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In the process of globalization, the transformation of production methods has triggered a restructuring of scales, resulting in the emergence of a new spatial phenomenon known as cross-border regions. Previous studies have focused on the coordination of cross-border regions, often concentrating solely on either spatial or governance aspects, and lacking a comprehensive exploration of the underlying mechanisms linking space and governance. This study examines the evolution of cross-border governance using the Tokyo Bay Area as a case study, taking into account the dual characteristics of space and governance. The findings of this research indicate a certain correlation between spatial evolution and governance mechanisms during different stages of development in the Tokyo Bay Area. Over time, the spatial configuration of the port cluster has undergone significant changes, while the governance mechanisms of the cross-border region have transitioned from informal to formal approaches. Additionally, the study summarizes both diachronic and synchronic characteristics, confirming the effectiveness of the space governance and providing an analysis of its underlying mechanisms. These findings provide valuable insights for promoting the modernization of national governance systems and governance capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Geopolitica(s): Revista de Estudios Sobre Espacio y Poder is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In recent years, a growing number of institutional mapping approaches has reflected on border regions' development. These approaches visualise the relationship between institutional and spatial patterns. In parallel, the quality and quantity of cooperation-related information in the EU KEEP database (DB) is continuously increasing. The aim of our paper is two-fold. Firstly, we aim to understand the cooperation dynamics and funding geographies of the recent INTERREG A period. We do so with the example of cross-border programmes with German participation. More concretely, we scrutinise the relationships that exist between the spatial configurations of funded project cooperation, the involved thematic topics and the role of territorial contexts, particularly in terms of the degree of urbanisation and distance to a border. Secondly, we reflect on the potential and limitations of institutional mapping based on KEEP data. Specifically, we explore the explanatory capacity of institutional mappings based on KEEP data and discuss the blind spots that must be considered and how these could be addressed. The general conclusion from our paper is that institutional mapping based on the KEEP DB proves to be a strong data exploration tool with potential for comparative analyses. However, it has clear limitations with regard to causality testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1992, culture has been an official competence of the European Union. De facto, the EU has the legitimacy and means to intervene and change collective representations and social dynamics, including in border regions, in order to bring people together and build a Europe 'united in diversity'. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the cross-border dynamics in cultural matters, and to examine the realization of cultural projects as a driving force in the process of cross-border integration. The approach is based on a spatial analysis of the cultural projects co-financed by Interreg over the 2000–2020 period, enabling to provide an overview of the cross-border cultural initiatives undertaken. The results reveal first that strong spatial disparities exist between programming spaces in terms of cultural investment. Second, that cross-border cultural cooperation mainly involves municipalities, and not primarily cultural actors. Third, although a diverse range of cultural projects have been developed over the last twenty years, the emphasis has been more on tourism projects. These achievements bring into question the role of Interreg programming in cultural matters in the dynamics of cross-border integration, since it fosters an economic approach to culture at the expense of social and identity issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of globalization, the transformation of production methods has triggered a restructuring of scales, resulting in the emergence of a new spatial phenomenon known as cross-border regions. Previous studies have focused on the coordination of cross-border regions, often concentrating solely on either spatial or governance aspects, and lacking a comprehensive exploration of the underlying mechanisms linking space and governance. This study examines the evolution of cross-border governance using the Tokyo Bay Area as a case study, taking into account the dual characteristics of space and governance. The findings of this research indicate a certain correlation between spatial evolution and governance mechanisms during different stages of development in the Tokyo Bay Area. Over time, the spatial configuration of the port cluster has undergone significant changes, while the governance mechanisms of the cross-border region have transitioned from informal to formal approaches. Additionally, the study summarizes both diachronic and synchronic characteristics, confirming the effectiveness of the space governance and providing an analysis of its underlying mechanisms. These findings provide valuable insights for promoting the modernization of national governance systems and governance capabilities.

