ABSTRACT
To many social scientists and other scholars the ‘new Europe’ of which we hear more and more is that of the metamorphosing European Union (EU), but this particular manifestation of an altered Europe cannot and should not be isolated from other sometimes complementary, sometimes competing, ‘new Europes’. These include the democratising states of post-Soviet Eurasia, the globalizing Europe of youth, consumer and popular cultures, the Europe of transnational corporations, communications and services; and the Europe of transformations in ethnic, regional and national identities, in which national minorities, migrants and refugees must adapt to a variety of new institutions and cultures in order to survive. One thing all of these new Europes have in common is their attention to new and old borders and frontiers. To some critics international borders in Europe are declining in importance and strength, while to others they persist in their roles as markers of state power and national identity. It is our belief that there is no better place to approach and understand the pressing problems of sovereignty, citizenship, cultural adaptation and changing identities in Europe than at international borders.
