ABSTRACT
There has been an increasing awareness of the importance of the external dimension of EU policy generally and, more importantly considering the context for this book, in relation to territorial governance in particular. The changing nature of borders in times of globalization, an issue already put forward by Haselsberger and Benneworth in this volume (Chapter 10), suggests how it has become crucial to look at the wider European and global context and try to learn from experiences beyond the external EU border. Similarly, while discussing different types of peripheries, Kunzmann (2008) emphasizes the importance of the EU understanding its external dimensions. This external dimension of EU territorial governance provides the focus for this final part of the book which examines one of these external dimensions, namely the eastern external border of the EU and, more specifically, the border with the Russian Federation. The inclusion of this part of the book is premised on the editors’ belief that any discussion of the complex cross-scalar and multi-jurisdictional policy environment of planning in the EU-27 would be incomplete without a consideration of the new border with the Russian Federation and former Soviet republics. Part 4 therefore seeks to provide some initial insights into the complexities of the Russian dimension in relation to cooperation on spatial development issues and the production and sharing of knowledge that can influence policy development and practice on both sides of this external border.
