Stäng gränserna, öppna gränserna!

Gränsregionala samarbetsorganisationers reaktioner på gränskontroller och gränsstängningar i Europa

Abstract

Close the borders, open the borders! The reaction of cross-border cooperation organizations to border controls and border restrictions in Europe

The article investigates how local cross-border cooperation organizations reacted to re-bordering policies since 2015, with focus on the re-bordering related to the migration of 2015 and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The article compares the reaction of cross-border cooperation organizations at three European borders, using a typology of resistance, support and acceptance. The findings demonstrate how local actors were constrained by complex geopolitical and national interest narratives, and that local responses could take a variety of formats. The article suggests that further research should focus on understanding politicaladministrative relations within multi-level systems to explain this variety.