and rest of
Southeast Asia. Given China’s growing influence in Northern Myanmar’s restive Kachin state, India cannot afford
to delay its strategic engagement with this sub-region. India needs to use its cultural capital in the sub-region,
the Singphos and the six Tai groups in Assam and Arunachal in an innovative manner towards achieving crossborder synergies. It is in the interest of the governments of India and Myanmar to have joint stakes in the opening
up and development of this sub-region.
F 89: DISCURSIVE AND SYMBOLIC PRACTICES OF CONSTRUCTING AND ANNIHILATING BORDERS
Chair: Anne-Laure Amilhat Szary, UJF-Grenoble, France
Room: AG 101
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 16:50-18:30
Contemporary art as a discursive practice about borders
Cristina Giudice, Albertina Academy of Fine Arts, Italy
124 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia My paper is about contemporary art. I think that art is a component of the way in which societies and individuals
shape their strategies and, above all, their identities. Art contributes to building the imaginary and for this, I
believe, it has a strong symbolic and political value. Contemporary art seems to be a perfect symbol of
globalization and of concept of de-bordering: but is it really, always and everywhere like this?
I shall analyze works of artists from several European countries after the Post-Cold war. I shall demonstrate how
artists show with their works discursive practices about borders, seen as products of a social and political
negotiation of space. In this way I think that art involves people emotionally, but it is also a political action that
maybe, cannot change the world, but can help the people to be more conscious of what is happening around
them.
Artistic Mobility and Cultural Cooperation in Europe: artists as nomads or ambassadors?
Barthelemy Fabien, University of Grenoble-Alpes, France
For a decade in Europe, the ideas of cultural cooperation and exchanges across borders have been taking place
through two ways: intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity.
2008 was the European Year for Intercultural Dialogue, being defined as « the encounter of cultures as a process
supporting a mutual understanding, an opening towards alterity » (Saez, 2008).
The intercultural dialogue is both close to and in tension with another key principle of the European construction
which is the cultural diversity. It focuses on the preservation of cultures and on the right for States to develop
their own cultural policies (Wiesand, 2007).
Both of these two principles rely on the hypothesis that artists are the most able to carry culture abroad because
of their travelling legacy (Amilhat-Szary et alii, 2010). While intercultural dialogue relies on the image of nomadic
artists (Raffin, 2008) able to « walk through walls » (Amilhat-Szary, 2013) to create in relation with alterity, cultural
diversity expects artists to be cultural ambassadors of regional creativity.
These two principles in tension are the political frame for artistic international mobility which is promoted
through schemes and programs supporting trans-border mobility (ERICarts, 2008). Since the nineties, States are
not the only cultural operators to handle cooperation matters anymore, European, regional and metropolitan
bodies have become cultural policy makers too, managing cooperation strategies.
This communication’s aim is to study the articulation between cultural political strategies and artists’ practices of
trans-border mobility and creativity in the ideological context of tensions between intercultural dialogue and
cultural diversity.
Bioregionalism and cultural diversity: living well in Europe’s borderlands
Maja Mikula, Nottingham Trent University, UK
Following the late Istrian poet Guido Miglia (1919-2009), one can imagine Europe’s cross-border regions as trees
with multiple roots: should one of these roots become weaker, the remaining ones have to support it, or else the
tree itself will die. With his description of his native Istria as an indigenous oak-tree with three roots - the Italian,
the Croatian and the Slovene - Miglia (1997) conjured up the ecosystemic dynamics of the natural world as a
model for ethical and sustainable living in multi-ethnic borderlands.
Miglia’s ethics resonates with the bioregional approach to imagining Europe’s borderlands, and encompasses
both their biophysical and their cultural phenomena. Bioregionalism is at the core of numerous cross-border
initiatives along the European Union’s internal and external borderlands. Trans-boundary cooperation is
increasingly seen as a particularly effective strategy for sustainable regional development. Whether transboundary resources are mobilised to preserve regional dialects, traditions, ways of life or endangered animal
species, ecological and cultural sustainability is seen as a moral imperative that overrides institutional boundaries,
and is even capable of ruling out the potentially divisive aspects of collective memory.
This paper examines bioregional and cross-cultural activism along two borderland regions - parts of Karelia on
either side of the Finno-Russian border and the ‘Cres-to-the-Karst’ (Italian, da Cherso al Carso) stretch of territory
along the Italo-Croato-Slovene borderlands - with a focus on its ethical, social, political, and economic
implications.
Towards A Praxis of Urbanistic Acupuncture: The role of urbanism in resisting frontiers of globalization
Dongsei Kim, Columbia University, USA
125 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The paper interrogates the evolution of architecture and urbanism in resisting globalization over the last thirty
years. It traces its development from when its focus in dealing with the frontiers of globalization was in theory
and architectural objects to the recent praxis privileging urbanism based strategies. Furthermore, the paper
examines how this knowledge can inform specific role urbanism have in dealing with resistances in extreme
border territories. In 1983 a prominent architectural theorist at Columbia University, Kenneth Frampton wrote in
his seminal essay “Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance” that the optimized
technology conditioning modern buildings substantially limited the possibility of creating significant urban
forms. Frampton argued that the scope of urbanism was limited to a degree where it had become a “kind of
superficial masking” that is mere “manipulation of elements predetermined by the imperatives of production.”
Within this context he offered an insight into how architecture and urbanism could produce critical practice that
harvest latent political resistances through “cultural-expression,” “arrière-garde,” “place-form,” and “cultivating
the site.” Now thirty years has passed since his seminal essay, but we are not much further ahead in producing
viable mass scaled resistances. However, with the global recession that overtook the world in 2008, new series of
intriguing work in urbanism started to emerge. Many of these localized grassroots phenomena were collected
under the umbrella term “Tactical urbanism.” They cover a multitude of bottom-up tactics from around the globe
that emphasize the collective, low cost, immediate-implementation, and use of social-media to connect users.
This understanding of the localized “tactical urbanism,” that tackle the relentless globalization provides an insight
into new innovative strategies in confronting the new emerging Post-Cold War borders.
The Architecture As The Mediator In The Process Of Annihilating The Mental Boundaries Between the
Societies Within The Borderline Regions
Małgorzata Kądziela, Silesian University, Poland
Anna Rynkowska-Sachse, Sopocka Szkoła Wyższa, Poland
The purpose of the paper is to show the role of the contemporary architecture realisations in the process of
annihilating the mental boundaries between the societies living within the borderline areas. Inside the
multicultural, especially Post-colonial and Post-Cold War reality, the architectural realizations become not only
the tools for the institutional organization of the borderland spaces, but also cultural capital for the further, socioeconomical development of its users. For this goal - of the special importance is to recognize and reconcile the
cognitive, not always consciously - but destructively acting - imaginations among the members of the coexisting
societies within the already shared spaces. This, in turn, cannot be achieved without recognizing, understanding
and accepting their common history. Of the special importance in this process is to create spaces allowing for
expressing the cultural memory and saving material heritage of the cultural landscapes. Through structures,
forms and the programmatic openness, architecture can manage the communication of the ideas, planned as
well as the unexpected actions, allow for the development of common history and cross-cultural competencies.
The particular aspect of the presentation will be illustrated by examples of the existing, contemporary
architecture of Namibia, South Africa and Poland, revealing the elements of the architectural design which can
operate in the process of the diagnosis of the problems, or as the matrix of solutions in a global scale.
F 810: COOPERATION AND CONFLICT ON POST-COLONIAL BORDERS
Chair: Chiara Brambilla, University of Bergamo, Italy
Room: AG 102
Date: June 10th, 2014
Time: 16:50-18:30
Rituals of initiation during a military conflict. The case of the kingdom of Oussouye (Casamance, Senegal)
Jordi Thomas, Lleida University, Spain
From 1982, the members of the secessionist MFDC and the soldiers of the Senegalese army are responsibile for
the conflict of Casamance, one of the longest conflicts in Africa. After more than 30 years and more than 5.000
died victimes and thousands of displaced persons, the conflict is not ended. Nevertheless, in some areas, the
current life and the ritual life continues... Great initiations to the most important shrines and male circunsitions as
well, have been celebrated during the last years with the participation of thousands of youngs. But, what
126 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia happens with the militars and the MFDC combattants? Can they go to the greatest initiation rituals and entry in
the sacred forests in which they will found their "enemies"? Can the combattants exiled in Guinea-Bissau go to
the initiations celebrated in the Senegalese territory? May the great initiations contribute to the peace of
Casamance? We would like to show our on going research on the case of the Joola population of the Oussouye
kingdom, in Lower Casamance (Senegal), not far from the Bissau-Guinea border.
People, maps and the messy practice of delineating borders in a conflict region
Christine Leuenberger, Cornell University, USA
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 purportedly marked the beginning of a new era of open geographical spaces
and unparalleled physical and electronic mobility, replacing a world divided along ideological and political lines.
Bordered spaces seemingly gave way to a borderless and interconnected world. Yet, such dreams of an open
borderless world are nothing but a fata morgana in the deserts of the Negev and the Sahara. Not only has the
post-1989 period lead to a worldwide proliferation of borders, boundaries and physical and virtual frontiers, that
divide people, cultures, and territories, but also in conflict-ridden areas, such as in Israel-Palestine, establishing
firm boundaries so as to delineate territory and attempt to differentiate between ethnically and culturally diverse
social groups remains a desired form of social organization. This paper relies on an array of qualitative data
including in-depth interviews, ethnographic observations as well as library and archival research so as to trace the
all-to human stories of the successes and failures of demarcating Israel’s boundaries from the colonial period until
today. History reveals how top-down colonial demarcations impact binational or unilateral boundary
demarcation processes to the present and continue to affect people and lands in often adverse ways. Moreover,
the story of Israel’s many boundaries reveals how borders are made by people, technologies, topographies,
documents, and practices that help make, remake, or unmake borders and boundaries.
Inter-regional animation as tool promoting cross-border cooperation in conflict areas
Sándor Köles, Institute for Stability and Development, Czech Republic – Hungary
Conflict areas are located on the periphery in buffer zones between countries, which are the scene of latent or
open inter-state and/or inter-ethnic conflicts. Conflict situation is a common phenomenon and symptoms of
collapsed empires and conflict areas are under the ruins of these collapsed empires especially in Eastern and
South-East Europe, which is associated with frequent boundary changes meaning that these border areas are
populated by culturally, ethnically religiously mixed communities. People living in conflict areas may be hostages
of a conflict not of their making, but one generated by ongoing national level politics and geopolitical factors,
and living in isolation. One potential solution to break out isolation and give voice to local communities is to
build cooperation amongst communities living in conflict border areas through a ground up, (interregional/cross-border) process of animation, which is:
• a multi-stage and long-term process based on exploring and understand existing local knowledge and
culture in order to reach an integrated level of organization of given bordering region;
• to identify endogenous resources for development and connecting dots;
• to assist the creation of joint programs for socio-economic development in given bordering regions
based on identified endogenous resources;
• To make use of existing local institutions and networks formulating partnership across borders.
Inter-regional animation will be illustrated with a case study about the development of the Euroregion Dniester
in the bordering area of Ukraine and Moldova/Transnistria.
Abyssal lines and their contestation in the construction of modern Europe: a De-colonial perspective on
the Spanish case
Heriberto Cairo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
This contribution is aimed at providing a de-colonial reading of the cleavages separating intra-European borders
and colonial borders. Having explored the delimitation and demarcation of Spanish boundaries with Portugal,
France and Morocco, we argue that there have been two different types of border inception. One between
European or civilized neighbours and another with uncivilized people. Two legal models functioning, to some
extent, as abyssal lines that differentiate and select who is on one side and who is on the Other side, or who is
inside and who outside.Dealing with the colonial difference which underlies the construction of modern Europe,
127 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia the chapter focusses on the colonial side of the Spanish (EU) outer perimeter and the ordering/governance of
human mobility. By looking at the contestations to modern state borders, and particularly to colonial borders, it
comes up with new political devices and new imaginaries about the spaces, and the sense of community within
and between them.
R 10: METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES IN STUDYING BORDERS
Chair: David Newman, Ben Gurion University at Negev, Israel
Room: Moscow
Date: June 12, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:20
How to define borders between countries in current globalization era?
Lee Li, York University, USA
Our world is experiencing simultaneously two opposite trends of globalization. On one hand, software in
conjunction with fiber-optic network makes the world “tiny”, “flat” or even “borderless”. The development of
technologies makes everyone on this earth next-door neighbours. International outsourcing, insourcing, supply–
chaining, and strategic alliances have become an important part of our economy. Regional unions, such as EU
and NAFTA, have replaced to a varying degree the traditional concepts of countries. On the other hand,
increased conflicts are separating nations. For example, conflicts have intensified between countries like China,
Korea, and Japan. In these conflicts, governments resort to historical memories to support territorial claims, to
address past injustices, and to promote nationalism. These two opposite trends make it difficult to define borders
between countries because cooperation, competition and conflicts co-exit between countries.
This paper aims to define borders between countries. It proposes that national borders can be defined by three
dimensions, i.e. geographic boundary, structural/relational boundary and institutional boundary. Geographic
boundaries are associated with spatial distance. It separates political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as
governments and sovereign states. Structural/relational boundaries are associated with unfamiliarity or cultural
distance between nations with lack of roots in each other’s environments, such as the lack of legitimacy of foreign
people, nationalism, family ties, and business links. Institutional boundaries are distance between nations in
terms of the cognitive, normative, and regulatory domains of the institutional environments. Governments
should employ different mechanisms to control different dimensions of boundaries.
Phantom borders: Definition, Methodological Approaches and an Attempt of Classification
Vladimir Kolosov, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Alexander Sebentsov, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
In a broad sense, phantom borders can be defined as political and cultural borders which politically or legally do
not exist anymore, or lost their most important functions, or lost/changed their meaning but appear in different
forms and modes of economic, social and political activity nowadays. The authors analyze the origin of phantom
borders and suggest the criteria of their classification, try to explain why they do matter today in discussing their
role in identity- and state-building and in shaping the administrative map, as cultural divides and a factor of
electoral behaviour, as part of demographic and economic territorial patterns, as sacred places (“lieux de
mémoire”) and as premises of cross-border cooperation and a basis of euroregions. They also show why some
phantom borders are more important and visible than others. In conclusion, some methodological approaches
for studying phantom borders are proposed. The paper is illustrated by a big number of maps, mainly of
European countries and regions, and by pictures.
Ethical Challenges in Transborder Research: Perspectives from U.S. and Mexican Researchers
Maria Hilda Garcia-Perez, Arizona State University, USA
As transborder research in public health increasingly crosses the U.S.- Mexico border, there is an urgent need to
think about the ethical obligations of public agencies and universities engaged in funding or conducting
research across the border. Special attention should be paid to the establishment of protocol and safeguards to
protect research participants in border communities from possible, as well as addressing existing differences in
128 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia the two countries. This study explores several ethical issues surrounding transborder research based on the
experience scholars doing research in the U.S.‐Mexico border.
Towards a new C/Artopolitics of Borders: honest misrepresentations of the world
Henk van Houtum, Nijmegen Centre for Border Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Rodrigo Bueno Lacy, Nijmegen Centre for Border Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Ceci n’est pas le monde should be an indispensable inscription on every map. At their best, maps are accurate
misrepresentations, at their worst they are misused to justify cleansing. Despite their mathematical exactness,
maps depict a dishonest oversimplification of the world’s artificially carved borders. Ceaseless transit is entirely
missing from their geometrical storytelling. The inward-looking tradition of cartographical linearity constrains our
ability to disentangle borders from lines and envisage border evocations of the perpetual changes shaping our
world. To deviate from hardliners’ cartopolitics we need to ‘unimagine’ the world’s borders and reimagine them
by drawing the convoluted paths travelled by people and ideas. We propose to recover cartography’s artistic
vocation to turn maps into compelling visual checks on power. Combining art and geographical rigor confers
mapmakers a unique power to influence the public debate. Our aim is not to provide an ‘objective’ guide to mapmaking but rather to recognize cartography’s intrinsic subjectivity and take it away from the monopoly of any
power. No map can ever ‘represent’ the world but merely sketch a complexity that refuses to be captured. We
advocate an ‘artopolitics’ that misrepresents the world with honesty. Ceci n’est pas le monde. That is precisely the
point.''
R 11: Territorial Disputes in Northeast Asia: Frameworks of Analysis
Chair: Alexander Bukh, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Room: Helsinki
Date: June 12, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:20
Since the end of the Cold War, territorial disputes in Northeast Asia have become increasingly salient in regional
relations. All of these disputes are between Japan and its neighbours. In recent years, these disputes became the
major source of bilateral frictions in the region and are generally viewed as a potential source of military conflict.
Contrastingly, China and Russia have managed to successfully resolve their border dispute and currently their
bilateral relations are characterized by cooperation and amity. This panel consists of experts in history,
international relations and international law from three different countries. It seeks to explore the similarities and
differences between the various disputes and discuss possible approaches to understanding the roots of the
current situation in the region.
The Characteristics and Nature of the Territorial Issues in Northeast Asia: Appraisal in Historical, Political
and Legal Perspectives
Seong-Keun Hong, Northeast Asia History Foundation, South Korea
Territorial issues in Northeast Asia have legal, political and historical aspects. From a historical perspective, the
origins of the territorial issues such as the Dokdo issue between Korea and Japan, Senkaku islands dispute
between China and Japan and the Kuril Islands dispute between Russia and Japancan be traced to Imperial
Japan's colonial policies. The Allied powers aimed to solve issues related to Japanese territories after World War II
through the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1952. However the colonial legacy can be observed here as well as
neither the two Koreas nor China or USSR were parties to the treaty. Since 1950s, the territorial issues have been
affected by both domestic and international politics. Today, the territorial issues in Northeast Asia cannot be
resolved only through legal or functional approaches but should be considered from political and historical
aspects. This study will examine the characteristics and nature of territorial issues in Northeast Asia from the
above-mentioned perspectives and suggest a possible resolution to these issues. The proposed resolution aims
at building mutual confidence between the parties and through this facilitate the resolution of the dispute.
Typology of Territorial Disputes in Northeast Asia and Political Dynamism
129 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Woon-Do Choi, Northeast Asia History Foundation, South Korea
Existing studies on territorial disputes in Northeast Asia do not differentiate the types of territorial borders which
are the subject of the dispute, such as land borders, maritime borders, and borders that emerged as a result of
colonialism. International Relations studies on borders have developed various hypotheses regarding n the
possibility of dispute occurrence, probability of conflict contagion, odds of conflict resolution, etc., but they
usually do not consider the impact of the different types of borders. This study will focus on the characteristics of
territorial disputes in East Asia, which can be categorized as maritime territorial disputes. These characteristics, it
will be argued, contain important hints about the possibility of resolving these disputes and the ways to achieve
it.
Russia’s Territorial Disputes with China and Japan: A comparative analysis
Andrei Sidorov, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), Russia
This paper is devoted to a comparative analysis of Russo-Japanese and Russo-Chinese territorial disputes. It will
try to answer the question: “Why Russia and China have managed to resolve their border issues, but Russia and
Japan have not?” For this purpose, the paper will review the historical roots and the nature of the Russo-Chinese
border dispute as well as the factors that enabled its recent settlement. The paper will proceed by defining
commonalities and differences between the two territorial disputes and will point out the factors that preclude
the resolution of the Russo-Japanese dispute. Finally, it will assess how the experience of the Russo-Chinese
settlement could be applied to Russia’s dispute with Japan over the South Kuril Islands.
