Projects / Programmes
Creating, maintaining, reusing:
border commissions as the key for understanding contemporary borders
Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
6.01.00 |
Humanities |
Historiography |
|
Code |
Science |
Field |
6.01 |
Humanities |
History and Archaeology |
borders, border commissios, administrative legacy, creating borders, maintaining borders, reusing borders
Researchers (24)
Organisations (4)
Abstract
All borders are historical. The history of any border is not merely an underlying story, but is ingrained in its very structure. The way in which it has been constructed and maintained (why, how, when, where, and who has created it) contributes to the characteristics of contemporary borders. The border commissions that have created and/or maintained a specific border are of vital importance for its detailed understanding. Conclusion: It is not possible to understand the current borders without knowing the work of the border commissions. The repeated strengthening of the borders is one of the greatest challenges in contemporary Europe (securitisation of migrations, border fences, Brexit). If before 2015 the borders within the EU were seen as an anachronism, the 2015 Refugee crisis showed that the specific characteristics of the individual borders were exceedingly important. Only the knowledge of the complex heritage of individual borders allows for a successful and humane management of state borders. Border commissions are a legal tool for political entities to settle their mutual borders on an equal basis. Commission members include officials and experts. Border commissions may also be implemented by the political entities that are not independent. Some border commissions also include the "third factor": the federal authority, representatives of superpowers, etc. It is difficult to define the difference between bilateral joint commissions and multilateral commissions. According to their function, commissions can be divided into the following: a) those that define the border; b) those that maintain the border. In terms of duration, we can divide them as follows: a) permanent (e.g. border commissions addressing border rivers); b) special, "ad hoc" (addressing particular issues/disputes). SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND: “Back to the line” / borders as objects The material and historical aspects of the borders are at the forefront of our research. As objects, borders constitute a part of dynamic border processes (Passi 2012). “Borders last longer than states” Political borders can outlive the states that created them. In this sense, borders are more persistent as states. Phantom borders and administrative legacy Phantom borders are the former political borders that keep structuring the modern world. Administrative legacy is closely connected to the development of the modern territorial state Basic research questions (RQ) in the longue durée perspective: Creating borders, Maintaining borders, Reusing borders OBJECTIVES Scientific objectives: A better understanding of the manner in which borders as objects can conserve the past and co-create space and time. Social objectives: 1. The potential influence on the public: overcoming the nationalistic, anachronistic, and deterministic outlooks; a better understanding of the complex processes of boundaries. 2. The potential influence on the practice of border management in the Republic of Slovenia and the EU: the understanding of the legacy of the concrete borders is vital for the management of borders as objects. Research areas (RA): RA1: Space RA2: Identifications, loyalties RA3: Border permeability RA4: Border disputes RA5: Relations between entities, diplomacy Project management Advisory board (AB): Leadership/coordinators of the Interdisciplinary Centre “Border Crossings - Crossing Borders. Berlin Centre for Transnational Border Research”, Humboldt University of Berlin (HU): Work packages (WP): WP1: project management WP2: contemporary Slovenian-Austrian border WP3: contemporary Slovenian-Hungarian border WP4: contemporary Slovenian-Italian border WP5: contemporary Slovenian-Croatian border WP6: dissemination, digitisation, promotion Partners: Anton Melik Geographical Institute of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Department of History, Faculty of Humanities, University of Primorska, Koper Department of History, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljan