ABSTRACT

In the last decade, research on national borders has moved from being on the IULQJHVRIWKHVRFLDOVFLHQFHVWREHLQJRQHRIWKHPRVWLQVLJKWIXO¿HOGVRIUHVHDUFK pertaining to what might be the most consequential development at the end of the WZHQWLHWKDQG WKHEHJLQQLQJRI WKH WZHQW\¿UVWFHQWXULHV WKHGLVVLSDWLRQRI WKH nation state. While large-scale processes of globalization, as well as the global mobility of people, goods and capital, have been at the centre of discussion for decades, smaller-scale developments like everyday cross-border mobility have been comparatively neglected. As most people spend much of their time in close SUR[LPLW\WRWKHLUSODFHRIUHVLGHQFH(OOHJDUGDQG9LOKHOPVRQHYHU\GD\ transnational mobility can best be analysed in a context where it is not necessarily connected with longer travel time: in border regions. 0RUH VSHFL¿FDOO\ WKLV FKDSWHU DLPV DW GHYHORSLQJ DEHWWHU XQGHUVWDQGLQJRI

everyday cross-border mobility in the context of European border regions, where ERUGHUFRQWUROVZHUHDEROLVKHGLQWKHVDQGZKHUHJHQHUDOFXOWXUDOSUR[LPLW\ DQG VWURQJ HFRQRPLF LQWHUDFWLRQ OHDG XV WR H[SHFW DQ HPHUJHQFH RI ¿UPO\ established routines of everyday cross-border mobility. Empirical studies over the last decade and more show that those expectations have not yet been realized. While most researchers consider this a surprise and a research object worthy of DWWHQWLRQWKLVFKDSWHUZLOOSURYLGHDGL൵HUHQWDSSURDFKRXWOLQLQJDURXWLQHEDVHG model of everyday mobility in border regions that considers cross-border µLPPRELOLW\¶WRDFWXDOO\EHWKHGHIDXOW7KH¿UVWVHFWLRQDUJXHVWKDWORFDOHYHU\GD\ cross-border mobility is, at best, loosely connected to global processes of WUDQVQDWLRQDOL]DWLRQ DQG DOVR TXLWH XQD൵HFWHG E\ SROLWLFDO DQG DGPLQLVWUDWLYH attempts to establish cross-border regions. The second and the third sections then outline two theoretical concepts – routines and space – that provide the foundation of the routine-based model of everyday mobility in border regions presented in VHFWLRQ IRXU6HFWLRQ¿YH LOOXVWUDWHV WKHXVHIXOQHVVRI WKLVPRGHOE\ ORRNLQJDW routines of recreation in two German border regions.