Japan’s Territorial Disputes: A Policy Failure
Alexander Bukh, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
All of the current territorial disputes in Northeast Asia are between Japan and its neighbours. The disputes have
its roots in both the domestic and international politics if the Cold War. This paper will focus mainly on the
domestic politics of the disputes. During the Cold War, Tokyo’s policy goals related to the territorial disputes were
as follows; to prevent the territorial dispute over Dokdo/Takeshima and Senkaku/Diaoyu from obstructing its
relations with South Korea and China respectively, and to use the “Northern Territories” dispute in delegitimizing
the domestic political opposition that campaigned against Japan’s alliance with the US. Recently however, the
territorial disputes with South Korea and China have become the main stumbling stones in Japan’s bilateral
relations with these countries. Despite the virtual disappearance of the domestic opposition, the “Northern
Territories” dispute continuously obstructing full normalization of Japan’s relations with Russia, which is
becoming increasingly important in light of Japan’s worsening relations with China. This paper will analyse
Japan’s policies related to these three disputes and explore the similarities and differences in factors that caused
these policy failures.
R 12: CHANGING BORDERS OF ROMA COMMUNITIES
Chair: James Scott, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: Barcelona
Date: June 12, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:20
Migrants or criminals? Political and Media Framing of East European Roma in Nordic countries
Miika Tervonen, University of Helsinki, Finland
The paper analyzes the political and media reception of Roma migrants in Finland, Sweden and Denmark in the
period following EU’s Eastward expansion in 2004. The East European Roma minorities have been described as
the ‘biggest loosers of the post-soviet transition’, facing deteriorating socio-economic position and severe
discrimination amounting to de facto ethnic segregation of many communities. While expansion of EU and
Schengen area has provided opportunities of westward migration, the EU-induced short-term circular mobility of
the Roma has been accompanied by new forms of marginalization and political exclusion both in the West and
the East.
130 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia How have the Nordic countries – often perceived as exceptionally inclusive and universalist welfare states –
conceptualized and framed diverse East European Roma migrants? The paper is based on a comparative print
media analysis, in which focus is both on media discourse and actual policy practices in Finland, Sweden and
Denmark.
The paper assesses the notion of Nordic immigration regimes as being characterized by “discoursive divergence,
practical convergence”. Further, present-day framing of the East European Roma is related to the centuries-long
history in which central and local authorities in have used a wide array of techniques and targeted laws to turn
back and expel those considered as “Gypsies”. It is hypothesized that in line with this legacy, the Roma migrants
form in present-day Nordic discourses a kind of an ‘acid test’ for the legitimacy of Schengen border regime and its
purportedly universalist ideas of free mobility.
Memories of the Revolution: Reflecting on Today's Effect of Westernization of Roma Romanians
Casiana Pascariu, Washington State University, USA
On the twenty five of December 1989, Romanians watched live on TV, the execution of their president Nicolae
Ceausescu and the end of the four decades of Communism Era. Communism was the only governmental regime
that integrated the Roma population by offering housing, jobs, and benefits, but it did so at the expense of forced
assimilation without taking in consideration their history and minority position. I spent the summer of 2013 in
Northern Romania in a Roma community called La Țigani (At the gypsies), collecting ethnographic data. I observed
both the invisible, social borders, as well as the physical borders between Roma and non-Roma. During interviews
and participant observation, conversations arose about the "integrated" situation of the Roma in that region
during the years of the Soviet Union. This was compared with the recent wave of globalization in which Romania
gained membership in the European Union, resulting in the opening of Western Europe's borders to Romanians,
but in a more isolated experience for the Roma. Romanians are often perceived negatively in Western Europe,
and many Romanians from this community blame the Roma for this image. I argue that despite forced
assimilation during Communism, Roma Romanians in Romania, face invisible borders in the educational system
and community. The westernization of Romania, and the acceptance of it in the European Union, resulted in the
image (representation) of Roma becoming more negative in the eyes of both East and West, emphasizing social
and cultural borders between theories of "us" and the "other" (Roma).
Changing the borders in Roma integration interpretation – an empirical case from Hungary
Victor Varjú, MTA KRTK Institute for Regional Studies, Hungary
The discussion on Roma is a sensitive and continuously changing phenomenon. The Roma integration in the EU
is now in the focus on strategic level, however, in the everyday media discourse the situation is different. Based
on an empirical research under the umbrella of Euroborderscapes project we looked trough and analysed media
discourses in Hungary since 1998. Hungarian national newspapers and international ones were analysed in order
to reveal the borders of integrative and non-integrative thinking, and different approaches. In the analyses the
goal was to reveal the changing integration issue and its interpretations of Romas. The main aim was to seek out,
how integration as a key rhetoric creates mental borders.
The paper concludes by arguing that although in media discourse topics are vary and EU rhetoric and
enforcement tried to shift Roma issue towards a more neutral phase deploying a more integrative society, and to
push back racism, in Hungary the border between integrative and non-integrative approach is more sensible.
Firstly, the mental borders in the approach depends on topics, secondly, although border of integrative/nonintegrative thinking in official/strategic/political discourse is much far from the one in media discourses.
R 13: CHANGING MENTAL MAPS OF POST-SOVIET SPACE
Chair: Virpi Kaisto, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland
Room: Sydney
Date: June 12th, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:20
Space imagination and mixed identity in Russian towns bordering with Finland
131 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Igor Okunev, MGIMO, Russia
Aleksey Domanov, MGIMO, Russia
Paper is based on the ground research conducted in three Russian towns bordering Finland (St.Petersburg,
Vyborg and Kronstadt) in October 2013. The research included quantitative analysis of conducted opinion polls
and qualitative research of focus group interviews, written documents, street and cafes names. Being localized in
the similar space (borderland, sea, complex historical past, etc.) these towns have developed different spatial
myths resembling opposite interpretation of their self-positioning in the territory. As the geographical position at
the border of Russia provides the citizens with geopolitical alternatives to identify their location as a fortress
defending the nation (as in the case of Kronstadt) or a bridge between cultures, the given study allows us to
compare reasons for these geopolitical choices of inhabitants. It was found that periphery position forced the
development of local (Kronstadt) or mixed identity (Vyborg). St.Peterburg stays unique in this case since it has
developed its own myth resembling Russian dream of Europe. Furthermore, the research provides a North-West
Russian perspective on the perpetual discussion about subjective Eastern border of Europe. Adopting critical
geographical perspective, the study helps to understand better how people perceive space and how they assign
different functions to interstate borders.
Diversity and Asymmetry of Cultural Identities in Russian-Ukrainian Borderlands: Local Consciousness and
Building of National Identity
Anton Gritsenko, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Mikhail Krylov, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
The authors discuss the results of their field studies of regional identities in the neighbouring regions of Ukraine
and Russia associated with the Russian-Ukrainian historical regions – Slobozhanskaya Ukraine and Hetmanate.
The contemporary national borders cut these regions but their identity still exists. The Interference of Russian and
Ukrainian culture has led to the formation of a zone of smooth transition between these territories in the form of
ethno-cultural gradient which reflects not only the propensity of population to use Russian or Ukrainian literary
language, but also the spatial variations in historical memory and the perception of neighbours, inside the state
and across the border. The variety of transformations and the adaptation of local identities to the objectives of
different state-building’s models in Ukraine (the “ethnocratic model" vs the nation-state model) and in Russia (the
"imperial” model vs the model of political civic nation). The authors consider the implications of a unifying policy
of memory and state-building on both sides of the border aimed at the establishment of a common vision of
national history and national culture.
Narrating a hardening border regime: Security, (Im)Mobility and Affect
Alena Pfoser, Loughborough University, UK
Since the erection of the first border post in 1991, the border between Russia and Estonia has been turned into an
increasingly fortified and bureaucratic border regime aimed at protecting not only the inter-state border but also
the EU external frontier. Drawing upon over 50 life-story interviews conducted in the border towns of Narva and
Ivangorod in 2011 and 2012, the paper looks at local responses to this hardening border regime. It shows how
this border appears differently depending on people’s past and present experiences and can be interpreted
either in terms of security and protection or (im)mobility hindering the previously free movement in the
borderland. Furthermore, it analyses how narratives of security and (im)mobility are linked to different ways of
engaging affectively with the state. Drawing upon recent works on borders and affect, I will show that people
living in the borderland usually do not question the integrity of the state but use the border to articulate their
expectations of how the state should look like. The main question for them is not if there is a border but how is
the border – whether it runs counter or corresponds to personal/ local/ national needs of security, mobility and
economic well-being. Bringing mobility and enclosure into the forefront of the discussion, this paper adds a
different angle to the debates on borders in Europe’s Eastern periphery, which often focus on the geopolitics of
national identities and shifting symbolic geographies in the region.
Understanding common citizens in the territorial issues of Russia and Japan (1999-2014)
Alibay Mammadov, Hokkaido University, Japan
Almost all researchers of Russo-Japanese relations, including territorial disputes, talk and write about the history
and present negotiations held at top level meetings. Undoubtedly it is important, and should be debated and
132 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia discussed. However, I think it is equally important to take into consideration the opinions and views of common
citizens of Russia and Japan, especially current and ex-islanders at the disputed islands. After all, it is common
knowledge that many countries regard public opinions as important. Countries and their leaders are supposed to
understand the public opinion. With little regard to public opinion, politicians are unable to make educated
decisions about issues. Additionally, it is important that researchers value the opinions at the public, taking them
into consideration before publishing papers. Very few researchers currently do this. I don’t think this is enough.
Therefore, I feel responsibility to talk about public opinions of bilateral relations between Russia and Japan. I want
to investigate how Russians and Japan see each other in regards to the territorial dispute. What means Japan to
Russians and vice versa. The author will mainly use public survey which has already been conducted in both
countries by government, by several public survey agencies and his own survey. The author is neither Japanese
nor Russian, so this research can be impartial.
This research will be focusing on the current situation of public opinion on this issue. A very short explanation
about shaping process of public opinion of both countries will also be provided. The conclusion of this research
will be to reveal current public opinion, influence and effect of public opinion in negotiation process.
R 14: MEET-THE-EDITORS: JOURNAL OF BORDERLANDS STUDIES
Room: Beijing
Date: June 12th, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:20
Meet the Editors of the Journal of Borderlands Studies. After short introductions there will be a panel
debate opening up for comments and questions from the audience.
Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly, University of Victoria, Canada
Martin van der Velde, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands
Ilkka Liikanen, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
R 15: RE-BORDERING SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE
Chair: Donald Alper, Western Washington University, USA
Room: Athens
Date: June 12th, 2014
Time: 10:40-12:00
Dissolution of Yugoslavia and Post-Cold-War Consequences of the Unsolved Boundary Dispute between
Croatia and Slovenia
Damir Josipovic, Institute for Ethnic Studies, Slovenia
Slovenia and Croatia have a long and winding political border – according to some sources over 670 kilometres
long. As one of the results of the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Slovenian-Croatian border has soon started to
figure as a new political curtain, which prevents normal cross-border communication. In addition, while after
1991 all of the former eastern Yugoslav borders opened (towards the former COMECON countries), within its
territory emerged highly impermeable border with Schengen status of outer European boundary.
When analysing its boundary course, one may find certain particularly important physical shifts of the course.
These shifts form a basis for an understanding of the so-called identity formation of the local population along
with the “creative policies” of the states’ centres. Twenty year-old dispute on the land and the sea was three years
ago relinquished to the ad hoc Arbitration Tribunal. It is expected that the Tribunal will produce a final decision
during 2014 or in 2015.
Three major constituent cases within the border dispute are examined to support or the thesis that the mentality
shift from the former Italo-Yugoslav cold-war border shifted entirely onto the Slovenian-Croatian border dispute.
A former loss of Triest due to the Iron curtain imposition was compensated in a struggle for the Yugoslav legacy’s
remains.
133 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Apart of the questions of identity shifts, the actual administrative lines of control thoroughly restructured the
immediate hinterland and produced some extraordinary cases of modus vivendi.
Politics and poetry of borders: Western and Eastern images and imaginaries
Anna Krasteva, Centre for Advanced Studies, Bulgaria
The Balkans are at the crossing of the effacement of borders by the Europeanization, from one side, and the
construction of new borders - physical, national, cultural, symbolic, from another side, of the overproduction of
borders and the overproduction of representations, meanings, imaginaries of boundaries. The objective of the
paper is to analyze the Balkans as an intensive whirlpool of politics of bordering, ordering, and othering.
Balkan borders and especially Balkans as a border have shaped the Balkan self-representation and Europe’s
representation of the Balkans. How do the Balkans reinterpret nowadays this controversial historical heritage of
Balkans as borders is the question addressed in the first part. The paper distinguishes three main ways:
strengthening the strong borders; crossing and softening the soft borders; overinvesting in symbolism and
imaginaries.
“There are borders on the map and borders in the mind” (Andreev 2004). Two opposite cases of new ‘borders on
the map’ are compared in the second part: the new bridge between Bulgaria and Romania and the new wall
under construction at the Bulgarian border with Turkey as a response to the Syrian refugees’ crisis.
The borders in Balkan minds are analyzed in the final part. It will present the results of a study of mental maps
among three groups: immigrants in the Balkans; emigrants from the Balkans, mobile Balkan citizens.
Cross-Border cooperation in the Hungarian-Croatian border – historical and practical issues
Sándor Kovács, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
Until the dictates of the Treaty of Trianon, our country and our neighbour to the south was only separated by an
administrative border. Between the two World Wars, the transit and the economic co-operation was unimpeded.
It was common that the citizens of the neighbouring country owned a significant amount of land across the
border. This has changed significantly during state socialism. The hostile relationship in the fifties was followed
by the resumption of cooperation in the sixties, which manifested primarily in agriculture and trade. The civil war
after the system change stopped the preferred tendencies for a short period of time, and it happened only after
the turn of the Millennium, with our approximation to the EU, then with the Hungarian accession that the
cooperation gained new momentum.
The CBC institutions have a history, but these aren’t local. Some samples:
• Hungarian-Yugoslavian Urban and Land-management Permanent Subcommittee, 1969
• Environmental and Regional Development Committee
• Office of the Pécs-Baranya Chamber of Commerce and Trade in Croatia
Human rights (freedom of speech and expression) in the light of democratic processes from CentralEastern Europe’s perspective
Dawid Bunikowski, University of Eastern Finland
Human rights are interpreted in different ways in Central-Eastern Europe, after the collapse of communism. There
are many explanations why e.g. freedom of speech in Russia or Ukraine is a different institution than in Poland.
One is that legal concept as empty meaning of constitutional or international slogan is fulfilled by concrete
political culture and the traditions of power in a given society (Pipes). The second might be that all what we need
is political stability (Freeden), not rights. Democratization after the Cold War was a sophisticated and complicated
process. Finally/globally, new democracies in the region are of a mixed nature: some accepted Western standards
of human rights and European understanding of human dignity, while others rejected it, following own “Easternpost-Soviet-Byzantine” way on interpretation of human rights. Freedom of speech and expression as emanation
of the individual’s freedom in a liberal society remains like a litmus paper in this context.
R 20: BALKANS II: BORDERS AND IDENTITIES
Chair: Anna Krasteva, Centre for Advanced Studies, Bulgaria
134 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Room: Moscow
Date: June 12th, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
Border Interpretations: Ambiguity and Uncertainty Along the Slovenian-Croatian Border
Ivana Venier, University of Venice, Italy
The border between Croatia and Slovenia was established in 1991, after the collapse of Yugoslavia. In the past
centuries, it has kept changing, didn't exist or was only administrative in character. Today, after the establishment
of a strict border, many areas remain still at stake causing controversy between the two countries. One of the
contended issues is the sovereignty over the Piran Bay and a portion of land south of river Dragogna (Northern
Adriatic).
Relying on the case study method, this paper aims at exploring the dispute in depth and draws the attention on
the diverging interpretations of borders. Different actors involved assign contradictory meanings to borders in a
situation where states struggle to keep nations separated by strict borders, while citizens deconstruct them
through their everyday practices. Actually, citizens keep crossing borders on a daily basis, forgetting about them
– sometimes avoiding checkpoints – and consistently trying to capture new opportunities and benefits that arise
from their presence.
Though borders are usually assumed as being stable, fixed and unquestionable in their separating function, the
case of the Croatian-Slovenian dispute shows a situation of ambiguity and uncertainty that questions borders as
funding elements of nation states. Borders can lack a clear function, that can change through time. According to
the needs and interpretations of various actors – states, citizens, different institutions – borders can provide new
opportunities for some as well as disadvantages for others. Nevertheless, their ambiguous and changing
character makes their existence possible.
Cross-border Landscape: Construction оf Natural Heritage аnd Local Development аt Bulgarian-Serbian
Borderlands
Ivaylo Markov, Ethnographical Museum at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
The proposed paper is focused on the definite region of Bulgarian-Serbian borderlands – the area where the Erma
river flows. The river takes its sources in Serbia and though it is not very long (74 km), it is notable for passing the
Bulgarian-Serbian border twice, and for its two remarkable gorges – the Gorge of Tran in Bulgaria and the Gorge
of Poganovo in Serbia.
During the socialist period this border region was under strong military and police control – Bulgaria was part of
Soviet socialistic block while Serbia was part of Federative Yugoslavia, which was also socialist state but held
aside the strong Soviet influence and joined to no-aligned nations. The crossing of the border was formally
impossible; the borderlands remained peripheral industrially undeveloped areas and were putted under strong
depopulation. However, the region preserved its pristine nature.
After the fall of socialist regimes in 1989, the border-keeping installations at Bulgarian-Serbian borderline were
demolished. During the last two decades the natural landscape and certain nature objects have been turned into
landmarks and included in the value scale of local communities as symbols and heritage. In result, the above
mentioned gorges have become more and more important part of strategic priorities in the local policies of
revival of these economically undeveloped borderlands in the Western Bulgaria and Eastern Serbia. Nowadays
the local efforts are uniting through different joint cross-border projects and activities in the sphere of nature
preservation and eco-tourism.
Cultural Debates, Institutions and Programmes: Reading the post-1989 Balkan Borderscapes in the
Croatian Cultural Discourses
Ivana Trkulja, Centre for Advanced Studies, Bulgaria
The regional narrative depicting the post-1989 Balkan borderscapes remains remarkably captured in the cultural
and literary discourses over the past two decades. The present research aims at tracing the nature of related
cultural debates, institutions and programmes in the context of Croatia while offering insights into the key
themes related to the bordering process following the 1980s political mobilisation in the region. The perception
of border traceable in the cultural discourses captures the essence of Balkans narrative thus placing the specific
135 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia regional temporalities on the wider international agenda. In this context, it is significant to consider that 1989,
perceived commonly as a landmark of political change, associated with the fall of the Berlin Wall, initiation of
European unification and transformation of the political system, in the Balkans had a rather versatile meaning. In
spite of more than twenty years of historical distance from these events, the regional narrative still rises up
against these commonly accepted landmarks in thinking European borders, having lived its political
transformation featured by conflicts, violence, condemning of the old borders and welcoming the new ones. This
fluctuating temporality of the Balkan political transformation remains authentically preserved in the cultural
discourses correlating the national and regional bordering process with the wider international themes. The
research focuses on three main aspects related to the Croatian cultural discourses, namely on literary debates,
national cultural institutions and the EU funded cultural heritage programmes.