The process of European integration has tended to diminish the significance of borders within the EU. In that respect, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in spring 2020 was all the greater: 35 years after the signing of the Schengen Agreement, checks and closures suddenly reappeared at many former border crossing points; long queues at crossing points, families and friends cut off from each other, and complex individual fates descended like a pall on European societies. At the same time, the advanced state of integration of borderlands became apparent - a striking example being the SaarLorLux region across the common borders of Germany, France, and Luxembourg. The article inquires into the political response to the impact of the Corona crisis across this border region. The analysis shows that on many levels SaarLorLux is perceived as a tightly meshed integration area in which functional exchange is normal, and that a corresponding ideational shock was felt at all political levels when border controls were reintroduced. However, the situation also had positive effects in terms of cross-border cooperation. Many political actors see the institutionalization of cross-border integration as having grown in the pandemic and are unanimous in wanting future developments in this respect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under global economic competition, rescaling has become an important cross-border governance means to control the development of domestic space to attract capital flows and foster regional economic development momentum. City integration is a kind of urban regional scale, and its mechanism of cross-border governance has gradually become an important regional integration issue. At present, research on cross-border governance from the perspective of rescaling focuses on urban areas represented by urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas and new functional areas represented by state-level new areas, with limited research on the scale of city integration at the meso level. The discussion on the role and status of corresponding governance subjects, construction mechanisms, and incentive mechanisms needs to be enriched. In this paper, the evolution of cross-border governance is discussed from the perspective of rescaling, taking Guangfo city integration, which is relatively mature in the process of domestic city integration, as an example. The study finds that, taking the introduction of the outline of the reform and development plan for the Pearl River Delta region in 2008 and the outline of the development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in 2019 as the target, the city integration process of Guangfo has experienced two stages of rescaling: from the governance scale of an "administrative area" to that of a "functional area" represented by the pilot zone for the high-quality development integration of Guangfo. By comparing and analyzing the cross-border governance mechanisms of city integration across different scales, this study finds that the city integration governance stage of the "functional area" scale, first, enriches the participation of multiple governance subjects, extending from "city-district-town" multi-level government to the functional platform management committee and platform joint venture company. Second, on the basis of the project implementation mechanism led by municipal departments, the construction mechanism strengthens the planning, construction, and operation mechanisms guided by functional areas and, taking the whole cycle as the concept, increases emphasis on integrated planning, construction, and operation. Third, the incentive mechanism has shifted from the driving of political instructions and economic benefits to the striving for policy and the sharing of institutional dividend. Both "administrative area" and "functional area" are the positive scales restructuring strategy of Guangfo to deal with the global competitive environment and respond to the requirements of national strategy. The two-stage cross-border governance mechanism is neither beneficial nor harmful, but is a choice to adapt to the different development stages of city integration. The governance mechanism of the "functional area" scale can be regarded as the experience retention and gradual reform of Guangfo's original governance mechanism, to improve the governance efficiency of the city integration and competitiveness. Guangfo's practice of using rescaling to promote cross-border governance reform and deepening in the last ten years can provide a certain reference for cross-border governance in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and other metropolitan areas in China. However, it should be pointed out that at present, the rescaling of the pilot area is more reflected in spatial planning and cooperation agreements, and has failed to produce a spatial governance subject that is fully integrated with the new scale. In addition, the deeper benefit sharing and risk responsibility sharing mechanism still needs to be strengthened.

