Towards a Trans-border Identity in the Upper Rhine Area? Regional Cohesion in the Grip of the Nation-State.

How should we discuss trans-border identities across the Franco- German- Swiss border area? Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, this article aims to establish a conceptual framework in order to apprehend and study border regions. Focusing on the Franco- German- Swiss border area usually designated as the 'Upper Rhine', the article seeks to show how actors' strategies - mainly those of institutional agents - articulate with, complement, or contradict the habitus (i.e. the practices and materialities of everyday life), giving rise to a diverse set of identity constructions and sketching a more or less precise contour of this region, and of border territories in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]