The COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst of cross-border cooperation? Lessons learnt for border-regional resilience

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a suspension of the Schengen Agreement within the European Union: national borders were partially controlled or closed. Especially in European border regions, where the idea of European integration is most evident, this led to limitations of cross-border linkages, putting the question of border-regional resilience into the focus of border studies. Based on the case study of German border regions, we operationalize the various impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic alongside the German border. Particularly interesting with regard to the concept of border-regional resilience are the results of a two-stage Delphi survey with border-regional experts. Even if the border closures as such were a political crisis, some of the long-term effects might be considered positive.

Cross-border integration patterns in the context of domestic economic development : a case study of the Upper Rhine

“…governance or advisory entities with representatives from both/all sides of a border), and/or to topics that are not inherently defined by tensions around convergence, differentials, and functional integration (e.g. the provision of cross-border transport 1 ) (Dörry & Walther, 2015;Svensson, 2015;Dörry & Decoville, 2016;Hippe, Bertram & Chilla, 2022). Economic development organizations, however, must engage with these tensions.…”