The People's Republic of China has been actively promoting its governance styles abroad. In Central Asia, these programs have increased rapidly both in terms of their frequency and scope. This paper documents 59 in-China training programs for Central Asian officials from 2007 to 2020, the majority of which concerned security management and involved Chinese technology and equipment transfers. It is evident that Central Asian governments are adopting surveillance practices that are based on Chinese security ideology. As Central Asian states absorb these governance models, a new set of security and human rights issues is emerging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water governance is organizations' directive capability to interpret the priorities in public policy, while water management is finding the best way of implementing those priorities. The aim here is to explain what enables and what blocks trust between binational actors participating in the cross-border water governance between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego, United States. The methodological strategy is based on a review of bi-national actions and semi-structured interviews with thirty-one actors on both sides of the border. The study's main finding is that trust develops based on shared ethics, demonstrated by the cooperation between equals, while it is restricted by the actors' different styles of socialization. The author recommends fostering trust through professionalization of water authorities dealing with binational issues to avoid a high turn-over of personal and the loss of lessons learned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

States around the world have evolved with the evolution of global markets opening their doors so as to consider such sovereign entities as competitors, to say the very least. Sharply mobile private capital entails that such capital shops in thy neighbor's market instead when offered the right incentives. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have been developed around the world as a government tool to attract private capital and achieve an array of benefits from job creation to value-added to the state's economy. In exchange for such delicate capital, countries offer packages of fiscal incentives to foreign investors like tax breaks. And consequently, as such, not only do states compete against each other, but so do entire regions, to attract an inflow of private capital. The situation could gently be described as a race to the bottom by providing the utmost incentives with the least demands from foreign investors. Labor and environmental standards may be overseen and justified by cheap labor that a state's SEZ may offer. And with the resources required of a country to set up such SEZs and market them to facilitate trade and investment, what is to guarantee these zones are actually feasible anyway. This study looks into the core components of SEZs in terms of their main elements and challenges they confront. A look at what institutional frameworks are required to bring SEZs to success is a major discussion and brings in law and development approaches to different schemes. Deliberating SEZs concludes by displaying regional examples of SEZs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in places like Dubai, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia's extravagant new megacity NEOM, where outcries for economic diversification away from oil revenues are at the forefront. SEZs have been brought up by these regional state governments as a means of experimenting to achieve sustainable economies. This meant that some of these SEZs have adopted completely foreign ideas such as applying common law to replace their long history of civil law systems influenced by Islamic legal principles, fiqh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Food & Machinery is the property of Food & Machinery Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Under global economic competition, rescaling has become an important cross-border governance means to control the development of domestic space to attract capital flows and foster regional economic development momentum. City integration is a kind of urban regional scale, and its mechanism of cross-border governance has gradually become an important regional integration issue. At present, research on cross-border governance from the perspective of rescaling focuses on urban areas represented by urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas and new functional areas represented by state-level new areas, with limited research on the scale of city integration at the meso level. The discussion on the role and status of corresponding governance subjects, construction mechanisms, and incentive mechanisms needs to be enriched. In this paper, the evolution of cross-border governance is discussed from the perspective of rescaling, taking Guangfo city integration, which is relatively mature in the process of domestic city integration, as an example. The study finds that, taking the introduction of the outline of the reform and development plan for the Pearl River Delta region in 2008 and the outline of the development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in 2019 as the target, the city integration process of Guangfo has experienced two stages of rescaling: from the governance scale of an "administrative area" to that of a "functional area" represented by the pilot zone for the high-quality development integration of Guangfo. By comparing and analyzing the cross-border governance mechanisms of city integration across different scales, this study finds that the city integration governance stage of the "functional area" scale, first, enriches the participation of multiple governance subjects, extending from "city-district-town" multi-level government to the functional platform management committee and platform joint venture company. Second, on the basis of the project implementation mechanism led by municipal departments, the construction mechanism strengthens the planning, construction, and operation mechanisms guided by functional areas and, taking the whole cycle as the concept, increases emphasis on integrated planning, construction, and operation. Third, the incentive mechanism has shifted from the driving of political instructions and economic benefits to the striving for policy and the sharing of institutional dividend. Both "administrative area" and "functional area" are the positive scales restructuring strategy of Guangfo to deal with the global competitive environment and respond to the requirements of national strategy. The two-stage cross-border governance mechanism is neither beneficial nor harmful, but is a choice to adapt to the different development stages of city integration. The governance mechanism of the "functional area" scale can be regarded as the experience retention and gradual reform of Guangfo's original governance mechanism, to improve the governance efficiency of the city integration and competitiveness. Guangfo's practice of using rescaling to promote cross-border governance reform and deepening in the last ten years can provide a certain reference for cross-border governance in the Guangdong-Hong Kong- Macao Greater Bay Area and other metropolitan areas in China. However, it should be pointed out that at present, the rescaling of the pilot area is more reflected in spatial planning and cooperation agreements, and has failed to produce a spatial governance subject that is fully integrated with the new scale. In addition, the deeper benefit sharing and risk responsibility sharing mechanism still needs to be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