Challenging the “Post-Yugoslavian” borders: case study of Western Balkans
Marta Zorko, University of Zagreb, Croatia
After the end of Cold War different re-bordering processes took place in Eastern and South Eastern Europe. This
paper examines causes and consequences of open border issues in Western Balkans. The changing significance of
borders has been partly interrupted by war in the 1990’s. The opinions conferred by the Arbitration Commission
of the Conference on Yugoslavia provided legal ground for the dissolution. Two sets of problems arose as a
consequence of this decision. The first encompassed the territorial pretensions of the then-political leaders of the
region and were eventually resolved by the end of the war. The second, those that entail the delimitation and
demarcation of the above-mentioned internationally recognized border lines, are ongoing and continue to
complicate normalized bilateral and international relations among and between the newly created states. At the
same time, local identities are proven to exist along borderlines.
These realities of different levels of re-bordering and different shifts of changing significance of borders are uniqe
for the region of Western Balkans.
R 21: IDENTITIES IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
Chair: Iwona Sagan, University of Gdansk, Poland
Room: Helsinki
Date: June 12, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
Poles in Lithuania and Belarus: emergence of differences and preserved similarities
Raman Urbanovich, Belarusian State University, Belarus
The aim of this article is to describe changes in the content of ethnic identity of the Poles of the modern
Belarusian-Lithuanian borderland. The main emphasis is laid on the analysis of similarities and differences in the
development of ethnic groups over the past two decades, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the
emergence of new independent states. Taking into account real absence of any political borders in the region
until 1944 and formal character of boundaries between Lithuanian and Byelorussian Soviet Socialistic Republics,
which existed in 1944-1991., it seems to me particularly interesting to detect those differences and retained
general points that emerged in the last two decades and can be attributed to the ethnic policy and cultural
context of independent Lithuania and Belarus. The strategy identity of the Polish population on both sides of the
border and the content and the perception of concepts such as "Fatherland ", "mother tongue", "our land", "ours"
, "strangers", etc. are considered in the article. The analysis is based on census data, ethnological and sociological
researches, as well as material collected by the author during the ethnological exploration of some regions of the
Belarusian- Lithuanian borderland.
Linguistic Identities of Eastern Slavonic Immigrants in Poland
Alicja Fajfer, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
The subject of this paper is the influence of linguistic proximity on the integration of eastern Slavonic immigrants
in Poland. The group is represented by such ethnicities as Ukrainians, Belarusians and Russians. So far, only
Ukrainians have received some academic attention; mostly because they are the most populous group.
136 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Nevertheless, even in the case of Ukrainians the issues of integration and linguistic identity have been treated
with neglect.
This study investigates whether linguistic and cultural proximity can help overcome integration barrier. Similar
cultures share certain norms and values, just like related languages share certain words and structural elements.
Therefore, it might be easier for eastern Slavs to feel at home in Poland because they will not be required to – in
the words of G. Hofstede – re-program their minds completely.
The questions which the study looks to answer regard the shift in the linguistic identities of Slavic migrants. Does
speaking Polish mean more to them than just a way of exchanging information? Sometimes multilingual
speakers feel that, compared to their own, a foreign language conveys more (or less) accurate or powerful
meanings. This paper investigates whether Polish has any symbolic values for Slavic immigrants. If it does, then
what are they?
Cultural cooperation as a factor ameliorating international conflicts. The example of Poland and Ukraine
Iwona Sagan, University of Gdansk, Poland
Dominika Szymańska, University of Gdansk, Poland
Klaudia Nowicka, University of Gdansk, Poland
Poland and Ukraine have a long and turbulent history and the conflict which divides those two nations dates
back to the 14th century. There are some events, like the tragedy in Wołyń or the persecution of Ukrainian
peasants which are still lively and widely commented by media and politicians. It seems that in this case time is
not an effective healer as the Polish – Ukrainian wounds are still bleeding, so maybe there are some other factors
which could improve Polish – Ukrainian relations and ameliorate this centuries-long conflict.
The main aim of this paper is to answer the question whether cultural cooperation as well as promoting each
other's arts and culture can ameliorate this international conflict or not and, what is more important, does this
conflict really exist?
This paper presents the very first outcomes of the first phase of the research conducted in Ukraine and Poland on
the issue of cultural cooperation between those two countries. The research was conducted in August 2013
within the framework of the EUBORDERSCAPES project. It is based on the interviews conducted with the
representatives of Polish and Ukrainian institutions and organizations having their registered offices in Lvov – the
city which is so close to both Poles and Ukrainians.
Discourses on Cooperation and Conflict – The influence of narratives on the cross-border cooperation in
Przemysl
Martin Barthel, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Dominant discourses play a crucial role on the cooperation across borders. Depending on the narratives
cooperation can be fostered or stopped. Since in Poland the national narrative is pro-cooperation with it´s
neighbor Ukraine, on local level different stories are told. In order to understand what kind of cooperation or
conflict exist at the border, it is necessary to understand the local discourse arena.
Przemysl is an important example, since in the town severe conflicts started, which put the Polish-Ukrainian
cooperation on hold. In order to understand the conflicts and the approaches toward cooperation among the
local stakeholders, a number of expert interviews where hold and an analyzes and comparation between these
interviews had been done.
The results had been the identification of certain attitudes, prejudices and locally common view points among
the stakeholders, who play the most important role in the local arena. Beside the strengths, as well a number of
weakness and opportunities had been identified helping or slowing down the cooperation process with the
neighbors on local level.
Currently the EU – Ukrainian process is becoming challenging again and no new obstacles are wanted, it is even
more important to know which discourses are becoming dominant at the border, since a local conflict here can
easily have influence on national or even European level. The proposed paper will discuss, document and analyze
the discourses in the city of Przemysl and put them in the broader context of the European policy toward Ukraine.
R 22: CHANGING SPATIAL IMAGINARIES OF EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD
137 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Chair: James Scott, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: Barcelona
Date: June 12th, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
This panel is based on research on post-Soviet borders undertaken within the project EUBORDERSCAPES. We will
analyse and compare results of the mapping of the main debates and discourses on borders in post-Soviet space
in several different country cases. By comparing the results of the first empirical phase of the project we strive for
understanding historical shifts in conceptualizing borderscapes. Do the rising waves of discussion testify of
conceptual change and breakthrough of new hegemonic thinking modes? What kind of legitimation or challenge
for the status quo is presented in the debates?
The indivdual papers aim at 1) Identifying key periods of change and long term trends in patterns of discussing
borders; 2) Identifying key debates and political innovation and rhetorical strategies connected to these: who are
the main discussants, and what kind of political strategies they use? 3) Historical contextualization of conceptual
shifts: seeking out the multi-layered historicity of the shifting discourses and identification of the history politics
of border narratives; 4) Recognizing general European trends and peculiarities of national political culture.
Comparison of peaks of discussion and major conceptual shifts in different cases will certainly further facilitate
deeper understanding of general trends in European discussion as well as national peculiarities in
conceptualising post-Soviet borders.
Is Estonia a post-Soviet State? (201)
Vladimir Kolosov, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Olga Vendina, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Alexander Sebentsov, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
The objective of the paper is to consider the process of identity building, self-positioning and geopolitical
imaginations of the Estonian political elite in relation with its border concepts, particularly the views on the
borders with Russia, other post-Soviet countries and the EU. The paper is based on an analysis of three kinds of
information: 1) school textbooks on geography and history as one of the major sources of (geo)political
indoctrination; 2) the content of news programmes on national TV as a main source of information for a large part
of public opinion and 3) public discourse of three highest Estonian officials during one year. The authors pay
particular attention to the contingency of information on Europe and Estonian neighbours provided by
politicians, TV and school textbooks, to Russia’s “othering” and to the opposition in public discourse between the
“South” and the “North” of Europe. The conclusions made from this part of the study are compared with the
results of a day by day analysis of publications on Estonia and Russian-Estonian border in one of Russian federal
“quality” newspapers, Nezavisimaya Gazeta and the image of this country in the geopolitical imagination of
different strata of Russian political elite.
(Re)framing Border Rhetorics: Core and Peripheral Perspectives in Post-Soviet Ukrainian Border discourse
Olga Filippova, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine
Gelinada Grinchenko, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine
The main issue of this paper concerns changes and challenges of the “border rhetorics” in post-Soviet Ukrainian
from the perspective of theirs core and peripheral components. We understand “border rhetorics” as a complex
of arguments and explanations about real and imagined borders, proposed in Ukrainian mass-media. In turn, in
frameworks of “core and peripheral perspectives” in these rethorics we think about symbolical constitution of
border discourse as differentiated space of main (core) and subordinate (peripheral) frames of writings:
supranational-institutionalized, supranational-imagined, interregional-institutionalized, interregional-imagined,
national, local/subnational. For our investigation we chose four newspapers (in period of 1991-2012)
differentiated as official, alternative, regional, and transcripts of the parliamentary debates as well. To explain core
and peripheral perspectives in terms of frames of writings we fixed and analyzed numerous issues in the main
debated issues/writing topics, concerning borders: ENP, security, visas, imagined boundaries,
meeting/visit/conference, citizenship, humanitarian aid, delimitation/demarcation, money, diaspora,
achievements, health, land ownership, infrastructure, art, history, smuggling, culture, migration, heritage,
138 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia national security, illegal migrants, education/science, crossing a border, daily life, border guards, law, borderland
life, prostitution, radioactive materials, religion, social networks, customs, terrorism, transportation, migration,
tourism, brain drain, financial aid, shuttle-trades, environment, economic ties, language and culture.
The East in EU Documents of Cross-Border Cooperation and External Relations
Ilkka Liikanen, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
My paper analyses spatial imaginaries of EU documents of CBC and external relations with special attention paid
to changes in political vocabulary between the Wider Europe document (2003) and the present-day lineation of
Eastern Partnership policies. As a comparative reference point I will screen key NATO policy documents
concerning Russia and the post-Soviet space. The aim is to identify conceptual shifts in defining Europe and
European neighbourhood as a frame of EU policies and the East as a potential partner and/or the great European
other: how do the spatial imaginaries of EU documents change over time and how do they differ from those used
in NATO documents?
By examining the coexistence and clash of diverging spatial imaginaries of EU policies of CBC and external
relations, the paper strives to critically comment on and to contribute to the broader discussion on the role of the
EU as a new kind of international actor. The main focus of the study is on links between spatial imaginaries and
changing sovereignty concepts in the process of the shaping of EU common foreign and security policies. The
paper asks what has happened to the “sovereignty challenging” spatial imaginaries of the Wider Europe
document during the years of the formulation of EU common foreign and security policies.
Conceptualizations of East Central and Southeastern Europe – two paradigmatic historical meso-regions
in Europe
Diana Mishkova, Centre for Advanced Study Sofia, Bulgaria
The paper takes a longue-durée historical perspective on dividing Europe into historical regions, while discussing
at some depth two paradigmatic regions – (East) Central Europe and Southeastern Europe/the Balkans. The
chosen approach is one informed by conceptual history and the spatial turn. Underlying it is the understanding
of space and borders as being not so much related to their material morphology, but to the premises of their
social production and the ideological underpinnings of this production, the various forms of interpretation and
representation that it embodies. So my aim will be to bring out the dynamics behind the production of spatial
imageries and the main ‘agencies’ behind it. This brings to the forefront the issues about the norms guiding the
structuring of space, the social practices associated with it, and its perception and symbolic codification by
humans.
R 23: MIGRATION POLICY IN THE FORMER SOCIALIST BLOC
Chair: Joni Virkkunen, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: Sydney
Date: June 12th 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
Russian Immigration Policy in Respect of Donor Countries: “Barries” and “Bridges”
Sergey Riazantsev, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Russia is a major host country, which come foreign workers, students and highly skilled migrants, migrants for
permanent residence. With the decline in the population and the number of working-age population is
actualized the problem of attracting population due to immigration. Russia's migration policy needs to be better
detail about the geographic priorities based on the geo-political and socio- economic interests. You can select
multiple countries, which may include a range of priorities of the Russian migration policy - Central Asia, Vietnam,
Turkey, China, North Korea. There is need for removal of the barriers to migrants from these countries. The
presentation will analyze the levels of integration of political and economic relations between Russia and each of
the countries, as well as the ways of reducing restrictions ("barriers") on the migration route of each of the
countries in Russia.
139 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Migration and Democratic States Borders
Georgiana Turculet, Central European University, Hungary
When it comes to the issue of transnational migration and its normative demands on states’ borders, some
theorists uphold a world of open borders, while others support the full sovereignty of states in matters of
migration. While each position offers important insights to the debate, my interest starts with acknowledging
that a plausible justification for the right of states to exclude, as well as a more nuanced reflection on how
morality imposes limits on this right are still needed. This paper addresses the question whether and to which
extent border policy can be unilaterally set by states and on what normative grounds (compatible with liberal
and democratic theories) migrants can be denied entry to countries and have their rights restricted in today’s
world. Seeking to shed light on the issue of migration and states’ borders in the light of democratic theory
implications means departing from current studies of closed and open borders, currently focusing, among other
arguments, on states right on territories, rights of freedom to association, distributive justice, libertarianism. The
novel approach of porous borders theory I aim to enhance, if plausibly justified, seems able to meet both moral
concerns, closure of borders and inclusion of others, laying thus the terrain for a fertile terrain of investigation that
is worth exploring in my paper.
Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Russia: Trends and Counters
Svetlana Sivoplayasova, Russian Academy of Science, Russia
Change in political map of the world, development of integration processes, strengthening of transnational
corporations’ role, imbalance in socio-economic development of states led to increase volume of labor migration
in the world and, together with it, the growth of illegal labor exploitation. So, if in 2005 the number of forced
labor victims was estimated at 12.3 million people, in 2013 their number amounted to 29.8 million people, of
which 516 thousand were people who are in slavery in Russia. The largest share of them are from Ukraine,
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China, North Korea, Vietnam. Our country is not only the host country, but also donor of
labor force subsequently subjected to labor exploitation. So Russian women and children are trafficked for
prostitution to Germany, Turkey, Greece, China. A special economic and geographical position of Russia
influenced the fact that our country is considered as the transit state for ferry migrant workers, mostly from
Central Asia to European countries and America. Above features should be taken into account in working out
Russian state policy to counteraction of trafficking. The measures recommended for realization are: improvement
of legal framework to counteraction of trafficking; regulation of interagency cooperation to join efforts in the
fight against trafficking in human beings; campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking, its forms and
dimensions, method of recruitment, etc.; formation of transparent system of recruitment foreign workers at
Russian enterprises and recruiting Russian citizens in foreign companies; creation of assistance centers and
rehabilitation of trafficking victims.
Managing migration between Turkey and Russia: Evolution and problem areas
Roman Manshin, Russian Academy of Science, Russia
Despite the increase in migration flow between Turkey and Russia, their regulation remains inadequate. Some of
the Russian-Turkish documents referred to migration as an important process that has a certain socio-economic
effects. Meanwhile, according to the Bank of Russia, remittances from labour migrants from Russia to Turkey in
2005 amounted to 37 million U.S. dollars. According to the Federal Migration Service for the period 1992-2005,
about 900 people from Turkey have become the "new" citizens of Russia, that is, received Russian citizenship. The
Joint Declaration on deepening friendship and partnership between the Russian Federation and the Republic of
Turkey (December 2004) and the Agreement on Cooperation between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the
Russian Federation and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Turkey (December, 1992) refers to the
problems caused by migration. Unfortunately, the Russian-Turkish relation’s migrations are not yet covered by
special documents (protocols, agreements) on the regulation of labour migration. Most active in the regulation of
migration between Turkey and Russia is manifested in the tourism sector. This is due to the fact that the most
intense flux of migration between Turkey and Russia are moving with tourist purposes. And that thread has a
bright one-sided - from Russia to Turkey, and has a substantial size. In 2011, the Turkish Republic has driven more
than 3.4 million Russian citizens.
140 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Attracting of Labor Migrants from Central Asia to Russia in the Conditions of Integration in Eurasian
Economic Community: New Approaches
Marina Tkachenko, Russian Academy of Science, Russia
The labour is the most powerful factor on the frames of interstate exchange among the countries of Eurasian
Economic Community, especially between the Russia and Central Asia states. Inflow of migrants from Central Asia
states keeps at the previous level in spite of declarations of demographic lack in these states as a source of cheap
labor for Russia. This situation bears attempts to limit inflow of irregular labor migrants into Russia what is
unacceptable in the context of common labor market creation. We consider that new mechanisms of labor
market integration are to be suggested to simulate natural filtration of migration flows. International experience
shows that issues of unemployment may be solved not only by international migration but via stimulation the
exchange of goods/services and investments (and accompanying technologies) between donor countries and
the countries attractive for foreign labor force. It allows reducing costs of irregular migration and attracting labor
migrants from other states on the basis of work quoting exclusively in the sector of non-traded services. We
suggest finding new ways of trade and investment collaboration between Russia and Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan to create new job places in the sector of traded goods and services (for example, in agriculture) on the
territory of donor states, to reduce the potential size of migration outflow from these countries towards Russia. If
there will be conditions for convergence of wages in the countries of Eurasian Economic Community, it will be
the natural hurdle for illegal labor force transfer into Russia. It also allows utilizing qualified resources of
geopolitical partners in the technological process.
R 24: FLEXIBLE ETHNICITIES AT HORIZONS OF BORDERSCAPES – I
Chair: Pekka Suutari, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: Beijing
Date: June 12th, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
2 panels "Flexible Ethnicities at Horizons of Borderscapes – 1 and 2" are offered by the project “Flexible
Ethnicities”, led by prof.Pekka Suutari, Director of Karelian Institute University of Eastern Finland. Project has
seminars twice a year (in Joensuu and Petrozavodsk), this time, Seminar in Joensuu 2014 will be integrated into
the work of ABS 1st World Conference. Participants of 2 proposed panels are working on the outlined topics inside
the project.
Myth of Soviet Meta-ethnos
Natalia Taksami, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Presentation gives an analysis of Theory of Ethnos, single state-wide theory on ethnic cultures and ethnic identity
on the territory of the Soviet Union in the past century. This theory originated in the main stream of Soviet
ideology in the 1960s and ended up in 1990, following the political collapse of USSR itself. It had been a key
notion in the centralized political and social system of ruling more, than hundred nationalities on the wide
territory. This ruling theory existed for three decades and influenced life of many ethnic groups (from titlednations on republican level to ethnic minority groups). There is some comparison with the ‘melting pot’ theory in
USA.
Discussion of Finnish ethnicity in the Republic of Karelia
Olga Davydova-Minguet, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Since the foundation of Karelian Republic in 1920 Finnish has served as a national language and culture there
although the majority of the “national” population were Karelians. The situation during the Soviet time is
described as an attempt to create alternative Finnish state till the beginning of Stalin’s purges (Kangaspuro) and
its fall (Vihavainen, Takala), and slow decline of Finnish culture and assimilation of Finnish population after war
period (Klementjev). Till the end of the Soviet time Finnish had preserved its “national” status, which guaranteed
the existence of cultural institutions.
