Conceptualizing Borders in Cross-Border Regions: Case Studies of the Barents and Ireland–Wales Supranational Regions

Abstract

This paper scrutinizes the significance of borders in cross-border cooperation. Since borders are seen here as multilayered constructs that may be either hard or soft, it is asked to what extent they determine the contents of cooperation, and whether they also define the key actors participating in various border crossing processes and projects. By analyzing comparative case studies of the Barents and Ireland–Wales cross-border regions through the layer model of borders and some key ideas of actor-network theory, this paper points out how borders, as lines of demarcation, are of relevance for the forms of cooperation adopted. Cross-border collaboration also transforms borders, making the significance of various layers dynamic in time. Moreover, the paper suggests that cross-border collaboration should be conceptualized as a hybrid of sub-national (local), national, and supranational policies and objectives.

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to the anonymous reviewers and editors at Journal of Borderland Studies for their comments, and to Anssi Paasi for the feedback on earlier version of this paper. I would also like to acknowledge the Academy of Finland, for research funding (#121992), and Joni Vainikka, for the maps.

Notes

The empirical data consist of 17 thematic interviews and various policy documents such as the Ireland–Wales operational program (I-W), annual implementation reports (I-W), meeting documents (B), and annual reports of the working groups (B). The interviews lasted about one hour each, and they were recorded and fully transcribed. The interviewees were first selected with assistance from the heads of the Barents Regional Committee and Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly, and by the snowball sampling method, in that each interviewee was asked to suggest other key persons to be contacted. The interviewees were thus the key actors in Barents and Ireland–Wales cooperation initiatives. The data were gathered during two periods, between September 2008 and September 2009, and between September and November 2010.