ABSTRACT
The early 1990s saw a surge of anticipation and hope as borders within Eastern Europe and between East and West began to open. After almost 50 years, people saw opportunities for renewed political, economic, and cultural ties. The increasing flow of goods, capital, ideas, and people across political boundaries in Europe promised to reduce physical and cognitive distances. Increased permeability of European borders, stimulated by globalization processes, offered a bright hope for constructing and reaffirming national and cultural identity. At the same time, in the course of this process of (re)construction, challenges to identity have arisen within and between the European nation-states themselves, driven not only by internal cultural and political dynamics but also by processes of globalization.