141 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia In the end of 1980s the revitalization movement of all ethnicities in Karelia emerged with the leadership of Finns.
In the same time Finland issued her re-emigration program, which allowed the majority of the Finnish population
of Karelia to migrate to Finland. Today Finnish doesn’t have any official status in Karelia and its position is shaky.
Still, ever growing transnational ties between the populations of Karelia and Finland keep it popular among the
students, on the other hand, cultural institutions sponsored by the state had to adapt to the situation of lack of
public.
In my presentation based on my on-going research of this situation I am going to reflect on the interviews of
Karelian authorities and actors who are involved in the Finnish cultural institutions in Karelia that I have collected
during 2013. Special attention is paid on the situation of Finnish press which functions under the pressure of the
neoliberal market economy and with the insufficient financial support from the governmental bodies. While
actors are ranging their editions along the scale of “obsoleteness” and “modernity”, they are pondering the role
and shape of Finnishness in present and future Karelia. My study is based on the literature on transnationalism
and on the flexibility of ethnicity.
Ethnicity, Local Culture and History: the Ladoga Karelia case
Ekaterina Melnikova, Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Presentation is devoted to the notions of ‘local culture’ and ‘ethnicity’ in context of new-identity formation
among the Ladoga part of Karelia population. Long-term history as border region is a specific feature of this
territory. Nowadays this region is settled by the third generation of migrants (new-comers). Formation of new
identities by migrants and their descendants is connected both to migrants attitude to new places and Lagodaregion local history. Presentation gives an understanding of what is ‘local Ladoga region culture’ for settlers, and
how it is shown in the local museums.
Ethnic identity of three generations of the Karelian urban women
Julia Litvin, Russia
City by itself is an environment, in which ‘ethnicity’ is not just performed, but at a large extent, it is created by
newspapers, TV, radio and various cultural events. In presentation it is important to clarify the forms of ethnicity is
preservation. As a rule, women are perceived to be the most conservational part of society, keepers of traditions
and family values. In our presentation we study three generations of Karelian women, moved to Petrozavodsk in
different historical periods. Out task is to study the meaning and content of the self-identification “I’m Karelian”,
to see, if ethnic self-identification is flexible or not.
Family values in modern Karelia under the influence of migration challenges
Svetlana Yalovitcyna, Russia
Often analysts agree, that migration processes reveal the previously hidden social problems in the economical,
political, social and psychological relations, and thereby, contribute to social tensions (the first point of view).
Other representatives of a certain part of society claim, that the conflict situation arises from the incompatible
moral values of the host and the migrant populations (the second point of view). We are trying dispute latest fact
in the presentation.
R 25: SECURITIZING GLOBALIZATION: THE STATE, ITS BORDERS, AND THE GLOBAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
Discussant and Chair: Tony Payan, Rice University, USA
Room: Athens
Date: June 12, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
Free from the constraints of ideology, a period of post-cold war optimism emerged from 1990 to 2001 where
states relaxed their border controls and embraced their integration into the growing global economy. However,
this decade was shattered by 9/11 and led nation-states to re-assert themselves again and to further securitize
their borders. A tension thus has emerged between the desire of nation-states to encourage cross-border flows of
goods, people, and capital as these states further integrated into and were further dependent on the global
142 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia economy and at the same time, the desire to securitize and control their peripheries. An important question
needs further examination: how effective have states been in the decade since 9/11 in balancing the facilitation
of and enablement of cross-border flows and the control of their peripheries?
Virtual and Physical Boundaries of a Civil War: The Case of Syria’s Borders and its Neighbors
Andrew Bowen, James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, United States
As the Syrian state has further disintegrated into civil war, Syria’s borders have become a particularly contentious
issue for both Syria’s neighbors but also the actors in the civil war who see the control of these borders as both
sources and symbols of legitimacy and support for their respective interests. At the same time, the nation-state
borders continue to be points of crossing for both refugees fleeing conflict and trade. In other cases, the borders
themselves have weakened as fighting in Syria has spilled into Iraq and Lebanon’s domestic conflicts.
A number of scholars have foretold the death of the nation-state in Syria, and the break-up of Syria into new substates formal and informal. This paper argues that the formal boundaries of the state, despite the carnage and
violence of Syria and the spill-over, still serve as both virtual and physical boundaries of the state, even in the
absence of a monopoly of violence in the state and act as barriers to both partition and union with other states.
This paper identities four factors that have kept the state’s borders from dissolving: the securitization of the
borders by Syria’s neighbors, the competition of sub-state actors in Syria, the role of regional and international
powers, and the canon of international legal norms.
Private Security and the Global Supply Chain: 9/11 and Beyond
Patrick Cullen, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), Norway
This paper examines the evolution of private security's role in providing protective services to the maritime
industry since 9/11. It addresses the effects of 9/11 on the maritime security policy of the United States and how
this shifted the nature of the roles and responsibilities for the provision of security between the public and
private sectors--both within the United States and abroad. It also addresses the related expansion of the maritime
security (or MARSEC) industry over the last decade and how it successfully marketed MARSEC as a
professionalized and specialized form of security knowledge and practice dealing with risks related to both
political (terrorism) and economic (piracy) crimes. Specifically, the paper addresses how the interactions of states,
maritime private security companies, and the firms that hire them are altering the nature of security governance
and challenging our understanding of the relationship between authority, territory and security.
National Defense and Global Markets: Restrictions on Military Technology in World without Great Power
Wars
Christopher R. Oates, Oxford Analytica and University of Oxford, United Kingdom
The Cold War saw a bipolar international order, which, for purposes of arms sales, led to relatively simple
decision-making. Sales to allies increased one’s security and arms sales to those in the opposing superpower’s
camp were detrimental. After the end of the Cold War, this framework (which was never as simple in practice, of
course) ended, to be replaced by a new set of competing demands. National security demands that sales be
restricted to those nations close enough not to pose a threat nor liable towards proliferation. Thus, the United
States has granted the United Kingdom a waiver to its International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) restrictions.
However, economies of scale and the increasing technological sophistication of weaponry require as broad a
sales base as possible. Thus, the F-35 fighter jet has included contributions or planned purchases from 11
countries.
This paper will provide a brief overview of 3 episodes of collaboration or sales of military technology: the EU’s
cooperation agreement with China on the Galileo satellite system; US ITAR reform; and Turkey’s co-production of
missile defense systems with China. It will argue that the United States, with the world’s largest defense budget
and most advanced industrial sector, is most concerned about rival technology bases, most especially in China.
Sales of arms and regulations surrounding them should be seen as a way of protecting US industry and crippling
China’s, not for commercial purposes, but in order to protect the deterrent effect of US military technical
superiority.
The ‘insecurity-globalisation nexus’ and the reconceptualisation of borders in Africa
143 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Caroline Varin, Regents University and London School of Economics, United Kingdom
While global ‘de-bordering’ has gained momentum in much of the West since the end of the Cold War, the
concept of sovereignty with its fixed borders remains very much entrenched in a post-colonial framework for
most African states. Rather than embrace the free flow of people, goods and services, these African states have
welcomed Western capital investment, without pushing for regional economic and political integration. This has
led to stagnant borders which are staunchly defended by various governments who fail to back their rhetoricwith
resources. In the last few years, East and West African states have witnessed the rise of transnational social and
religious movements that are systematically resorting to collective violence, thus threatening the peace and
security of both their host state and their neighbours. The rise of terrorism in African states has forced
conservative governments to reassess their control over their borders and overcome their isolationist policies in
order to fight this ‘new’ enemy.
This paper will investigate the globalisation-insecurity nexus and its impact on the concept of borders in select
African states. A cross-national comparison of regional terrorism in East and West Africa will highlight the
changing approach to borders, security and cooperation in Africa, a phenomenon that is considerably different
from the West’s post-Cold War experiences.
R 26: LANGUAGE AND BORDER: NEGOTIATION OF MEANINGS ON AND AROUND RUSSIAN-SCANDINAVIAN
BORDERS
Discussant: Ilya Solomeshch, Petrozavodsk State University, Russia
Room: Seoul
Date: June 12th, 2014
Time: 13:00-14:40
The panel aims to discuss the genealogy of contemporary understandings of the borders between Russia and
Scandinavian countries. Historically, these borders have been key elements in shaping cultures, societies and
political regimes on both sides. The current “de-bordering” of national territories that the ABS conference aims to
explore and discuss occurs vis-à-vis historical meanings and practices that became rooted in Russian, Finnish,
Swedish or Norwegian political cultures and languages. Moreover, this “de-bordering” can be interpreted as a
symptom of the final stage in the development of the nation state as a specific phenomenon which emerged in
the Early Modern Era. In particular, contemporary political debates and cultural ways of speaking about the
Russian-Finnish borders have their histories and, directly or implicitly, appeal to historical discourses about the
Russian-Scandinavian borders and borderlands. It is these historical meanings and practices that are currently at
stake in the post-Cold War cultural, political and economic negotiation of national borders. We therefore propose
to discuss in our panel the historical background of the contemporary Russian-Scandinavian borders from the
perspective of their linguistic negotiation in early modern and modern history.
(Re)Writing the History of Early Modern Swedish-Russian Border
Alexander Tolstikov, Petrozavodsk State University, Russia
The paper addresses possible perspectives in history writing of Swedish-Russian border and cross-border
activities in Early Modern Time, primarily during the 17th century, with an emphasis on three research problems.
First, history of Ingria and Kexholm län – two major Swedish-Russian contact-zones during the time under
consideration – is still usually studied separately (due to the later history of these regions as parts of different
national entities), with only a few exceptions. Many of such studies do not take into consideration Russian sources
and historiography. Russian historians, on the other hand, are not acquainted properly with the respective
Swedish and (especially) Finnish studies in the field, let alone primary sources. So, the necessity of new
international research projects (which are not completely absent, though) is obvious.
Second, the conceptual history approach to the study of the history of the Swedish-Russian border in Early
Modern Time is still not developed as it should be – first of all from the perspective of the Russian language. We
have only minor comments on it, most of which are made by Finnish historians.
Third, new trends in the history of cartography and spatial imagination (both were of extreme importance for the
birth of the Nation State in Early Modern period) open a new perspective for studying the history of the Swedish-
144 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Russian border, but, at least from the Russian point of view, this approach is only being introduced now. The only
pioneer research I can point in this case is Valerie Kivelson’s Cartoghaphies of Tsardom (Cornell UP, 2006), which is
nevertheless not concerned with the concept of border in Muscovy as such.
Identities before Modern Nationalism: Karelian Borderlands under Great Powers, 1720-1810
Antti Räihä, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
The idea of territorial sovereignty and the inviolability of political boundaries is, to a great extent, a product of
modern political nationalism. Researchers studying nationalism have generally agreed that for a long period
before the nineteenth century, the European ruling elite’s view of the world had been coloured by something
that resembled what we today call nationalism. In earlier research, the attempt to discover some kind of national
feelings among the subjects of early modern frontier areas has been so pronounced as to seem almost an
obsession for some scholars, yet none of the early modern conglomerate empires had a true “national culture”.
However, I argue that the common people in early modern frontier areas did adopt different “national identities”,
although for example the more recent phenomenon of affiliation to a Swedish, Russian or Finnish identity did not
occur. If the Russian authorities were interested in Russification, as previous research has claimed, one might
imagine that after the peace treaties of Åbo (1743) and Fredrikshamn (1809), local people in Finnish-Russian
frontiers would have shown their loyalty to Russia by emphasizing their Russianness. Through the study of
rhetoric appealing to Russian ethnic assimilation, this assumption can be tested. Regardless of the results of the
study it is crucial to analyse occasions within their periodical and discursive context, not through modern
nationalistic dimensions or by mixing cultural and political bases of identities.
“Outpost of the West against the Barbarism of the East”: Classifying and Positioning Finland in the
Western Political Writing during the Early Cold War
Alexey Golubev Petrozavodsk State University, Russia / University of British Columbia, Canada
My paper will discuss the discursive landscape of Western political writings during the late 1940s to 1960s which
led to the emergence of the concept Finlandization at the turn of the 1970s. I will focus on the discursive
negotiation of the Soviet-Finnish border which American, British and West German political commentators tried
to render as a frontier between civilizations, with Finland as the easternmost stronghold of the West against what
was interpreted in dual racist and political terms as Eastern and Communist threat. It was against this linguistic
negotiation of the Soviet-Finnish border that Soviet policy vis-à-vis Finland and the response of the Finnish
political establishment to it were evaluated in Western political writings, gradually leading to disappointment
with Soviet-Finnish cooperation through what turned out to be a flexible border rather than impenetrable
frontier, ultimately finding the expression in the concept of Finlandization.
Viipuri: a Borderland Town Remembered and Forgotten
Chloe Wells, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Vyborg is a place situated on the Gulf of Finland, 138km north from St. Petersburg and 38km south from Russia's
border with Finland. Vyborg is an early medieval town which has variously belonged to: the Swedish Empire, the
Russian Empire, the Grand Duchy of Finland, Independent Finland, the Soviet Union, and the Russian Federation.
It is nowadays a town within the Leningrad Oblast. This paper will view Vyborg from the Finnish side of the
border.
The South Karelia Museum in Lappeenranta, Finland presents its permanent exhibition on Vyborg under the sub
heading “a town of memories.” Vyborg, is, however, still very much a lived space – it does not exist only in
memories or as a museum exhibit but is today more open than any time in the past 70 years to visitors from
Finland.
This paper will explore whether, in light of the now more open Finnish-Russian border, a semi-mythologised,
imagined Vyborg of the past is still remembered and preserved in Finland at the expense of a more modern reimagining of Vyborg and, in turn, of the Finnish-Russian border.
This paper will discuss how Finnish Vyborg is remembered within Finnish culture with a focus on media and
museum portrayals of the town. This paper will also present the results of original research into Finnish teens'
145 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia knowledge of Vyborg (and the wider issues framing it: Russia, Karelia and 'the Karelian Question') with the aim of
seeing how the Finnish cultural phenomenon of 'remembering Vyborg' is likely to evolve in the future.
The paper will conclude that Vyborg is no longer divided from Finland by the iron curtain of a physical border
but, instead, by mental and societal borders which have altered little since Vyborg was lost to Finland in 1944.
R 30: SHIFTING CONCEPTS OF BORDERS AND NEIGHBOURHOOD IN POST-COLD WAR CONTEXTS
Chair: Ilkka Liikanen, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: Moscow
Date: June 12th, 2014
Time: 15:00-16:40
The Post Cold War “Europeanisation” of National Borders: the Case of Hungary
James Scott, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland
This presentation will address the question of Europeanisation and its impacts on Hungary’s (geo)political
identity by focusing on the understandings of borders that have emerged in the country’s political language of
cross-border cooperation. The research I will present thus reflects debate about Hungary’s role in Europe and the
relation between Hungary as a territorial state and an ethnic nation – issues with obviously deep historical roots.
In more concrete terms the research involves studying tensions between normative elements of European policy
agendas as they apply to borders and cross-border co-operation and Hungarian understandings of the same. This
is partly a matter of interrogating the significance of Europeanisation in the political and strategic framing of
Hungarian territory, Hungary’s neighbouring relations and Hungary’s role vis a vis the sizable Hungarian
populations outside its borders. This raises a number of questions: what tensions emerge between different EUEuropean and Hungarian discursive strands regarding cross-border co-operation? How do contemporary
representations of European borders relate back to historical arguments and positions in the Hungarian case?
How is the significance of national borders and their genesis framed in wider European terms? Similarly, an
objective is to study change and continuity in concepts of ‘border’ by detecting different historical layers in
present day conceptualisations of internal and external borders of the EU based on the Hungarian case.
State Border-Related Political Discussions and Legislation in the Hungarian Parliament in the Period 19902012 (214)
Zoltán Hajdú, The Centre for Regional Studies, Hungary
The first period of the Hungarian social, economical and political transformation (regime change) took place
between 1988 and 1989 within the frame of negotiations. Political processes were heavily influenced by borderrelated events (the hydroelecric power plant at Bős-Nagymaros, destruction of villages in Romania, arrival of
Hungarian refugees from Romania, allowing citizens of the German Democratic Republic to break through the
Iron Curtain, then the fall of the Iron Curtain). The last communist parliament changed the constitution and form
of goverment of the country, and included in the constitution that Hungary supports Hungarians living across the
borders.
In the spring of 1990 national-conservative parties had won the elections. The work of the coalition goverment
was greatly influenced by the programme statement of the prime minister, József Antall, who said he wanted to
be „in spirit and sentiment the prime minister of 15 million Hungarians”. On July 4th, 1990, the members of the
parliament stood still to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Treaty of Trianon (which dismembered the socalled historical Hungary), however, representatives of the most liberal part of the then opposition, the FIDESZ,
spectacularly left the commemoration. In 1993, the signing of a basic treaty with Ukraine, which included a
formula on the acceptance of state-borders, led to an immense debate among the governing parties and resulted
in splits in parties.
The goverments formed after the elections held every four years (1994-1998, 1998-2002, 2002-2006, 2006-2010,
2010-) as well as their oppositions reacted continuously on changes affecting the position of Hungarians living
across the borders, on the issue of the hydroelecric power plant at Bős-Nagymaros which has not been solved to
date, and on the processes of Schengen followed by Hungary’s accession to the European Union (2004). From
2010, the national-conservative coalition government has organized the national politics on a new basis,
146 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia providing Hungarians living in the world the opportunity to gain or regain Hungarian citizenship on the
conceptual and legal basis of a unified Hungarian nation. Starting from 2010, the institutions of national politics
have been developed more consciously than ever before, and by the autumn of 2013 majority consensus has
been reached among parliamental parties on the key points of national politics.
Looking East and West: shifting concepts of Russia’s borders with CIS countries and the EU
Vladimir Kolosov, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Maria Zotova, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Alexander Sebentsov, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Andrei Gerzen, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Fedor Popov, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Anton Gritsenko, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
The paper is based on a preliminary comparative analysis of the database of publications in a Russian federal
“quality” daily, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, during twelve years: 1994-1995, 2000-2003 and 2008-2012. These data base
includes official information, comments and analytical articles on the relations of Russia with neighbouring
countries and the EU, the major international issues and their manifestation in border concepts – the very
concepts of bordering and othering, the regime and the functions of boundaries, their transparence for
migrations, etc. The objective is to demonstrate the shifts in these concepts provoked by the increasing
complexity, differentiation and instability of Russia’s relations with post-Soviet countries, the contradictions
between its perceived economic and political-ideological interests and the relations in the geopolitical “triangle”
“post-Soviet countries – Russia – EU (or the West as a whole)”, most often viewed as a zero sum game.