English abstract: This article addresses the importance of understanding the ethical values that underpin cross-border cooperation (CBC). This is done by elaborating a theoretical framework that focuses on the ethical dimension of CBC. A clear distinction is drawn between an ethical and a normative dimension of CBC. The article argues that European CBC policies lack a defined conceptualization of ethical, humanistic, and value-laden bases. By considering three ethical values—rootedness, empathy, and justice—underpinning European governance, this research finds that the operationalization of these values helps to overcome a consumeristic approach, according to which people are passive consumers of CBC. The analysis shows why and how the operationalization of these key ethical values develops a cross-border community where people feel responsible for the territory perceived as a "common good." Spanish abstract: Este artículo aborda la importancia de comprender los valores éticos que sustentan las actividades de cooperación transfronteriza (CBC) mediante un marco teórico centrado en explorar la dimensión ética de CBC. Una distinción clara plantea la dimensión ética de la CBC frente a la normativa. El punto ciego de las políticas de CBC europeas yace en la ausencia de una conceptualización definida de las bases éticas y humanísticas. Los valores éticos de arraigo, empatía y justicia sustentan las actividades de CBC, y su operacionalización ayuda a superar la aproximación consumista. El análisis muestra por qué y cómo la operacionalización de estos valores éticos contribuye a desarrollar una comunidad transfronteriza en la que las personas se sientan responsables del territorio percibido como un "bien común". English abstract: This article addresses the importance of understanding the ethical values that underpin cross-border cooperation (CBC). This is done by elaborating a theoretical framework that focuses on the ethical dimension of CBC. A clear distinction is drawn between an ethical and a normative dimension of CBC. The article argues that European CBC policies lack a defined conceptualization of ethical, humanistic, and value-laden bases. By considering three ethical values—rootedness, empathy, and justice—underpinning European governance, this research finds that the operationalization of these values helps to overcome a consumeristic approach, according to which people are passive consumers of CBC. The analysis shows why and how the operationalization of these key ethical values develops a cross-border community where people feel responsible for the territory perceived as a "common good." Spanish abstract: Este artículo aborda la importancia de comprender los valores éticos que sustentan las actividades de cooperación transfronteriza (CBC) mediante un marco teórico centrado en explorar la dimensión ética de CBC. Una distinción clara plantea la dimensión ética de la CBC frente a la normativa. El punto ciego de las políticas de CBC europeas yace en la ausencia de una conceptualización definida de las bases éticas y humanísticas. Los valores éticos de arraigo, empatía y justicia sustentan las actividades de CBC, y su operacionalización ayuda a superar la aproximación consumista. El análisis muestra por qué y cómo la operacionalización de estos valores éticos contribuye a desarrollar una comunidad transfronteriza en la que las personas se sientan responsables del territorio percibido como un "bien común". French abstract: Pourquoi est-il important de mieux comprendre les valeurs qui sous-tendent les activités de coopération transfrontalière? Cet article aborde cette question à partir d'un cadre théorique centré sur l'exploration de la dimension éthique de la coopération transfrontalière en la distinguant de la dimension normative. Il soutient que la faiblesse des politiques européennes de coopération transfrontalière ne réside pas dans l'absence "normative", mais dans le manque d'une conceptualisation précise de ses bases éthiques et humanistes. En considérant trois valeurs - l'enracinement, l'empathie et la justice - qui sous-tendent les activités de coopération transfrontalière, cette étude conclut que leur opérationnalisation aide à surmonter une approche consumériste de la coopération transfrontalière, selon laquelle les gens sont des consommateurs passifs. L'analyse montre pourquoi et comment l'opérationnalisation de ces trois valeurs contribue à développer une communauté transfrontalière dans laquelle les personnes se sentent responsables du territoire transfrontalier perçu comme un "bien commun". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) are a legal instrument intended to facilitate institutional cross-border cooperation. Launched in 2006, EGTC creation was particularly swift in East Central Europe, albeit with significant variation between different border regions. The article adopts an organizational ecology perspective to explain this variation and argues that the level of organizational density inside a cross-border ecological niche is crucial for EGTC creation. The analysis draws on policy documents and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders from four border areas in East Central Europe. It finds that lower levels of organizational density in unitary states constitute a favourable organizational environment for EGTC creation. However, rather than enhancing autonomous decision-making in the border region, we find evidence that unitary state support for EGTC creation reflects a political strategy to centralize control over cross-border cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-border strategies have been flourishing over the last few decades in Europe, mostly in a favourable context where European funding is available and legal instruments are well-developed. However, one may wonder which objectives are really targeted within this very broad and imprecise notion of cross-border strategy. The purpose of this paper is, first, to provide a theoretical framework in order to better understand the different meanings of the notion of cross-border integration and to provide a more critical perspective on its effects. Secondly, it analyses the policy content of the cross-border territorial strategy developed within the Greater Region before, in the final section, pointing out the difficulties faced by policy-makers during its elaboration. This final section is based on the insights brought both by the regional stakeholders interviewed and by our expertise as moderators and scientific advisors within the working group in charge of the realisation of the cross-border territorial strategy. The main finding of our analysis is that the consensus that has been reached by all the stakeholders is the “smallest common denominator”; that is to say, the least constraining.

