Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Migrating borders: an introduction to European identity construction in process

2003; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 29; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/1369183032000149569

1469-9451

Ulrike Hanna Meinhof,

Migration and Labor Dynamics

Abstract This introduction to the edition provides the historical, geopolitical and methodological context for a programme of collaborative research conducted between 2000 and 2003 in sets of communities on the border between the EU and its south-)eastern ascendant nations. Our analysis is framed by interlinking comparative themes which form the cores of the different articles contained in this special issue. This opening article argues that the geopolitical dimension of the border needs to be understood both as an axis of past conflict and painful memories, and as an axis of contemporary socio-economic inequality. Only by understanding this double legacy and its effects on the communities along the border can ongoing conflicts between the people on either side of the border be fully understood. Keywords: EU border identity;Historical conflict;Socio-economic inequality;Photographic triggers