Shifting the Language of Political Conceptualization of Ukraine-EU Border: Official and Alternative
Discourses
Yana Petrova, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine
Oleksiy Krysenko, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine
Politicization of language that explains and interprets the EU and Ukraine relations is one of the key tools of
design and reproduction of these relations, as well as the method of forming of domestic internal political
discourse "about the relationship in the relationship". The key task for researchers here is to "unpack" the given
discourse through its depoliticization and re-politization, which means to give it a new political status. The most
important element of this discourse is a language for describing the boundaries/borders of the EU and Ukraine, a
language which is capable of forming an image of the border in the framework of the descriptive evaluation and
contrasting with the mode of description of the borders of Ukraine and "non-EU states".
In no small importance this language (as a performative strategy for Ukrainian foreign policy, foreign economic,
geopolitical and humanitarian integration with the EU) is able to act as a provocation to actions and to project an
imaginary reality into practice by performing projective function.
During the study of the given subjects the publications and political language of the content that represents the
official and alternative vision of relations of Ukraine to the programs of the Eastern Partnership (Eastern
partnership) and the east European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), containing a reference to the external borders
of Ukraine in the newspapers "Uriadovyi Kur’er" and" Dzerkalo Tyzhnya " were analyzed.
There were also analyzed some references and expert opinions on the state of Ukraine's borders with its
neighbors, "the non- EU countries". Newspaper "Uriadovyi Kur’er" is a daily official newspaper of central executive
bodies (government newspaper) , the weekly "Dzerkalo Tyzhnya" is the most respectable Ukrainian newspaper
(Official Newspaper of Ukrainian society), where expert opinions as well as the positions of the leading Ukrainian
politicians and public officials are primarily presented (public newspaper).
R 31: FROM TERRITORY CONTROL TO REGULATING INCLUSION: NEW SPACES AND BOUNDARIES OF
GOVERNING ACCESS TO AND PARTICIPATION IN SOCIETY
Chair: Maren Borkert, University of Vienna, Austria
Room: Helsinki
Date: June 12th, 2014
147 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Time: 15:00-16:40
Externalising borders of integration: German language tests and the role of the Goethe Institute in the
countries of migrants’ origin
Stefanie Kron, University of Vienna, Austria
The paper explores the role of the Goethe Institute with respect to the German policy to require certain German
language skills as pre-condition for legal immigration from third countries. The tests offered by the Goethe
Institute in these countries are among the few which are acknowledged by German immigration authorities. I will
focus empirically on the activities of the Goethe Institute in the Middle East and West Africa. I argue that the
Goethe Institute can be seen as a cultural institution that contributes to governing migration and inclusion from
abroad. Institutions such as the Goethe Institute therefore form part of externalised spaces, borders and
boundaries in terms of integration and inclusion.
Migration and consumption: A study of the case of Filipino migration
John XXV Paragas Lambino, Graduate School of Economics, Kyoto University, Japan
The paper discusses the transformation of people into migrants. It hypothesizes that ideological migratory
linkages are formed in the consumption sphere by extending previous researches on the pari passu relationship
between production and consumption expansion, and researches on profit driven cultural products that are used
to derive economic advantages.
The paper has two major objectives. First, the paper aims to show the transformation of people into migrant
workers as an outcome of consumption activity in capitalism through the penetration of consumption ideas and
associated consumer goods. Secondly the paper aims to analyze the connection of subnational to international
migration within the context of the mechanism of consumption expansion.
To achieve these objectives, the paper examines the case of the Philippines, which is considered one of the major
labor exporting countries in the world. In 2009, approximately 10% of the Filipino population was working
outside the country. The paper is organized as follows. Section 1 discusses consumption needs as the
motivational factor in migration by looking at a number of case studies on Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs.)
Section 2 discusses the expansion of consumption and the role of consumption ideas in this expansion from the
context of their necessity for the smooth continuation of economic production under capitalism. Section 3,
discusses the dynamics of consumption expansion in the Philippines and the migration outflow. Meanwhile,
section 4 details the mechanism by which consumption processes stimulate migration. The last section
summarizes the main points of the paper.
Crossing (Knowledge) Boundaries: The Role of Science in Integration Policymaking
Maren Borkert, University of Vienna, Austria
The demarcation of borders and the drawing of boundaries have significantly changed with the 2000s, moving
from principally territory control to more complex forms of regulating access to and participation in society. In
this paper I will reconstruct these shifts with a special focus on the changing role of science and experts in the
evolution of societal and political discourses and policymaking in the field of migration and integration in Austria.
Thus, in this article I shall hope to make three major contributions: First, to detect new boundaries in Austrian
integration policymaking, including both formal-legal aspects as well as social boundaries, namely the question
who decides on the evolution of integration policies and who is excluded. Second, I will analyse the role of
knowledge and science in integration policymaking, a topic only marginally dealt with in migration literature.
Third, I will argue that despite migration regulations shifted from controlling external (territorial) borders to more
latent forms of internal social admission, space as a reference for inclusion/exclusion is not obsolete. Empirical
evidence is drawn from both quantitative and qualitative research methods including literature and document
analysis, more than 30 qualitative interviews with experts, network and media analysis.
The Belfast Peace‐ Lines: Borders of Division and Contact
Jonathan Murphy, New Europe College, Romania
The Belfast peace‐lines are the most visible signs of division between nationalists and unionists as the Northern
Irish border becomes increasingly permeable. These peace‐lines are not located at the margins of a sovereign
148 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia state, but separate two groups within a city within the United Kingdom while simultaneously bringing them into
mutual contact. This paper asks whether the experience and aftermath of decades of sectarian strife continue to
support a logic of separation between the two communities or whether the terms of the 1998 Good Friday
Agreement established powerful borderreinforcing dynamics. It argues that the peace ‐ lines express a
relationship between communities and their populations that continues to evolve. The majority of nationalists
and unionists recently polled favoured the removal of the peace‐lines at some point, but more than half are not
ready for such a move in the present circumstances. In the face of growing confidence between the two
communities, this paper asks whether local politicians are using the peace‐lines to play on nationalist and
unionist perceptions of such borders as essential to preserving their collective identity and protection against
domination by ‘the other.’ Here one can observe a post‐Cold War paradox that has found expression in the
desire to cross all borders while at the same time seeking the erection of borders of all kinds and shapes. This
paradox has seen considerable border‐making tension and the search for reliable community security within
Northern Ireland alongside increased permeability of the Northern Irish border and the desire for a closer
integration of the two parts of the island.
R 32: BORDERIZATION IN EASTERN EUROPE
Chair: Heidi Fichter-Wolf, Leibniz-Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning (IRS), Germany
Room: Barcelona
Date: June 12th, 2014
Time: 15:00-16.40
The “yugoembargo” – a challenge to Bulgarian-Serbian border in the era of globalization
Valentina Nedelcheva, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", Bulgaria
The end of the Cold War marks the beginning of a different chapter in world history. Balkans also are inevitably
influenced, so the strictly guarding of borders, especially those separating different types of political regimes, is
left behind. Such example is the Bulgarian-Serbian border. On the one side we have Bulgaria, a part from the
Soviet sphere of influence and on the other – the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia – member of the so
called “non-allied” countries. But only few years later began the wars for the dissolution of Yugoslavia. The
“yugoembargo”, imposed by the UN upon the former federal republic, closed again the borders on the Balkans.
So, contrary to the global trend for de-bordering, guarding borders became the trend for the peninsula during
the 90’s of the XX century. The text will discuss the local response to this “Balkan trend” and how local
communities from the both sides of the Bulgarian-Serbian border manage to handle the new-resembling-the-old
situation. The closed borders opened new opportunities for people, living in the borderlands. And practically
turned the closed and guarded border in a vivid, active trade zone. On the one hand this research shows the
official political situation, or what is the international relation view of the Bulgaria-Serbian border. On the other –
reveals the regional response to the imposed sanctions and restrictions. So, the following text shows the
contradiction of one Balkan border – both closed by political decision in times of globalization and neglected
daily by local people in times of embargo.
Rethinking of borders – the analysis of the Hungarian presidency of the Visegrad group in 2013/2014
Andrea Schmidt, University of Pécs, Hungary
The idea of the rethinking of borders in the Central and Eastern European region is highly based in the common
historical past, common cultural roots and experience from the past decades. The idea of creating a contribution
within the three (with the dissolution of Czechoslowakia) four Central European states was an attempt to
reinterpret the role and the orientation of the region after the political transformation. Since its existence from
time to time the contribution within the Visegrad group was rather symbolic, however in the past and in the
recent months its activity became spectacular. The aim of my presentation is to evaluate the years of the
Hungarian presidency and to give an overview of the actual programme. In the past decade there were several
attempts to extend the Visegrad group with the involvement of Austria or Slovenia however these attempts
failed because of several historical fears and experience. The presentation concentrates on the question if the
common historical past helps to overcome this behaviour and as a new strategy of enlarging the cooperation
149 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia whether it is reality to open the sphere of interest towards new perspectives and new regions in the Central and
Eastern European region. The following questions would be discussed; EU enlargement and Western Balkans,
Eastern Partnership and V4+ cooperation, namely the orientation beyond the borders of the Visegrad group.
“Get us some money and leave us alone”: Serbian perspectives on EU accession and neighbourhood
Hans-Joachim Bürkner, Leibniz-Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning (IRS), Germany
The agenda of future EU enlargement has reached the Southeast European periphery again. In 2013 the first two
chapters of the preparation of the Acquis Communautaire with the Serbian Republic have been opened. Public
response on this historic event has however been low. This is especially astonishing since the EU has taken
tremendous political effort to bind post-socialist countries to its political sphere of influence, e.g. by popularizing
the recent concept of the European Neighbourhood Policy. Against this backdrop the obviously lacking national
initiative baffles the external observer. A closer look to the EU-Serbian relationship reveals a mixture of
unresolved political conflicts which interfere with the “European project”. In particular, the need to deal with the
contested Kosovo border and the requirement to develop a markedly different political culture, including the
fight against corruption and old-boy networks, might become major obstacles to a swift rapprochement to EU
standards. Public discourse indirectly reflects this subliminal arena of contestation. At a surface level the first
impression is the one of non-compliance: The dominant opinion towards EU accession claims for taking
economic benefits without making concessions regarding political culture and “European” values. Yet several
niches of discourse display more differentiated articulations. The paper aims at identifying imaginaries in
discourse which underlie the pending struggle for societal change. These imaginaries are liable to decisively
influence further debates because they have been firmly rooted in power relations and vested interest.
R 33: LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY POLICIES IN THE FORMER SOVIET STATES II
Chair: Noora Lemivaara-Khudoikulova, University of Helsinki, Finland
Room: Sydney
Date: June 12th, 2014
Time: 15:00-16:40
Villages of the Mountain Dagestan on the border with Chechen Republic: variants of border interactions
and perception of the frontier space in the context of modern political and social reality
Ekaterina Kapustina, Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
I will give a talk on the situation in several villages of Botlikh area of Dagestan, which is situated on the border
with Chechnya. There is the inland border and therefore it could be rather formal like between some other
subjects of the Russian Federation. But this border is not only administrative, but geographic (there is mountain
range between the areas) and ethnic (Andy people live in the concerned villages of Dagestan and there are
Chechen living in the neighboring villages of Chechnya). At the same time there are these Dagestani villages
which have being closely coupled with Chechnya both by the common chapters of Caucasian War history,
common religious practices (Kadiri tarikat) and neighborly economic links.
I suppose that the experience of contemporary interaction have to be interpreted through not only old (positive
and negative) contacts but resent conflicts such as armed conflicts of the 2nd Chechen war, territorial disputes,
envy of Chechen “wellbeing” during Ramzan Kadirov reign and so on.
In my presentation I will show the cases when the dwellers of concerned communities of Dagestan perceive their
position as frontier one and analyze the situations when it is irrelevant for them. In addition to this I feel it is
necessary to consider how the frontier sense is enabled in various social movements and economic activities of
these communities.
Bordering the Alash Orda: Western ideas for a Kazakh Nation
Ozgecan Kesici, University College Dublin, Ireland
This paper demonstrates, with the case study of the Alash movement how historically ideas of nationhood were
globally transmitted, creating institutional and social borders between different groups of people. The Alash
150 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia movement was a Kazakh nationalist movement that took hold in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th
century. It was the first modern national movement in the region, led by secular intellectuals, demanding
autonomy from the Russian Empire and creating a distinctly national culture and infrastructure, such as a written
vernacular, history, etc., in order to draw social boundaries between the Kazakhs and other ethnic groups in the
region. The Alash movement was heavily influenced by western ideas of nationhood and deliberately emulated
the West in pronouncing the Kazakh nation. The research in this paper shows that more than achieving
nationhood, the Alash leaders wanted Kazakh society to become modern. Moreover, they attempted to
overthrow the detrimental position of Kazakhs vis-a-vis Russian settlers in the steppe, by discussing possible
modernisation tactics of the economic tradition of Kazakh nomadism. They argued that as a Kazakh nation, they
would have equal rights, like other nations. In other words, it shows that at the time, the global trend of
nationhood was equated with modernity. This paper attempts to answer the question as to why bordering
emerges in the first place and how the perceived lack of modernity and disadvantaged position of a specific
group may lead to bordering, or in some cases, de-bordering.
Language, Nation-building and Ethno-linguistic Minorities: A Case Study of Language Policy and Ethnic
Azerbaijanis in Georgia
Storm Karli-Jo, Karelian Institute, UEF, Finland
History has repeatedly witnessed the use of language as a nation-building tool in ethnic- and linguisticallydiverse societies. Policies promoting one language over others have traditionally been used to facilitate either
assimilation or integration of other ethnolinguistic minorities into larger society. The justifications for this are
many and often include reasons like greater socioeconomic parity between groups and lower transaction costs,
both of which are thought to facilitate development. This paper seeks to explore the ways in which language has
been used as a nation-building tool in Georgia— first under Imperial Russian leadership, then the Soviets, and
now under Georgian leadership—and the ways in which resulting language policies have impacted
ethnolinguistic minorities (namely, ethnic Azerbaijanis). This paper challenges the assumption that linguistic
pluralism is an impediment to development in Georgia and suggests that, on the contrary, greater official
recognition of minority languages and allowance of their use in certain domains (accompanied by continued
efforts to promote Georgian) could help to unify the Georgian state politically and socially, lending truth to
Georgia’s official motto, “!"#" $%&'(")*"”, or “In Unity there is Strength.”
R 34: FLEXIBLE ETHNICITIES AT HORIZONS OF BORDERSCAPES – 2
Chair: Olga Davydova-Minguet, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: Beijing
Date: June 12th, 2014
Time: 15:00- 16:40
Second panel of the project “Flexible Ethnicities”
Ethnic identity in the contemporary Karelian-language music in Karelia
Pekka Suutari, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Presentation starting point is the assumption, that contemporary Petrozavodsk onstage space for the ethnic folk
music could be seen as an organic whole. This music is written both by music groups, following the model of
Soviet folk-music groups, and by folk-groups and music groups, using Baltic languages (performing as
representatives of Karelian, Finnish and Veps peoples). As an example, we study such music-groups as “Ropivo”
and” Lembi”, produced by ”Young Karelia” society.
Karelian language in process of Karelian identity creation: fragments of tradition and present reality
Svetlana Kovaleva, Karelian Scientific Centre of Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Lack of demand of Karelian language in the social life during decades, language assimilation, ethnic disunity in
urban conditions, and few other reasons resulted in the fact, that the part of Karelian population no longer
identified themselves as Karelians. The processes of revitalization, started in the end of the 20th century and
mainly concerning the written language, gave an impulse for Karelian identity revival. Karelian identity revival is
151 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia supported by the use of Karelian language in various discourses: educational, cultural and communicational. New
identity appears, when its perception does not necessarily call the knowledge of language at the status of
mother-tongue.
Revitalization of Karelian language: (bottom-to-up and up-to-bottom)?
Sanna-Riikka Knuuttila, Karelian Institute University of Eastern Finland, Finland
The process of revitalization of Karelian language (endangered language) should be carried on different levels.
First of all, the language should be supported on the state level. In the case of Karelian language this means, that
besides other things, the financial and political decisions towards the language support has to be done both at
the level of Russian Federation and the Republic of Karelia. On other hand, there should be popularization of the
language among speakers: legislation and financing are not enough to keep language alive. The language has to
be in use, therefore, the speakers are the key-actors.
R 35: MIGRATION EXPERIENCES AND INTEGRATION IN POST-SOVIET RUSSIA
Chair: Georgiana Turculet, Central European University, Hungary
Room: Athens
Date: June 12th 2014
Time: 15:00-16:40
When it comes to the issue of transnational migration and its normative demands on states’ borders, some
theorists uphold a world of open borders, while others support the full sovereignty of states in matters of
migration. While each position offers important insights to the debate, my interest starts with acknowledging
that a plausible justification for the right of states to exclude, as well as a more nuanced reflection on how
morality imposes limits on this right are still needed. This paper addresses the question whether and to which
extent border policy can be unilaterally set by states and on what normative grounds (compatible with liberal
and democratic theories) migrants can be denied entry to countries and have their rights restricted in today’s
world. Seeking to shed light on the issue of migration and states’ borders in the light of democratic theory
implications means departing from current studies of closed and open borders, currently focusing, among other
arguments, on states right on territories, rights of freedom to association, distributive justice, libertarianism. The
novel approach of porous borders theory I aim to enhance, if plausibly justified, seems able to meet both moral
concerns, closure of borders and inclusion of others, laying thus the terrain for a fertile terrain of investigation that
is worth exploring in my paper.
Internalizing the Border – Migrants’ Experiences of Law in Russia
Agnieszka Kubal, University of Oxford, UK
In the current globalized world, with the increased transfer of goods, services, and capital the new ‘globalist
orthodoxy’ contends that greater openness has rendered the notion of space and state authority over bounded
territory increasingly irrelevant. This is accompanied by the emergence of two, inter-related phenomena:
externalization and internalization of border in order to regulate and increasingly control the movement of
people. The former refers to states’ employing measures in countries of origin to prevent people from even
embarking on the journey across the border should they not be in possession of required documents (and more
often specific characteristics) – the relationship between Italy and Gadhafi’s regime to control migration across
the Mediterranean serves as an infamous example here. The internalization of the border reflects the increased
tendency of states to impose immigration control responsibilities on a great number of private agents ‘on the
inside’: employers, universities, even landlords.
This paper explores how these global trends seem to be reflected in the post-cold war space of Eurasia, focusing
on the experiences of Central Asian migrants in Russia. Despite the visa-free movement between the former
Soviet Republics and Russia the internal border controls that migrants’ are subject to in Moscow in particular, are
– perhaps not the strictest – but haphazard, unpredictable and discretionary. Complicated immigration
registration regulations (part of Soviet legacy), as well as restrictions on the access to the labour market have
152 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia been employed as specific tools of migration governance. Their enforcement is however uneven, and often
depends on a number of extra-legal factors, encouraging migrants to keep a low profile vis-à-vis the law. The
paper advances new theoretical perspectives on investigating this interplay between internal immigration
controls and migrants as agents responding to this socio-legal environment by drawing upon ideas developed
within the migration studies, law and society, and legal consciousness literature.