The paper analyses cross-border co-operation with regard to its degree of formalization. Herewith, the focus is not on single cross-border organizations, but on the encompassing governance systems in the respective regions. That means that the specific combination of differently organized cross-border arrangements is analyzed. Cross-border governance systems are facing multiple governance challenges which ask either for a certain degree of institutionalization or for more informal solutions. Based on an empirical comparison of the two experienced, but differently organized, cross-border regions in Europe the Lake Constance Region and the Upper-Rhine Region, the paper illustrates that the organizational variation of cross-border governance systems show specific patterns. From these findings, first arguments are deduced for balancing formalized and more informal co-operations in cross-border governance systems.

Since 2010 and the launch of the METROBORDER project, funded by ESPON, Luxembourg and the neighbouring regions in Belgium, France and Germany have pursued the objective of creating a cross-border polycentric metropolitan region. In order to achieve this goal, the political actors have decided to elaborate a cross-border territorial strategy to bring more coherence and cohesion to a cross-border region characterized by its strong functional integration, due to the very high number of cross-border commuters. This paper reflects the approach that we have followed, as external advisors, to animate the debate between the stakeholders and to provide evidence for the decision-making process. Its objective is to examine the content of this cross-border territorial strategy and to question whether such a strategy between four countries is at all possible, efficient and able to answer to challenges of cross-border integration. An analytical framework has been designed, taking into consideration different approaches of cross-border integration, in order to examine, in a critical way, the content of the cross-border strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores the conditions under which local and regional governments will establish and sustain cross-border co-operation in the fields of police, fire fighting and emergency health services. It argues that understanding this type of cross-border co-operation requires a focus on the way in which professionals define and apply their professional standards in cross-border contexts. Moreover, it requires a focus on individual organizations and professionals working in them, rather than ‘government’ or ‘the state’ as a whole, since cross-border co-operation in these areas typically develops as a result of disparate and unconnected initiatives taken by governmental actors in a given border region. Based on four studies of cross-border co-operation in Dutch border regions, we argue that differences in legal, organizational and cultural backgrounds between the participating countries can be and are overcome by street-level professionals and their organizations, who act as ‘regionauts’ in exploring opportunities for cross-border co-operation. In this type of ‘bottom-up’ cross-border co-operation, motivation among participants is the key to establishing co-operation, and solutions to differences between work routines will be developed along the way. As a result, the establishment of cross-border co-operation often is an experimental, pragmatic enterprise, which is greatly affected by local intra- and inter-organizational dynamics. This opens the potential for pragmatic, flexible and creative solutions. Yet, at the same time it also runs the risk of producing unaccountable cross-border arrangements that are insufficiently embedded in legal and professional safeguards against error and abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Northeastern University (Social Science) / Dongbei Daxue Xuebao (Shehui Kexue Ban) is the property of Dongbei Daxue and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Metropolitan regions have become one of the most appropriate scales to define efficient governance networks for economic and territorial development. The state still is the key actor of these partnerships. Yet the question remains whether cross-border metropolitan regions represent a new point of reference that puts state power in question or whether they only reorganize it. The centrality of state power will be examined by looking at two networks of actors (public transport and territorial marketing) working at the Eurometropolis Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai. The results reveal that a triple-faceted state power has emerged to define and organize cross-border metropolitan management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the relatively free and frequent flow of traffic across international boundaries is an essential foundation of cross-border regions, cross-border public transit systems are the ultimate symbols of metropolitan integration. This paper investigates the governance of the cross-border transit system in Eurometropolis of Lille- Kortrijk- Tournai between France and Belgium. It relies on a qualitative analysis of actors and institutions as well as social network analysis to more precisely fix the positions and roles of actors on either side of the border. The new cross-border institution, the EGTC agency, is a central actor in public transit policy networks and its function is more complex than the institutional analysis implies. Evaluating these roles in evolving cross-border