ABSTRACT
Cooperation among police forces has a long history. Depending on how policing is defined, it can be traced back to the imperial days of Greece and Rome. The era of modern policing2 emerged simultaneously with and as a crucial structure of the modern nation state, which became the primary unit of identity, loyalty and sovereignty in Europe at the beginning of the nineteenth century (for France) and later (for Germany or Italy). The notion of borders as immutable obstacles to policing seemed quaint, since borders were fluid, imprecise and shifted continuously (Poland being the best example) as empires expanded and collapsed (e.g., the Austro-Hungarian empire which bestrode the center of Europe, or the Ottoman Empire whose political control over the southern Balkans collapsed following defeat in World War I). Sovereignty and the legal monopoly of the legitimate use of force within their borders were not yet entrenched as one of the defining traits of the state.3 At the same time, security agencies working in border regions continued to cooperate, often in disregard of national policies and laws, a practice which still exists. Border regions, which had as much salience as foci of allegiance and identity to local inhabitants as did states (vide the Saarland or Alsace-Lorraine), continued to span the emerging borders. As well, internationally supported interventions in the affairs of other states by foreign police contingents have been a common practice, beginning in the late nineteenth century with international police forces sent to guard the Suez Canal or provide security in Crete.4