Border, Cultural Sentiments and Politics of Difference. Demonization of Chinese Migrants and Exotization
of Repatriates from China in Russia
Ivan Peshkov, Adam Mickewicz University in Poznan, Poland
The border system in Inner Asia was part of the Cold-War Sino-Soviet border management model in the area. The
model was characterized by a closed-border policy and a very strong connection between socialist
modernization and militarization of the area. Some time after 1991 the visible form of the Soviet border model
was changed into an invisible one, still influencing the regional images of “bordering” and borderland. The
massive presence of Chinese migrants in Siberia and the Far East following 1991has aroused expectations of an
approaching geopolitical catastrophe and unavoidable annexation of Asian regions by China. This image of an
organized and anonymous mass of newcomers from China clearly contrasts with the ethnic-difference sensitive
perception of Transbaikalian diasporas returning to Russia after their long stay in China. A comparative analysis of
Russian discourses on repatriates and migrants from China offers a possibility to reconstruct the image of China
in the Russian society that enables the latter to demonize migrants and exotize repatriates. The discourses on
repatriates and migrants from China are related to the perspective of the Russo(Soviet)-Chinese civilizational
rivalry in borderline regions, according to which Russian and Chinese waves of migration are viewed as
instruments of “biological” conquest and cultural domination. In this context the popular thesis about deracialization of the image of Chinese migration avoids a very complicated cultural context of Chinese imagery
and stereotyping in Russian culture, which not only join racial, ethnic and geopolitical components, but also have
a close connection with Russian colonial experience in Inner Asia. Cultural sentiments still influence border
cooperation and the status of the borderline area as a place of defense and impurity.
The Exception of Labour Migrants from Russia's Health Care Systems
Irina Kuznetsova, Russia
Issues of migrant healthcare are a major challenge for a Russian social policy. As the country with the second
largest number of labour migrants in the world, with the figure increasing each year, there are many areas of
uncertainty, for example, regarding the rights of migrants to health care, medical insurance provision and
emergency care for documented and undocumented migrants. While these are issues for migrants across the
world in Russia the situation is more pronounced due to issues that impact upon the population as a whole such
as the under resourced health system, the weak implementation of social policy legislation in the country and the
very high levels of informal practices that abound, such as the demanding of payments for free medical care. This
paper is based on research conducted in the cities of Moscow and Kazan and demonstrates the many problems
that migrants have when trying to access health care. It argues that migrants are excluded from many areas of
health care yet they are stigmatized for their poor health, constructed as bringers of disease to Russia even
though, for example, tuberculosis rates are much higher in Russia than in Central Asia. Thus they are seen as a
massive drain on the nation’s resources even though in reality they are often excluded from them. The paper
then goes on to discuss how migrants are exploited in the health care system through the demanding of cash in
hand payments or by the misselling of expensive health insurance.
R 40: REVISITING THE TERRITORIAL DISPUTES IN THE ARCTIC
Discussant: Lassi Heininen, University of Lapland, Finland
Chair: Alexander Sergunin, St. Petersburg State University, Russia
Room: Moscow
Date: June 13th, 2014
Time: 09:00-10:40
153 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The panelists are based on the assumption that the existing territorial disputes are still topical for the Arctic
although they are of decreasing significance for the region’s international relations and security. The papers
analyze the regional actors’ strategies to solve border disputes. Particularly, the Arctic-5 - Canada, Denmark,
Norway, Russia and the U.S – are in the focus of the proposed panel. The panelists examine the most significant
territorial disputes in the Arctic such as the delimitation of the Bering and Barents seas (U.S.-Russia and NorwayRussia), Lincoln Sea and the Hans Island (Canada-Denmark), Lomonosov underwater ridge (Canada-DenmarkRussia), Norwegian fishery protection zone around Svalbard and legislation on economic activities on this
archipelago’s shelf. The Arctic-5 claims on the extention of their exclusive economic zones are given a special
attention. The panelists aim at discussing the prospects for solving the above disputes and their implications for
the future security architecture in the region.
U.S. policies on the territorial disputes in the Arctic
Alexander Kubyshkin, St. Petersburg State University, Russia
The aim of the paper is to investigate the U.S. strategies on the Arctic territorial disputes. Particularly, this study
focuses on disputable issues such as the current status of the U.S.-Soviet/Russian treaty on the delimitation of the
Bering Sea as well as the U.S.-Canada disputes on the Beaufort Sea and the use of the North-West Passage. The
prospects for the ratification of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea by the U.S. Senate are discussed. The
implications of Barak Obama’s recent Arctic strategy for Washington’s policies on the territorial disputes in the
High North are examined.
Canada’s approaches to territorial conflict resolution in the High North
Yuri Akimov, St. Petersburg State University, Russia
Kristina Minkova, St. Petersburg State University, Russia
The paper focuses on Canada’s policies on territorial disputes with the U.S. (the Beaufort Sea, North-Western
Passage), Denmark (the Lincoln Sea, Hans Island and Lomonosov Ridge), Russia (the Lomonosov Ridge) as well as
on extending Canada’s exclusive economic zone in the Arctic Ocean. The Canadian Arctic strategy documents are
analyzed. Ottawa’s negotiations and consultations on boundary issues with the above countries are reviewed.
The peculiarities of Canada’s conflict resolution strategies are identified. The Canadian domestic debate on the
Arctic territorial disputes is examined.
The Bering Sea dispute: the Russian perspective
Alexander Sergunin, St. Petersburg State University, Russia
The paper aims at examining the history and current status of the Bering Sea dispute between the U.S. and the
USSR/Russia. The historical, economic and geopolitical sources of the dispute are studied. The 1990 U.S.-Soviet
agreement on the maritime boundary in the Bering Sea is analyzed. The U.S. and Russian domestic debates on
this agreement are examined. The reasons for Russia’s non-ratification of the treaty are explained. The prospects
for the future of the dispute are discussed.
The Svalbard/Spitsbergen question in the Norwegian-Russian relations
Valery Konyshev, St. Petersburg State University, Russia
The paper argues that the legal and economic issues pertaining to the Svalbard/Spitsbergen Archipelago are the
only remaining serious problem in the Norwegian-Russian bilateral relations. The implications of the 1920 Paris
Treaty on Spitsbergen for the current Norwegian-Russian relations are studied. The Norwegian-Russian tensions
on the Norwegian fishery protection zone around Svalbard are examined. The Russian reaction to the Norwegian
legislation on foreign countries’ economic activities on the Svalbard shelf is analyzed. The prospects for the
solution of the Norwegian-Russian disputes on the Svalbard Archipelago are outlined.
Denmark and the territorial disputes in the High North
Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen, Aalborg University, Denmark
The paper examines the Danish perspective on the existing Arctic territorial disputes – the definition of the
maritime boundary in the Lincoln Sea and the sovereignty over the Hans Island (Canada-Denmark) as well as the
154 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Lomonosov Ridge dispute (Canada-Denmark-Russia). The problems pertaining to the definition of the outer limits
of the Danish continental shelf and exclusive economic zone around Greenland and the Faroe Islands are
discussed. The Danish foreign policy documents concerning territorial conflicts in the Arctic are studied. The
implications of the above territorial disputes for Denmark’s relations with Greenland and Faroe
R 41: MEMORY POLITICS IN THE POST-SOVIET BORDERLANDS
Chair & Discussant: Helena Jerman, University of Helsinki, Finland
Room: Helsinki
Date: June 13, 2014
Time: 9:00-10:40
This panel will address recent changes in the commemorative landscapes of the post-Soviet borderlands from
the Barents region to Transnistria combining conceptual approaches from two dynamic interdisciplinary fields,
namely border studies and memory studies. From this perspective, borderlands are not just peripheries but
central sites of state power where national identities are created, challenged, and reinvented, reflecting local
interests and external geopolitical pressures. Depending on interstate relations and the dynamics of cross-border
contacts, politics of memory in the borderlands can support separatist or irredentist claims, serve the symbolic
demarcation of the national territory, or become an instrument of reconciliation and transnational cooperation.
While the stability of the Cold War borders in Eastern Europe was secured by means of selective amnesia,
cleansing of unwanted memories and Soviet myth making, the liberalization of border regimes and the
development of cross-border cooperation in the last two decades arrived hand in hand with the ‘recovery of
memory’ and the pluralisation of memory politics. Different interest groups and political entrepreneurs
(especially on the local level) have been involved in re-shaping the commemoratives landscapes of the
borderlands, initiating new memorial sites, museums and tourist routes. This particularly concerns the memory of
WWII which still remains in the focus of political debates in this part of Europe and often complicates bilateral
relations.
Victory Day in Sortavala: National fest in a transnational city
Olga Davydova-Minguet, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Sortavala is situated 60 kilometres from the Russian-Finnish border on the Russian side. It is a small provincial
town which administratively belongs to the Republic of Karelia. Historically, the western territories of Karelia were
annexed by the Soviet Union from Finland during WWII. In my ethnographic study of the Victory Day celebration
in Sortavala I examine the interrelation of different memories about these contested territories. Sortavala and
Ladoga Karelia have been constructed as a locus of Karelianness and Finnishness in present Finnish national
mythology; on the other side, the memories of Finns, former inhabitants of these territories, are well articulated
and institutionalized. The "Great Victory in the Great War" in contemporary official Russian ideology serves as a
main resource for the construction of a new Russian patriotism. In my study, in addition to the official celebration,
I was interested in the perceptions of Finns among those who participated in the festivities, and in alternative
interpretations of the victory and the war. I reveal the multilayeredness of the celebration, the activities of
different actors, the (in)visibility of different memories in the city landscape.
Celebrating the Red Army: The politics of memory in the Norwegian-Russian borderland
Bjarge Schwenke Fors, The Barents Institute, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Norway
In the paper I discuss the politics of memory in the Norwegian-Russian borderland. During the Cold War the
borderland was a place for tensions between NATO and the Soviet Union. Today its landscape is, however,
marked by symbols evoking Russian-Norwegian brotherhood. On the Norwegian side of the border a new
memory politics has been encouraged by national as well as local authorities. A rewriting of history has taken
place in which Russia’s role has been redefined from that of an enemy to that of a friend. The new memory
politics manifests itself very concretely in the border landscape where various new memorials commemorating
Norwegian-Russian comradeship during WWII have been raised. Old war memorials that had fallen into oblivion
are being rehabilitated. One of these, which I will give particular attention, is the Soviet War Memorial in the
155 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia border town of Kirkenes. The memorial, one of very few outside the former Soviet Union, was erected as a tribute
to the Red Army’s sacrifices in the liberation of Norway from Nazi occupation. During the latest years the
memorial has become a site for grand public celebrations and political events involving high-level
representatives from Norway and Russia. The memorial has been turned into a powerful symbol and showcase
for good Russian-Norwegian relations in the north.
Rebordering the (lost) Empire: Nostalgic modernization and reinvention of the past at the Russia’s
Western frontier
Tatiana Zhurzhenko, Institute of Political Sciences, University of Vienna, Austria
The notion of ‘nostalgic modernization’ was introduced recently by Ilya Kalinin, who argued that in contemporary
Russia we are dealing not so much with the traditional restorative nostalgia, but with a new politics aimed at the
‘positive recoding of nostalgia for the Soviet past into a new form of Russian patriotism for which “the Soviet”
lacks any historical specificity, but is rather seen as part of broadly conceived and comically heterogeneous
cultural legacy’. The mythologisation of Russia’s imperial history goes hand in hand with the nationalization of
the Soviet past. These tendencies are especially obvious in Russia’s western (border) regions, which were the first
to face border changes related to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the new geopolitical status of the postSoviet Russian state. The new neighbourhood of the former Soviet republics and Russia’s ambivalent attitude to
Europe have been reflected in the regional elites’ intensive search for a usable past. It is particularly in the
western borderlands that the memory of WWII appears as the main symbolic resource for re-shaping collective
identities; at the same time, the ‘Great Patriotic War’ has been integrated into the new narrative of Russia’s
military glory and imperial pride. This paper is based on extensive field research conducted during 2007-2013 in
three regions of Russia’s west (Belgorod, Murmansk and Velikiy Novgorod).
Transnistria: The past is still happening: politics of memory as bordering
Olga Filippova, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine
Like all post-Soviet countries, the Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic (PMR) has to re-write or even invent its own
history. The official version of PMR history that has been created during the last two decades in Transnistria is one
of the efforts to search for an ‘appropriate past’, which could not only justify the independence of the PMR (which
exists as a de facto state without international recognition), but also signal future goals and actions, including
geopolitical interests and possible alliances.
This research sheds the light on the politics of memory in Transnistria investigating official discourse about the
past and state’s commemorations. By looking at the public representation of the distant and recent past the
study shows that in Transnistria the past is still happening, and division between Pridnestrovian Moldovan
Republic and Republic of Moldova is not an event that once happened, but is an ongoing process of creative
construction and bordering.
'So that they remember' (chtoby pomnili): Russia's politics of memory of WWII beyond Russia's borders
Elena Nikiforova, Center for Independent Social Research, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
In Russia, the victory in WWII (known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War) is one of the few, or probably the only
achievement of the Soviet Union which has not lost its value since the collapse of the system, and is still
recognized as such not only on the level of the state, but also among different Russian and post-Soviet publics.
With growing visibility in the last decade, the official war narrative centred around the victorious role of the
Soviet Union and the heroism of the Soviet people has been maintained and promoted, and not only within the
territorial borders of Russia, but also beyond, being used as an important historical argument pro the
construction of Russia's status as an influential political subject.
To address a set of commemorative discourses and practices on WWII originating from Russia proper but
proliferating also far beyond its territorial borders, I employ the notion of memoryscape and seek to look at it
from the border perspective (in line with contemporary conceptualizations, border is understood here not as a
stationary line, but as a network made of symbolic and material elements). This perspective involves the
identification and consideration of the main agents working on the demarcation and maintenance of Russia's
WWII memoryscape outside of the country (borderguards), key legal instruments and policy options that allow
them to do so (border regulations), and some most prominent discursive and material manifestations of this
memoryscape abroad (borderposts) and the stories behind them.
156 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia R 42: CHANGING GEOPOLITICS OF BORDERS
Chair: Vladimir Kolosov, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Room: Barcelona
Date: June 13th, 2014
Time: 09:00-10:40
Geopolitics, path dependency and border cooperation between Belarus, Russia and Ukraine
Vladimir Kolosov, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Maria Zotova, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Alexander Sebentsov, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
On the basis of a data base compiled for an ESPON project the authors analyze and map at different territorial
levels post-Soviet transformations of economy and the socio-economic gaps between Byelorussian, Russian and
Ukraine border regions and their impact on cross-border cooperation: the dynamics of population and its ageing,
the changes in settlement systems, GRP, the structure of economy, incomes, salaries and consumption, mutual
trade and investments, important joint ventures. A particular attention is paid to path dependency in the
evolution of territorial structures and the shaping of new cross-border regions on the new economic basis. They
assess the current state, the plans and the perspectives of cross-border cooperation between three countries and
consider their strong relation with bilateral relations and especially the scenarios of its development in case of the
association of Ukraine with EU.
Israel and the Mediterranean: New Geo-Political Borders
David Ohana, Ben Gurion University at Negev, Israel
The time has come to examine and evaluate the Mediterranean option for Israel, an Israeli geopolitical and
cultural policy for peace in the Middle East. The Mediterranean cultural discourse seeks to detach the region from
conflict and to fashion a broader Geo-Political borders in which Israelis and their Arab neighbors are not alone
with each other, but work together in a broader context and partnership. Such a broad perspective, with its
strategic orientation, has been missing from the scholarly literature on the Mediterranean basin. The contribution
of this paper is to take the emerging Mediterranean new borders of the Israelis - a multi-cultural, heterogenic,
mixed society, situated between east and west - as a point of departure. What lessons can be learned from
examining its characteristics? Can this Mediterranean new borders be projected onto the entire region in order to
develop strategies for evolving a unified but polycentric Mediterranean civil society?
The idea that Israel is a Mediterranean society in the making has been encouraged by three historical processes.
The first process was the frequent fluctuations in the peace process between Israel and its neighbors in the last
decade, and the state of confrontation culminating in the current conflict with the Palestinians. The second
process was the transition of Israeli society from a mobilized and ideological society to a civil, sectorial society.
The new identity is not ideologically based; it is constructed out of geography and culture. The third process was
the revolutionary opportunity for dialogue in the Oslo Accords (1993) and the Barcelona process (1995).
Socio-Cultural and Post-Cold War Borders Across Europe – Similarities and Differences
Ákos Bodor, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Zoltán Grünhut, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
As members of the Euborderscapes FP7-programme’s Hungarian team our research task focusing on sociocultural cleavages as non-political borderlines between the European countries. Relying on indicators elaborated
to measure values and attitudes concerning inter alia democracy, good governance, social capital, political
participation, tolerance, etc. numerous scientific findings suggest that there are remarkable differences between
“old” and “new” democracies in Europe. Our aim is to analyze one by one these dimensions and compare the
European countries, what kind of differences appear among them.
Based on all these, the paper attempt to answer the following questions:
• Is it possible to draw up the borders of trust and distrust, tolerance and intolerance, etc. in Europe, or not?
157 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia •
Do the post-Cold War borders provide guidance to find the above mentioned symbolic borders, or not?
Are there any impacts on socio-cultural dimension, for example, are the cleavages less significant where borders
of “old” and “new” democracies meet each other?
Fencepost diplomacy: the role of ‘borderisation’ in perpetuating the perceived threat of territorial conflict
in Georgia
Emily Knowles, University of Edinburgh, UK
State borders have long been accepted as a functional requirement of sovereignty. But what happens when
these borders are contested, hostile, or fluid? The process of erecting boundary fences around the disputed
regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia has resumed with gusto after a brief pause during the Sochi
Winter Olympics. This paper proposes three main functions for this process of borderisation, each of which has
the potential to perpetuate a sense of insecurity and threat of the impending resumption of hostilities. The first of
these is the symbolic function of the borders as reminders of the trauma of the 2008 Georgia-Russia war. The
second is the practical function of borders as obstacles to the passage of goods and people that serves to isolate
the disputed territories. The third is the securitisation of borders that transforms them into barriers to the
sovereignty and future viability of the Georgian state. Drawing on recent scholarship into the role of boundaries
in influencing identity narratives, perceptions of the establishment and movement of border posts in disputed
territories will be evaluated through interviews with representatives from government, civil society and
international organizations. This will highlight competing interpretations of the borderisation process as
perpetuating or containing the threat of territorial conflict. While some see the formal demarcation of borders as
a guarantee of their future security, the predominant narrative among Georgian elites is one that construes the
construction of border fences as a statement of aggressive intent, perpetuating a narrative of impending threat.
R 43: BORDER POPULATION AND HEALTH
Chair: Olga Tkach, Center for Independent Social Research, St. Petersburg, Russia
Room: Sydney
Date: June 13th, 2014
Time: 09:00-10:40
Border Health Care Regimes: the Case of a Thai-Myanmar Borderland
Christiane Voßemer, University of Vienna, Austria
In a case study of a Thai-Myanmar borderland the paper presents a border-studies approach to the analysis of
health care regimes. Departing from an understanding of borderlands as spaces produced and transformed in
social and political negotiations it focuses such negotiations in the field of health care in the borderland of Karen
State (Myanmar) and Tak Province (Thailand), where health care has been organized for decades across statefrontiers. This borderland sees a reshaping of its institutional topography of health care arising from Myanmar’s
changing position in international relations, the negotiation of political and economic power in the borderland
and the Thai-Myanmar migration regime. The paper traces current dynamics of (un-/re-)doing and shifting
borders, frontiers and boundaries in different aspects of health care provision (including the institutional
apparatus, health workers and mayor agendas as well as the population’s access to health care) and their
intertwining with present health-, border- and migration regimes.
