De-and re-bordering the Alpine Space: how Cross-border Cooperation Intertwines Spatial and Institutional Patterns of Exclusion and Inclusion, Subordination and Horizontality

Abstract

ABSTRACT During the last years, scholars have broken up dichotomies that have shaped our understanding of cross-border cooperation. In geography, the confrontation between a territorial and a relational reading of space has given way to approaches that stress their dialogue. In political science, a struggle between a focus on government and governance has shifted towards a recognition of their coexistence. In this sense, cross-border networks no longer appear as antipodes to territorial borders, scalar relationships, sectoral differentiation and political hierarchies. Rather, they constitute and condition each other. While both geography and political science stress how connections mingle with patterns of exclusion and subordination, scholars rarely bring spatial and institutional accounts together. This paper aims at bridging the gap between spatial and institutional approaches of cross-border cooperation. With regard to theory, it embeds similarities in their ontological focus on structures and strategies in a strategic-relational approach. Empirically, the paper examines the EU macro-regional strategy for the Alpine space. The conclusions imply that the macro-regional strategy embodies a dynamic balance of spatial and institutional boundlessness and boundaries.