public transit policy enables an assessment of the effectiveness of this new governance institution and the challenges faced by general-purpose cross-border governance structures in affecting policy areas in which political authority is fragmented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Inner Scandinavia is one of the Swedish-Norwegian INTERREG-A three sub-programmes, and has been working in operationalizing cross-border projects in the border area since 1994. To date, several cross-border strategies have been implemented, one for each programming period of the INTERREG-A programme. This article investigates whether these strategies can be regarded as a type of cross-border planning mechanism in promoting territorial development of the border region. It does so by developing a typology, which captures the essentials of spatial planning, against the background of which the article also analyses Inner Scandinavia governance structures, which involves a whole set of interconnected territorial partnerships between five border counties: Hedmark, Østfold, Akershus (Norway), Värmland and Dalarna (Sweden). Here, the main goal is to see if the Inner Scandinavia governance structure, which was recently altered by the inclusion of the Hedmark-Dalarna cross-border committee, also known as TRUST, is favourable to the implementation of a genuine and long-term cross-border spatial plan, with the ultimate goal of reducing the barrier effect and improving the territorial capital along the cross-border region. Project dokuments and interviews indicate that the existing cross-border governance model in Inner Scandinavia, led by the INTERREG-A Steering Committee, produced substantial progresses in reducing the barrier effect, in all its dimensions, and in supporting the territorial development across the border area. Consequently, the role of other cross-border governance structures should be confined to promoting the active involvement and mobilization of local and regional actors in the cross-border cooperation process, and in implementing several cross-border projects with local/regional significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to firstly develop a brief review of the creation and functioning of the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC), highlighting the role of the EGTC in respect of its contribution to the harmonious development of the whole European Union through the strengthening of economic, social and territorial cohesion. The article highlights recent changes in EU legislation governing the EGTC and analyses the infl uence that there is in choosing the State where a Gro uping will be located, and the applicable law. Subsequently, the article outlines the contribution of those EGTCs - constituted by municipalities in Romania and Hungary - to regional sustainable development. Utilising a cross-border EGTC is a way of promoting of better neighbourliness, and stimulating balanced economic development and social stability by harnessing local resources and regional joint projects. At the end of the article I stress the need for cross-border cooperation between Romania and Hungary in developing services of general economic interest, as well as transport infrastructure and tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on learning from existing cross-border governance arrangements with a view to strengthening and improving climate change adaptation within the Australian context. Using an institutional learning framework, the research offers a critical analysis of two Australian cross-border cases: (1) the Murray-Darling Basin, and (2) the Australian Alps. The research findings focus on the issues ofgeographic(place),administrative(space) andpolitical(territory) fragmentation as key concepts that underpin integrated environmental planning and management in practice. There are significant implications for climate change adaptation in evolving cross-border regions at scale that this paper highlights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last 20 years, the number of cross-border cooperation structures in Europe has exploded owing to political and financial support by the European Union aimed at encouraging cohesion and developing peripheral regions. These policies are part of processes of de-bordering and political rescaling that have profoundly affected cross-border areas by creating new institutional territories and political structures. The purpose of this paper is to study the institutional history of cross-border metropolitan governance in Europe through the comparison of two of the most advanced cross-border metropolitan regions: Lille and Luxembourg. This paper asks how these cross-border structures have developed and changed. What can their patterns of institutional evolution contribute to understanding governance in other cross-border regions? Are these new spaces evidence of political rescaling? This paper presents and redefines cross-border governance as a cyclical and a long-term process and also explores the challenges that these partnerships face in becoming functionally effective and autonomous policy actors. Ultimately, we find that there is no replicable ideal of cross-border governance and that even long-standing partnerships are in a period of exploration and reinvention. Establishing a competitive and coherent cross-border metropolitan region is ambitious and complex, and it necessitates the coordination of policies at multiple scales and across institutionally diverse territories. This project