Taking a regime-approach to health care in the borderland, I suggest placing the complex power relations, the
often transnational bodies of knowledge and practice they draw on, and the spheres of cooperation and conflict
they produce at the core of the analysis of specific local re-bordering dynamics. At the same time I call attention
to the linkages of border-, migration- and health regimes in borderlands and suggest that border health regimes
are an important topic for future border studies, in particular regarding (post-)conflict borderlands.
Inequalities in health and health services consumption in the Russian Federation – How it is progressing?
Paul Pavitra, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
The population health and inequalities reflect the interactions amongst the various determinants of health. This
dynamic study analyzes (1) the inequalities in both health status and health service consumption over a period of
158 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia economic and socio-political turbulence and (2) distinguishes between intra and inter individual heterogeneity
and examine health trajectories covering 16 years of life course with clear disentanglement of age and cohort
effects.
From the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) data of 16 waves (1994 – 2011) that comprise 169429
individuals nested in 72085 households representing all 13 geographical regions of the country, we stratify the
observations with the various indicators of socioeconomic group in a balanced panel of 3540 individuals. The
household income is estimated using Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) scale: AE
(adult equivalent) = 1 + 0.7 (Nadults – 1) + 0.5 Nchildren.
A two level growth curve model estimates individual variations as well as average variations within the
population groups. We further examine the systematic variations in health services consumption in both uniform
health status and rate of change in consumption controlling some socio-demographic variables that are potential
confounders. Model also calculates the intra individual correlation.
Finally, applying interval regression approach, we measure the concentration index (C.I.) to examine the extent of
inequality in health service consumption over time across regions in the country. The descriptive reports indicate
increasing income inequalities over the period with reduced health services consumptions.
R 44: BORDERS IN MOTION: (RE)PRODUCTION OF OTHERNESS IN THE SITUATION OF MIGRATION - 1
Discussant: Vladimir Malakhov, Russian Academy of Science, Russia
Room: Beijing
Date: June 13th, 2014
Time: 09:00-10:40
National borders are abstract lines on imaginary maps of the world that nevertheless are reproduced in everyday
interactions. ‘Us,’ ‘others,’ ‘locals’ and ‘newcomers’ are those categories that are employed by the subjects in
personal interactions to define themselves in relation to one another and to imagine homogenous cultural
spaces resembled to those abstract borders of world maps. Migration policies of Russia is one of powerful
discourses in this personal interaction, so long as many everyday categories are based on generalisations, which
policy makers introduce. However, it would be a mistake to consider the effects of the policies as precise
reproduction of these categories. Within this panel, researchers will attempt to answer how the imagined
abstractions are (re)produced in everyday interaction. We want to show what those categories are based upon (if
they are explored in relation to other important structural configurations, such as gender, class and race). Could
the offered assimilationist policies of acculturation and integration give reverse effects? How often does a
‘migrant’ become the Other not because s/he crosses a border, but because of those established abstract
national, class and racial borders that influence our perception?
Racialisation and Status of Foreign Workers in Russia
Sergey Abashin, European University at St. Petersburg, Russia
Discussion on migration in Russia. Despite of the fact that laws and rules regulate only the process of crossing a
border, stay on the Russian territory and work there, and despite of the fact that ethnic and religious belongings
formally are not considered as grounds of discrimination, the issue of control over cultural peculiarities of foreign
workers is the main topic of the discussion on migration processes. This paper is based on analysis of those
mechanisms that racialise discourse, stigmatise ethnic and religious belongings and finally serve as means of
exclusion of people, who move between countries, from citizenship and professional or class status.
10 Kopeks of President Putin
Oxana Karpenko, Centre for Independent Social Research, Russia
This paper deals with analysis of the logic and mechanisms of construction of ‘migrants’ as a source of social
problems. It is focused on how normative documents that deal with regulation of migration make borders
between a ‘foreigner’ and a ‘citizen,’ a ‘migrant’ and a ‘local.’ How the use of relevant categories depends on
articulation of issues and elaboration of resolutions? I will draw upon a model of relations between a citizen and a
state that are normalized through migration discourse.
159 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia The “Inconvenient” Migrants: individual life-course as an object of regulation and an instrument of
integration
Daria Skibo, Centre for Independent Social Research / European University at St. Petersburg, Russia
In the paper, based on research materials of Russian language courses for migrants and on the analysis of Russian
migration legislation, I would like to show how the individual migrants’ life-course contravenes with the
standardized templates of life situations that are offered by normative legal documents and government
institutions to manage migration flows. In contrast to this utilitarian logic that understands migrants only as a
labour force which is need to be categorized and organized, I would like to demonstrate the integration resource
of personal life stories and their humanistic potential. The ideas about this side of migration processes are given
in reflection of volunteers, advocates, social workers, who are able to take the experience of migrants as difficult
way of entering the (non)host society–not as mass inflow of workers, but as the personal stories; not as “alien
invasion”, but as circumstances specific lives.
Formal norms, informal help and limits for support of “illegal aliens”
Ksenya Brailovskaya, Centre for Independent Social Research, Russia
So-called "campaign against migrants" in 2013 not only created polarized public discussion but also induced
response to authority actions. Some organizations and initiative groups tried to help those people, who met with
law enforcement during the periods of active search and deportation of "illegal aliens" ("nelegal"). Some of them
have worked under the rules and algorithms they used for years, another tried to invent new ones. How
participants of these activities explain and estimate what they do? How they describe intention and limits of their
help? What institutions they appeal to? Answers for these and other questions may mark or erase the lines
between the state for citizens and non-citizens, nowadays and past, care and norms, those who receive and who
come over.
R 45: LEARNING FROM CASE STUDIES ON EU BORDER REGIONS: COMPARING THE INCOMPARABLE?
Chair: Sarolta Németh, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: Athens
Date: June 13th, 2014
Time: 09:00-10:40
Borders and border related phenomena are unique place-specific constellations, yet there is demand for
convergence in conceptualisations and analytical tools in border studies. The regional policy/development strand
of border studies, which investigates the relationship between regional/territorial development and interactions
across the border, is especially a research area where investigations tend to operate in comparative, multiplecase-study frameworks. In Europe, this particular aspect of analysing borders has become popular with the
differentiation of national borders and the emergence of new centre-periphery relationships and integration and
co-operation zones across the European territory.
The European Union has developed into a new (f)actor constructing and defining borders within its space and
beyond, and commissions research to monitor these developments. In this European context, research projects
applying a multiple-case study approach are expected to produce both regional- or case-specific research results
as well as messages that bear relevance to general border theories and higher, European level policy making.
Case studies offer opportunities to investigate into (regional) specificities and embedded story-lines, and provide
a detail-rich insights into the situation at particular borders. Yet, it is a general claim that without appropriate
comparative analysis and abstraction of case study findings, without the use of typologies and the construction
of general models, these studies would stay inwards-looking.
The organisers of this panel have invited papers to discuss diverse aspects and manifestations of this problem as
well as potential solutions for multiple-case studies to carry out valid comparisons of the ‘incomparable’, i.e.
approaches and methodologies that help elaborate well-founded generalisations.
Relating Theory to Case Studies: Challenges to Border Studies as a Comparative Research Field
James Scott, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
160 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia With this presentation the author takes up the long-standing debate of empiricism versus theorisation in the field
of border studies (see Newman 2003). Case studies have provided a wealth of local knowledge of specific border
phenomena and problems, but often without proper reflection of the potential generalisation of such
knowledge. Of course, there is also the question of whether a “border theory” as such is possible. Conceptual
change in the social sciences and the social contingency of theorising has led to wide scepticism about the
possibility of Grand Social Theory. This doubly applies to border studies where border phenomena are reflections
and products of interconnected socio-spatial processes. A much more realistic and fruitful proposition is the
notion that we are developing an ever greater number of partial models and explanations - partial accounts of
specific border-related phenomena - rather than a totalising understanding of border realities. Given this general
realisation, how can rather disparate and contextually different border situations be related to one another? One
strategy is to abandon the search for the big picture behind social relations and instead understand what local
situations say about the political language of borders and cross-border cooperation. This would shift our focus to
the ethno-symbolic, ideological and cultural as well as economic and political rationales behind specific framings
of borders.
‘Co-operation distances’ in border regions of the European North
Sarolta Németh, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Petri Kahila, Nordregio Stockholm, Sweden / University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Bjarge Schwenke Fors, Barents Institute, University of Tromsø, Norway
Border regions in the Nordic, more sparsely populated areas of Europe generally have to face the limitation that
geographical distance and low accessibilities pose to the development of cross-border interactions. Beyond this,
however, they represent considerable variety in terms of the functionality and dynamics of their borders. Not only
do they differ in terms of ‘hard’ bordering factors, such as their (geo)political situations (i.e. different types of
external borders of the European Union, visa regimes, etc.), but they embody dissimilar sets of socially and
historically-culturally constructed borders and bridges, cross-border institutional, motivational and other
asymmetries, discontinuities as well as complementarities and continuities. The ‘distance’ to be overcome by, or
the scope and intensity of, cooperation across these national borders in the European North depends very much
on the intricate and dynamically transforming combinations of the aforesaid aspects, which offers a rich and
exciting terrain for social-scientific investigation. The paper, based on empirical work carried out in the SwedishNorwegian, the Norwegian-Russian and the Finnish-Russian border contexts in Northern Europe, makes an
attempt to assess the ‘cooperation distance’ influenced by this variety of factors.
Cross-border Cooperation and Local Perceptions of its Benefits: the Greece-Turkey Case
Lefteris Topaloglou, University of Thessaly, Greece
Victor Cupcea, University of Thessaly, Greece
George Petrakos, University of Thessaly, Greece
Turkish - Greek relations have diachronically been characterized by mistrust, suspicion and threat perception over
many decades. Textbooks in both countries reproduce a Manichean dualism of the two countries’ modern history
on the basis of “good” and “evil” (Mavrogenis and Kelman, 2013). A major historical breakthrough such as
territorial expansion in one country’s history is generally characterized as a negative consequence for the other:
“Greeks seem to develop a historical consciousness where the ‘other’ is constantly brought to mind in order to justify the
past and foster the present national identity.” Historiography tends to follow the same position as textbooks, with
detailed descriptions of the historical “facts” as perceived by the two countries following an egocentric
nationalistic narrative that considers the “other” as an unreliable and dangerous neighbor that cannot be
cooperated with. However, the 1999 earthquakes melted the ice between even the most hesitant Greek and
Turkish participants, demonstrating the catalyzing role of the disasters. “The old realist paradigm, state centric and
antagonistic was replaced by a new liberal paradigm focusing on engagement and cooperation” (Keridis, 2006). That
included government support for NGOs, encouraging the work that was being done among the grassroots.
Greece-Turkey CBC does not fall within the ENP context but it is an excellent case of local cooperation at the EU’s
external borders that reflects multilevel political interests. Interestingly, there is an imbalance in local perceptions
of the benefits of CBC and it has been difficult to motivate the participation of Turkish actors. The future
prospects of the bilateral relationship will be influenced mainly by the course of relations between Turkey. The
evolving course of Greece’s financial crisis will be another crucial parameter.
161 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia In this paper we will explore reasons for this situation and suggest how it might be more effectively addressed in
the future. The empirical evidence is based on fieldwork carried out within the EUBORDERREGIONS FP7 Project
with the main objective to identify challenges to economic, social and territorial cohesion as well as regional
development potentials in the Greek-Turkish borderland.
Evolution of shopping tourism at EU external borders – the cases of FIN-RU and PL-UA border regions
Heikki Eskelinen, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Maciej Smętkowski, EUROREG, University of Warsaw, Poland
The opening up of the East-West divide in Europe has led to new forms of cross-border interaction and cooperation. Human mobility, especially in the form of shopping tourism, plays a major role in them. This paper
compares this phenomenon in two border areas, between southeastern Finland and its neighboring region in
Russia and between eastern Poland and western Ukraine.
There are clear-cut similarities in shopping tourism in these two cases. Firstly, its volumes have grown
considerably, and secondly, the share of “eastern visitors” has risen to around four-fifths. Thirdly, the economic
potential of shopping tourism has not been fully tapped into. In fact, a relative small number of frequent visitors
account for most trips. The paper also discusses the impacts of shopping tourism on the development of border
regions and its prospects in relation to regional development strategies in uncertain geopolitical conditions.
Whose Partnership? Regional Participatory Arrangements in the Programming of Karelia CBC
Gleb Yarovoy, Petrozavodsk State University
Sarolta Németh, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Matti Fritsch, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Minna Piipponen, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Dmitry Zimin, Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Territorial co-operation, including cross-border co-operation (CBC), represents an integral element in EU regional
and cohesion policy, serving as a tool to combat peripherality of border regions and integrate formerly
disconnected borderlands. Resting on the principles of partnership and multi-level governance, CBC activities are
deemed by the EU to involve and include regional and local authorities, economic and social partners at various
stages of the co-operation process. Even at certain external borders of the EU - where these regional
development values of CBC are endorsed in an often uneasy combination with EU external policy principles - a
regionally-based programme design has been introduced through successive administrative reforms, along with
joint cross-border administrative arrangements.
Consequently, to promote regional development goals, the priorities and calls of CBC programmes should
answer the regional needs and be in line with the aims of local/regional stakeholders. This requires resilient
consultation and participatory processes through stakeholder involvement in programme preparation and
implementation. The authors of the paper, having had the opportunity to be participant observers of the
preparation phase of the Karelia CBC programme at the Finnish-Russian border, investigate how ’multi-level
governance’ and the partnership principle are realized and what differences exist in stakeholder involvement
across this border in order to pinpoint the achievements as well as the challenges and weaknesses of the current
’joint programming’ solutions.
R 50: A CONVERSATION ABOUT BORDER CULTURE
Chair: Victor Konrad, Carleton University, Canada
Room: Moscow
Date: June 13th, 2014
Time: 11:00-12:40
This panel is envisioned as a conversation about border culture. The aim is to discuss fundamental questions
about border culture such as: What is border culture? How does it work? Why is border culture important? Four
panelists will address these and other related questions in 15 minute statements followed by group and audience
162 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia discussion. These are not formal papers but rather incisive and provocative insights and assessments offered by
four specialists in borderlands culture. The panel is intended to stimulate debate and discussion.
The presentations are identified only by their link to a component of border culture: art,
aesthetics/poetics/literatures, film and landscape. These four dimensions are associated below with the four
discussants who will engage in this conversation about border culture.
Border Culture and Art
Anne-Laure Amilhat Szary, UJF-Grenoble, France
Border Culture: Aesthetics/Poetics/Literatures
Johan Schimanski, University of Tromso, Norway
Border Culture and Film
Sarah Mekdjian, PACTE, UPMF/ CNRS, France
Border Culture and Landscape
Victor Konrad, Carleton University, Canada
R 51: CONSTRUCTING BORDERS IN THE ARCTIC AND THE BARENTS REGION
Chair: Gleb Yarovoy, Petrozavodsk State University, Russia
Room: Helsinki
Date: June 13, 2014
Time: 11:00-12:40
Constructing borders in a borderless space: case of Barentsburg, Svalbard
Andrian Vlakhov, European University at Saint Petersburg, Russia
The Svalbard archipelago has a unique status in the international relations: the Svalbard Treaty of 1920 gives the
right to live and work there to any citizen of all the signatory states. However, due to the strategic importance of
the archipelago to both Russia and Norway (the only states maintaining significant settlements there) there was a
controversy between Russian and Norwegian towns of Svalbard during the Cold War, which resulted in the
estrangement of two populations and the very limited amount of contacts between those. The end of the Cold
War brought forth new hopes for the changes in the international relations. However, a different scenario
emerged, partly due to geographical reasons (limited mobility at the archipelago), partly because of the changes
in the Russian foreign policy. The paper traces the development of the coexistence patterns between Russian and
Norwegian settlers of Svalbard in the post-Cold War times and the trajectories of the new, “invisible” border
construction in the official Russian narratives about Barentsburg.
Resource evolution and the Peripheral Fringe - the Effects of the Contextual Factors on SMES in the
Barents Region
Hanna Alila, University of Oulu, Finland
This research explores resource evolution taking place among the small and medium sized firms operating in the
peripheral area. The purpose of the research is to understand the reasons how firms operate in the peripheral
environment and what are the resources contributing ability of the firm to succeed in the context of extreme.
The context, the Barents region, consists of border regions with peripheral features and challenges, i.e. the long
distances, scarcely populated, the geographical location of population centres, environmental factors, harsh
climate, cultural differences and languages. The region creates an international business environment where the
extreme conditions and the resource scarcity may affect to the performance of the firm.
163 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Given in the empirical context of the research, the theoretical objective is to combine the relevant contextual
theories to resource evolution of the firms. It is proposed that the combination of resource dependence
perspective, institutional theory and resource based view deepen the understanding how resources create and
develop; what are the reasons why firms operate in the region. The combination of these theories provides wider
perspective to the firm’s operations and expands the viewpoints of the theories. The implications of the study are
not only the created concept of the theoretical framework but better understanding of the phenomenon and the
managerial implications of the resource evolution.
Resource Development and Autonomy: The Large Scale Project Act and foreign Laborers in Greenland
Takahashi Minori, Hokkaido University, Japan
The objective of this presentation is to clarify the Autonomy structures in Greenland, which is heavily impacted
by climate change, and parts of the process for altering these structures through the mediums of “Autonomy in
External Relations” and “Autonomy in Internal Relations” to serve as a new framework to replace autonomism,
which was prescribed via a process of integration and separation between the traditional center and the margin.
To this end, this presentation considers resource development and autonomy in the polar region—focusing on
trends relating to the resource development companies that have acquired development rights for Greenland’s
iron ore mines and offshore oil fields—while also discussing the Greenland Self-Rule government’s changing
political measures as it attempts to increase its level of autonomy by attracting foreign investment and obtaining
income from resources.
Melting (B)orders: Governance and Conflict in the New Arctic
Anders Rainer-Elk, Staffordshire University, UK
With ice caps in the Arctic melting, current Arctic borders are being challenged, and the existing political and
economic order in the new Arctic is rapidly changing, thus redrawing the global geopolitical map. The aim of this
paper is to provide an analysis of the negotiation of the emerging Arctic order and its borderscape, examining
regional, as well as global, responses from Arctic and non-Arctic nations. Using Russia, Norway, the US, as well as
India and China, as case-studies from an ongoing research project, two main issues will be addressed in the
paper:
1. De-bordering in the Arctic
Arctic geopolitics is increasingly characterized by the forces of Arctic regionalism and that of a globalizing Arctic.
As a result, more regional and national global actors are staking out their strategic interests in the Arctic, thus
challenging existing processes of de-bordering in this region. The paper will assess these dichotomies and the
negotiation of the melting space.
