ABSTRACT
Framing cross-border dwellers 7KH 0DDVWULFKW 7UHDW\ ZKLFK LQWURGXFHG WKH VRFDOOHG µ&LWL]HQVKLS RI WKH (XURSHDQ8QLRQ¶DQGZDVVLJQHGLQWRJHWKHUZLWKWKH6FKHQJHQ$JUHHPHQWV DQG ZKLFK UHPRYHG QDWLRQDO ERUGHU FRQWUROV EHWZHHQ VLJQDWRU\ states, ensured European residents the right of free movement, settlement and employment in member states of the European Union. In spite of this freedom, it has been noted that persons, especially compared to goods and services, are UHODWLYHO\OHVVPRELOHYDQ+RXWXPDQGYDQGHU9HOGHYDQ+RXWXPDQGYDQ 1DHUVVHQ7KHERUGHUVZKLFKFRQWLQXHWRH[LVWDVQDWLRQDOSROLWLFDOVRFLDO cultural and economic demarcations, although admittedly to varying degrees, appear to continue to inhibit the movement of persons in a very real way. Even though the observation of limited movement is generally true, it does not apply as clearly to borderlands as it does to observations made on the national scale. Borderlands in Western Europe have shown relatively high levels of mobility historically, something that has increased after the Schengen Agreements and 0DDVWULFKW7UHDW\7KH\R൵HUXVWKHVLWHVZKHUHWKH(XURSHDQ8QLRQ¶VSROLWLFDO SXVK WRZDUGV LQWHJUDWLRQPRVW H[SOLFLWO\ D൵HFWV WKH HYHU\GD\ OLIH RI UHVLGHQWV +RZHYHUERUGHUODQGVGL൵HUJUHDWO\IURPRQHDQRWKHUDQGZKDWH[DFWO\WKHWHUP µERUGHUODQG¶GHVFULEHVUHPDLQVFRQWHQWLRXV+lNOLDQG.DSODQ
The particular role of the relative proximity of residents on either side of the border to those on the ‘other side’ has been frequently noted in border studies. As VXFKERUGHUODQGVKDYHEHHQGHVFULEHGDVµODERUDWRULHV¶YDQ+RXWXPS and even as complete conceptual alternatives to ‘borders’, since the notion of ERUGHUODQGV PRYHV DZD\ IURP D ¿[HG OLQH LQVWHDG HPSKDVLVLQJ DPELJXLW\ +DVVQHU,WLVH[DFWO\LQWKHVHVSDFHVZKLFKÀDQNQDWLRQDOGHPDUFDWLRQV that identities can be both dichotomised by heightened self/other distinctions and confrontations and problematized through shifting national boundaries, crossborder regional identities and more frequent mobility. Borderlands are, therefore, deeply heterogeneous and the economic and social relationships, the everyday practices and the perceptions and experiences that are shaped by the proximity to WKHERUGHU%DOLEDU5XPIRUGSOD\RXWLQGL൵HUHQWZD\VGHSHQGLQJ RQWKHFRQWH[WRIWKHSDUWLFXODUERUGHUDQGWKHVSHFL¿FERUGHUUHJLRQ7KHIROORZLQJ
chapter takes both this particularity of borderlands and the ambiguity of the role of the border within them as points of departure to explore how they manifest in the way in which the autochthonous population of villages in close vicinity of the border perceive their place, their home, to be changing, and how this change is related to borders and boundaries.