requires the modification and/or construction of new institutional and legal frameworks. This reorientation of political attention has resulted in a reconceptualization of political space but not the empowerment of new political actors, indicating that the process of rescaling may be a work in progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A federal pilot project will explore the role played by economically strong border regions in interaction with European metropolitan and urban regions. Jointly with partners from the Maas-Rhine Euroregion, (SaarLorLux+) Euroregion, Trinational Upper Rhine metropolitan area and Lake Constance region, the regional policy of the federal government is aimed at establishing the particular importance of cross-border metropolitan areas for growth and innovation, as well as for the European target of territorial cohesion, within regional policy discussions in Germany and Europe. Testing the strategic approach of “supra-regional partnerships” in a cross-border context, is one significant aspect. The interests of the partners involved in the project are furthermore focussed on the regions themselves. This means, the project is dedicated to promote a coherent regional development, as well as effective cooperation structures across national borders. The project finally pursues the creation of an initiative in the form of an open alliance of cross-border metropolitan regions, in order to more effectively represent the interests of border regions on a national and European level. The article explores the genesis, objectives and approach of this pilot project against the background provided by current debates on sustainable spatial development in Germany and Europe.

Establishing Euroregions as cross-border institutions in neighbouring regions of different states is an effective form of trans-border multitude activity and requires appropriate coordination of joint efforts. While the level of integration differs from one cross-border region to another, the organisational sets and the creation of Euroregional institutions stay the key aspect of forthcoming political, economic, cultural common policy for all of them. The case of Carpathian Euroregion which face the need to become a "bridge structure" and to intensify cross-border dialogue, shows that institutional development has to promote the elimination of barriers between bordering areas, to foster cross-border cooperation and, with this aim, to establish opportunities for political actors of different authority levels to affect decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Relaciones Internacionales, Estrategia y Seguridad is the property of Revista de Relaciones Internacionales, Estrategia y Seguridad and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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Different forms of regional politics and network-type coordination are present within European cross-border initiatives. The purpose of the article is to study the changing organizational configurations of interregional governance in the context of the Helsinki-Tallinn Euregio (HTE), and how these new forms of coordination influence cross-border institutional capacity and policy outcomes. The basic empirical material consists of official public documents and eight semi-structured theme interviews conducted with the key actors of the HTE in june-July 2004. 'Governance capacity' is used here as a theoretical tool to understand and interpret the reorganization process of cross-border governance. The case-study about the HTE shows the possibility that governance may be practised through dynamic social networks and partly shifting territorial configurations according to interregional interests. The HTE agency creates a flexible intervention frame for the cross-border governance capacity to support regional competitiveness through the policy instruments of the European Union. There are already some results, but several challenges remain for the HTE to create additional scale effects between the Helsinki and Tallinn regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-border regional enlargement entails complex dynamics. The integration process at the maritime border between Sweden and Denmark illustrates this. Physical infrastructure has been improved by national governments and intranational and supranational institutions have added to the instrumentation as a precondition for social interaction and integration. The outcome of these efforts is here tested under a hypothesis that in spite of this forceful cocktail of policy instruments, the cross-border regionalization process is at best a long-run phenomenon in the Øresund Region. The point of departure is the stepwise procedure for the formation of binational cities suggested in Ehlers (2001, GeoJournal 54: 21-32). Social interaction is identified as the pivotal factor in the present state of integration of the Øresund Region using Bucken-Knapp (2001, GeoJournal 54: 51-60). A benchmarking method is proposed for testing social interaction in the labour market, where cross-border dynamics are benchmarked against national dynamics. The cross-border regional enlargement process is still in its very infancy and a continued focus on policies to promote cross-border social interaction is required. The present governance without government approach to cross-border cooperation in the Øresund Region is in that respect challenged by a reform of the Danish geo-administrative system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]