2. Governance of borders and previously inaccessible space in the Arctic
Despite the smokescreen of conflict over territorial claims, the actual border policy-making in the Arctic has been
constructive in the past, and the paper will assess how the 2010 settlement of Russia and Norway’s boundary
dispute can serve as a constructive model for other Arctic nations facing similar territorial disputes. Moreover, it
will examine how the 2013 admission of India, China and Japan as observers to the Arctic Council is likely to
impact on the governance of the Arctic in the future.
History as an argument and supporting point in region building. Karelian peddler and Pomor trade in the
Barents Euro-Arctic region and Euregio Karelia discourses
Ilya Solomeshch, Petrozavodsk State University, Russia
Starting from the late 1980s, two geographically close to each other and equally East-West oriented historical
transborder trade models, the Barents Sea Pomor trade between Norway and the Russian North, and Karelian
peddler trade between Russian Karelia and Finland, have been extensively revisited both in scholarly and popular
texts, as well as in the media. Addressing these two basic cases, the author aims at recognising patterns of placing
narratives of centuries-old historical phenomena into the post Cold war context and adjusting them to serve as
supporting rationale argumentation and region building legitimation, respectively, for the Barents Euro-Arctic
region and Euregio Karelia. In reliance on these observations, juxtaposing and critically comparing history-based
rhetorics of the BEAR and Euregio Karelia, the paper seeks to scrutinise essential paradigms of historical
knowledge application in constructing discursive practices of region building.
164 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia R 52: Sino Russian Cross-Border Relations—Intentions and Realities
Chair: Mihail Alexseev, Associate Professor San Diego State University USA
Room: Barcelona
Date: June 13th, 2014
Time: 11:00-12:40
In spite of the intentions of both the Russian and Chinese governments to promote cross-border trade,
investments and cooperation since 1990, these expectations have largely been unfulfilled. The papers in this
international panel explore this anomaly by examining the institutional, political, economic and cultural
dimensions at the national and regional levels. The authors in this panel utilize data from field work and
published materials from both Russia and China for their analyses.
The first paper identifies the shift of Russia’s national orientation towards the EU drawing attentions away from
the Far East and China. Excessive centralization in Russia also limits the ability of regional and local governments
to cooperate. The second paper argues that divergence and convergence of the Russian national and regional
perspectives led to different views concerning whether the development of cross border bridges is a security or a
development issue. The third paper demonstrates that these perceptions and attitudes led to vast differences in
Chinese FDI in different parts of Far East Russia. Indeed, the border matters a great deal for the flow of FDI. The
fourth papers posits institutional rigidities can be analyzed as predatory moves by government agencies leading
to the deepening of reliance on informal channels and the informal sector to implement investments and crossborder trade. The final paper argues that in addition to the above, the failure of the Chinese officials at the border
regions to understand the culture of their counter-parts across the border has hindered the promotion of cross
border interactions.
Cross-border cooperation between Russia & China: trends and restrictions
Dmitry A. Izotov, Economic Research Institute of FEB RAS, Russia
Among Russian scholarly journals, there has been a reduction of interest in Russian-Chinese border cooperation,
due to, firstly, reduction of "euphoria" of a significant increase in economic interactions, and secondly, a much
greater orientation of the Russian economy towards the EU and other neighboring countries. Despite the fact
that Russia joined the «European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-Operation Between Territorial
Communities Or Authorities», Russian municipalities have not been endowed real rights to take part in this
activity. It is emphasized that one of the main conditions for improving the efficiency of cross-border cooperation
is to avoid excessive centralization.
This paper analyzes the content and the interim results of the Program of cooperation between far eastern and
eastern Siberian regions of Russia and Northeast China. This paper argues that the Program is relatively optional,
and it is only a package of bilateral investment proposals. The scale of investment in the Russian resource sector
projects is so small that any concerns regarding assignment of Russian eastern "strategic" resources to China are
at best inconsistent.
Nevertheless, border areas of the Russian Far East are considered by China as a supplier of natural resources; as a
transit point for shipments of Chinese goods in the European part of the Russian Federation. The structure of
these supplies will change in favor of the predominance of products with higher added value.
The Political Economy of Cross-border Bridge Construction over Heilongjiang (Amur) River—The HeiheBlagoveshchensk and Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoe Bridge Projects as a Case Study
Cheng Yang, East China Normal University, China
The Chinese and Russian governments’ great expectations on cross-border and cross-regional cooperation in
Northeast China and Russian Far East and Eastern Siberia were expressed in a bilateral cooperative program
signed in 2009. So far, this cooperation can only be characterized as disappointing to both sides. This paper,
based on field work on the Heihe-Blagoveshchensk and Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoe cross-border bridge projects
over the Heiliongjiang (Amur) River, explores the deep-rooted reasons of non-cooperation or superficial
cooperation.
165 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia In the early 1990s, China and Russian began discussing the construction of cross-border bridge projects over
Heilongjiang (Amur). Both nations’ Prime Ministers signed a memorandum to build the bridge between Heihe
and Blagoveshchensk. In October, 2003, on behalf of Heilongjiang Provincial government, the Municipal
government of Jiamusi signed a protocol on cross-border bridge construction with the Jewish Autonomous
Oblast Government. To-date, the constructions of these two bridges have not started.
This paper argues that, in terms of cross-border cooperation, whether the suggestions or programs China
proposed could be implemented depends on Russia’s recognition of threat, rather than a specific economic
balance of interests. It turns out that, Moscow and the Far East elites’ views of China share convergence, but also
have divergence. Moscow is more likely to view questions of the exploitation in Far East and Siberia from the
perspective of security rather than of development. This determines that, both sides will place the construction of
the Sino-Russian cross-border bridges in the strategic security level. And that leads to the twists and turns of the
two bridges’ construction.
Spatial allocation of Chinese foreign direct investment in Russian regions: does the border matter?
Alina Novopashina, The Economic Research Institute (Khabarovsk), Russia
During the past few years the growth of Chinese foreign direct investments (FDI) to Russia exceeds the growth of
trade between these countries. But Russian regions have experienced very different volumes of Chinese FDI
inflows. In 2012, the “top five” regions have received approximately 80% of total Chinese FDI inflows to Russia.
One third of Russian regions received nothing. Russian regions bordering with China play special roles-- the
percentage of these regions receiving Chinese FDI increased from 5% to 32% over the last decade. Moreover,
border regions are the most attractive for Chinese FDI to real sector of economy. The recent boom in empirical
research on FDI determinants in Russia has not generated any focus on Chinese FDI and the effect of the border
on it. This research answers the following questions: what are the spatial determinants of Chinese FDI in Russia?
Does the border matter for Chinese FDI?
Using a gravity model of panel data, this study examines the determinants and dominant strategies of Chinese
FDI inflows to Russian border and non-border regions. The main finding is that determinants of Chinese FDI are
proximity of Chinese and Russian regions in market size and factor endowment, low transport costs and trade
barriers. Border regions are more attractive for Chine investors than non-border regions: the inflow of Chinese FDI
to border regions is 1.5 times higher than non-border regions on average. The dominant FDI strategy in border
regions is resource-seeking in contrast to market-seeking in other regions.
“Predators” on the Border, Informality and Administrative Rent
Natalia P. Ryzhova, Economic Research Institute of FEB RAS, Russia
Theory tells us that weak institutions reduce cross-border trade. The reason behind this is that trade always
attracts “predators” (Anderson, Bandiera, 2005). Predators negatively affect cross-border trade and require strong
rules and enforcement, which can be constructed by the State. However, the State, implementing taxes and
duties, also can, in turn, be assessed as a “predator”, particularly if the border barriers are elevated. Therefore,
traders can choose between two types of “predators”, Official and Unofficial ones.
Using network approach, this paper examines the influence of the border barriers between Russia and China on
expansion of informal cross-border exchanges and capturing the administrative rent. Using the examples of a
cross-border informal network specializing on delivery of Chinese products to Russian markets, this paper
analyzes how network was changed during 1987-2011 through transformation of formal and informal rules.
This analysis comprises five parts. Firstly, the roles of the cross-border exchanges participants were identified
(“Deliver”, “Traders”, “Smugglers”, “Official Predator”, “Unofficial Predator”). Then the phases of the formal and
informal rules transformation were distinguished. Next the links among participants were determined and these
links were formalized by means of matrix. After that directed graphs were schemed and, finally, net properties of
the graphs were calculated.
This paper shows that expansion of informal cross-border exchanges causes implementation of new border
barriers as well as tightening of their enforcement, with the result that administrative rent increases. In turn,
growth of the administrative rent was the main incentive of the expansion of the cross-border informal trade.
Obstacles to Cross-border Development at the Sino-Russia Border Regions
Chung-Tong Wu, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
166 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Border studies have shifted from the perspective of borders as barriers to a transactive and relational view of
borders. In reality, whether a cross-border region prospers also depends on the respective relevant regional
governments’ attitudes towards promoting cross-border development at their respective localities.
China and Russia share a border of over 1,000 km but in spite of both national governments’ publicly stated
intentions, cross-border development in general and specific cross-border regions have not prospered.
Apparently, propinquity is insufficient to generate significant cross-border economic cooperation at the ChineseRussian border. Using the neighboring cities of Heihe and Blagoveshensk as a case study this paper explores the
reasons for lack of progress. This paper argues that the lack of cross-border development is due chiefly to
intransigence of Russian regional officials and lack of cultural understanding by their Chinese counterparts. This
intransigence is driven by historical and contemporary concerns but chiefly because the grey economy and
informal trade that have evolved at border regions offer disproportionate opportunities to many who are in
authority. Over the last decade and more, instead of putting in place appropriate systems to facilitate crossborder trade and development, there has developed what Ryzhova identifies as a state of “institutional
asymmetry” which makes cross-border development even more challenging.
Utilizing published data and available studies from Russia and China, this paper posits that in the cases of crossborder development between nations that are competitors, it is crucial to take into account the potential
obstacles posed by local political realities, impacts of the grey economy and cultural misunderstandings.
R 53: ENCLAVES, ETHNICITY AND NATIONALITY
Chair: Paul Fryer, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Room: Sydney
Date: June 13th, 2014
Time: 11:00-12:40
Life without National Identity: Question of Indo Bangladesh Boundary Management
Nidhi Dabas, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
Enclaves are geographical entities which are surrounded by the territory of another state. There are one hundred
and eleven enclaves of India and Bangladesh and fifty one enclaves of Bangladesh in India. The fate of the people
of these enclaves have always been in the hands of the political conditions of these countries. For example,
Sheikh Hasina’s tenure in Bangladesh has always raised hope in the border management of the India Bangladesh
region. On the other hand, during the tenure of Khaega Zia, the bilateral relations became sour resulting in the
ignorance of the issue of border management. There have been some unsuccessful and incomplete steps taken
by the governments to resolve the issue of enclaves through the agreements to exchange these territories. The
residents of these enclaves cannot even get the social, economic and political right due to the problem of
accessibility. Despite having sovereign rights over the territories, the concerned nation cannot cross the border
without the permission on the nation whose territory surrounds the enclave. The residents are like prisoners in
their own homeland. The paper will attempt to show the problems that exist in the enclaves of India and
Bangladesh. It will highlight that how the border management between these nations can bring positive changes
in the bilateral relationship as well as in the lives of the residents of these enclaves who became the victim of the
ill fate. It answer that why border management is the best solution in today’s scenario.
The Complexity of Boundaries in Kosovo
Péter Reményi, University of Pécs, Hungary
Áron Léphaft, University of Pécs, Hungary
Border issues of Kosovo, the youngest and still not fully recognized European state are diverse. This is on one
hand a consequence of its 19th and 20th century history while on the other, a consequence of the circumstances of
the struggle for and gaining of its independence. Interethnic tensions and their spatiality within the state and
alignments of its communities to groups outside the state create a set of different bordering lines in Kosovo.
These lines are focal in the interethnic struggles of Kosovo, being both symbolic and practical places of
strengthening territorial control and national identity. The different and often antagonistic narratives and
discourses of these lines of separations make it hard to talk about reconciliation yet. Self-caging, ethnic
167 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia enclavisation through gerrymandering of local territorial administration and the special protection of microspaces (e.g. villages, monasteries) create a complicated spatial structure of different types of boundaries at
different spatial scales within Kosovo. On the other hand different levels of permeability of the state borders
adjacent to ‘friendly’ states can be seen as well.
Enclaves as a Means to Solve Minority Problems in Modern World
Biger Gideon, Tel Aviv University, Israel
In the modern world order, there still are some minority groups, belonging ethnically to a country which located
side by side to their residential country. In the past, those minorities were or driven out of there residential
country or their area were combined to their home country. A new way presenting here is to create ethnic
enclaves for those groups. A case study concerning the Israel-Palestinian Authority will be presented in the paper.
Borders, Infrastructures and Ethnic Conflict in post-Soviet Ferghana Valley, Central Asia
Joni Virkkunen, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Still 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Central Asian borders reflect the basic challenges and
dilemmas of Soviet policy. Based on the artificial Soviet bordering exercises in the 1920's, the Central Asian
borders are still utterly confusing and contested, with exclaves and enclaves as well as complicated water, energy
and other challenges especially in the highly contested Fergana Valley divided by Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan. Due to the Soviet legacy, the post-Soviet state-building and nation creation in Central Asia as well as
the troubled inter-state relations in the region, large sections of internal and external borders of the region are
neither delimited nor demarcated.
The paper looks at the three troubled and utterly intersection component of contemporary Ferghana Valley:
borders, infrastructures and ethnic conflict. It discusses the way that bordering of the three post-Soviet states
have contributed to the insecurity, troubled everyday life and, even, conflicted inter-ethnic relations. The paper
argues that it is those everyday interactions that may build upon ancient inter-ethnic connections, or develop to
chaos and conflict between groups or, in worst scenarios, between fragile states that the Central Asian states
such as Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are.
R 55: BORDERS IN MOTION: (RE)PRODUCTION OF OTHERNESS IN THE SITUATION OF MIGRATION – 2
Discussant: Elena Nikiforova, Centre for Independent Social Research, Russia
Room: Athens
Date: June 13th, 2014
Time: 11:00-12:40
National borders are abstract lines on imaginary maps of the world that nevertheless are reproduced in everyday
interactions. ‘Us,’ ‘others,’ ‘locals’ and ‘newcomers’ are those categories that are employed by the subjects in
personal interactions to define themselves in relation to one another and to imagine homogenous cultural
spaces resembled to those abstract borders of world maps. Migration policies of Russia is one of powerful
discourses in this personal interaction, so long as many everyday categories are based on generalisations, which
policy makers introduce. However, it would be a mistake to consider the effects of the policies as precise
reproduction of these categories. Within this panel, researchers will attempt to answer how the imagined
abstractions are (re)produced in everyday interaction. We want to show what those categories are based upon (if
they are explored in relation to other important structural configurations, such as gender, class and race). Could
the offered assimilationist policies of acculturation and integration give reverse effects? How often does a
‘migrant’ become the Other not because s/he crosses a border, but because of those established abstract
national, class and racial borders that influence our perception?
Diasporal structures vs. government: practices of implementation of Russian language courses for
migrants
Anastasia Golovneva, Centre for Independent Social Research / St. Petersburg State University, Russia
168 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Political decisions as the strategies of “strong” players cause the adaptation of the “weak” ones that is realized by
the transformation or creating practices. Problematization of the increase number of migrants in Russia and
changes of their legal status led to the situation when different agents are taking part in the process of migrants'
adaptation in Russian social space. One of the instruments influencing the process of migrants' adaptation are
Russian language courses. However, the presence of variety of agents that provide this kind of service does not
mean the cooperation or other types of social ties between them. The research goal is to analyze what are the
practices of such agents as diasporal structures and government are being realized in Russia and what ties do
these agents use in order to attract new resources and capitals.
Advertising for language courses for labour migrants
Tatiana Krihtova, European University at St. Petersburg, Russia
In my paper I’m going to pay attention to the advertising for language courses for labour migrants in SaintPetersburg. A lot of billboards on the streets attracted all inhabitants of the city and still there are a lot of
discussions about it. I'm going to consider that billboards from the position of visual anthropology. My main
research question: what message it has and who is a recipient. There are some important factors for
understanding this billboards: images (what is on the pictures), text (what can we know about this courses),
language (Russian or language of migrants), placement (who and where can see it). Moreover, I'm going to look
to the discourse around the billboards: official documents, comments by developers and teachers of the courses,
media and residents of the city.
Active Citizens after Mobilization: Migration Policies and Acts of Citizenship
Alexander Kondakov, Centre for Independent Social Research, Russia
This paper offers a theoretical framework that allows to rethink citizens’ activities as a productive form of creative
acts which produce political subjects and new forms of politics beyond already given constraints of institutional
logic of the state bureaucracy. After a period of active political mobilization of citizens around 2011-2012 election
campaigns, their activism was not in decline, but it rather acquired new forms. Activist citizens targeted various
issues of state policies. This paper discusses a possibility of new theoretical understanding of one of such
initiatives that appeared as a result of political mobilization and was expressed in several projects related to
improvement of life conditions of migrant workers. As an expression of ethical standpoint, the civil initiatives
have managed to acquire support and credits. However, if these initiatives create boundaries as they depend on
the vulnerable Other is matter of detailed scrutiny. Do civil grassroots activists help? Or do they reproduce racial,
class and age boundaries in their activities? The answer to these questions are complex and is in the need for a
nouvelle theoretical understanding.
Some Contradictions in Language Policy towards Low-Wage Labour Migrants in Russia
Olga Matskevich, European University at St. Petersburg, Russia
In this paper, language policies for low-wage labour migrants in Russia are investigated. The integration of lowwage labour migrants receives a special attention from the Russian state apparatus and it is predominantly
shaped in specially organized language courses. Labour migrants are constructed as an economic issue of labour
force that ensures economic growth. On the other hand, they are described as a problem so long as they are seen
as culturally others. Henceforth, special policies are designed to secure inclusion of migrant workers to the
society through language integration. I will consider how exactly the existing language policies
for low-wage labour migrants are organized in ST. Petersburg. How much are these policies adequate for the
conditions in which low-wage labour migrants live? Is there any lack of integration that causes a tension between
migrant workers and the host societies?
POSTERS
Room: Carelia
Date: June 9th-June 10th, 2014
The Scottish Referendum: Provoking Futures
169 ABS World Conference, 9-­‐13 June 2014 Joensuu, Finland – St. Petersburg, Russia Elizabeth Alexander, Royal Holloway University of London, UK
A model for science education in border areas: Cross-Border Citizen Scientists
Olga Brednikova, Centre for Independent Social Research, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Virpi Kaisto, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland
A plea for limology
Jean-William Dereymez, Institut d’études politiques de Grenoble, France
New old challenges for Polish-German cross-border cooperation after polish accession to the Schengen
Area: the case of Słubice and Frankfurt (Oder)
Aleksandra Ibragimow, Polish-German Research Institute, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, European University
Viadrina, Poland / Germany
Moritz Albrecht, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
External Border Management as an Instrument of Migration Control The Finnish – Russian Border
Katharina Johanna Elisabetha Koch, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
Spatial patterns of foreign second home tourism in South Savo – focusing on Russian property purchases
Maija Sikiö University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Olga Lipkina University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Timo Kumpula University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Olli Lehtonen University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Kati Pitkänen, Finnish Environment Institute, Finland
170