Border Metamorphoses: Integration – Discontinuities – Transformations

German-French-Luxembourgish doctoral programme

A new German-French-Luxembourg-oriented doctoral programme funded by the Franco-German University (DFH/UFA) will be launched in 2027. “Border Metamorphoses: Integration – Ruptures – Transformations” is situated within the multidisciplinary field of “Border Studies” and brings together researchers from geography and contemporary history, as well as law, politics, cultural studies, and linguistics. The programme examines complex transformation processes at the intersection of diverse expertise and methodologies in order to understand both the cooperative and unifying as well as the crisis-ridden and disruptive dynamics of borders and border regions. Due to their geographical proximity, researchers from the Upper Rhine region, the Greater Region and the French-Belgian border region are coming together. 

The universities and researchers involved in the project are:

• Prof. Dr. Florian Weber, Prof. Dr. Dominik Brodowski, Prof. Dr. Astrid Fellner,  Prof. Dr. Claudia Polzin-Haumann & Prof. Dr. Georg Wenzelburger, Universität des Saarlandes

• Prof. Dr. Birte Wassenberg, Université de Strasbourg

• Prof. Dr. Michael Frey, Hochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung Kehl

• Prof. Dr. Grégory Hamez, Université de Lorraine

• Prof. Dr.  Bernard Reitel, Université d’Artois

• Prof. Dr. Machteld Venken, Prof. Dr. Birte Nienaber & Prof. Dr. Christian Wille, Universität Luxemburg

Close cooperation between partner institutions in the Upper Rhine region, the Greater Region, and the Franco-Belgian border area gives rise to an innovative research network linking different ‘border experiences’. An inter- and transdisciplinary approach combines various academic perspectives and methods to better contextualise complex transformation processes in border regions. The doctoral programme thus contributes to a better understanding of current transformation processes in Europe, whilst also developing new theoretical and methodological approaches for Border Studies.

Research topic of the doctoral programme

Following the emergence of the first research on borders – including their respective trajectories, shifts, political jurisdictions, linguistic practices, etc. –, a multi- and interdisciplinary field of research has become institutionalised in Europe, particularly from the 1990s onwards: Border Studies. This development was driven by far-reaching upheavals in the European and global context brought about by the fall of the Iron Curtain and subsequent shifts in borders and trends in globalisation. In Europe, this was further compounded by the realisation of the single market and the Schengen Area, which led to the increasingly vocal articulation of the idea of a ‘Europe without borders’, characterised by freedom of movement and mobility, and the creation of a common space of coexistence and European citizenship. The current significance of border regions in the European Union is illustrated by a few figures, which are rooted in the steps towards European integration taken since the Second World War: around 40 per cent of EU territory consists of border regions, more than a third of EU residents live in border regions, and just under two million cross-border workers commute across national borders to work. However, recent developments point to a renaissance of borders, manifested in isolationist policies, reinforced border fortifications, and the extensive digitalisation of border regimes. These developments are calling into question the familiar geopolitical orders, power alliances, and forms of coexistence of the late 20^th century. Examples of these developments include the 9/11 terrorist attacks after the turn of the millennium, climate migration, the so-called refugee crisis, the ongoing securitisation of the EU’s external borders, the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.

In light of the changing significance of borders, and influenced by epistemological shifts in the social and cultural sciences, a constructivist approach to borders has become prevalent in Border Studies. It moves beyond the idea of rigid borders, focusing instead on bordering processes. This enables research to adopt a process-oriented approach to borders embedded in broader social contexts. Research designs tailored to this approach allow us to consider borders from spatial and social perspectives, and to examine border regions in particular – with their diverse interconnections across national borders – in a nuanced manner. 

Focus of the doctoral programme

In addition to geography and contemporary history, researchers from the fields of political science, law, cultural studies and linguistics, among others, also involved in Border Studies. Although these fields are networked globally (e.g. the Association for Borderlands Studies) or across borders (e.g. the UniGR Centre for Border Studies), this does not apply in a structured manner to their doctoral candidates. The doctoral programme “Border Metamorphoses: Integration – Ruptures – Transformations” aims to bridge this gap, enabling early-career researchers to network across disciplines through structured exchange. Taking the aforementioned disciplines as its starting point, the doctoral programme uses their methodological diversity to conceptualise and practically map out a complex mosaic of processes affecting borders and border regions, and to analyse them systematically. Accordingly, the programme focuses on upheavals in the wake of post-war European transformations, in which negotiations over borders played – and continue to play – a decisive role. The European integration process that took place was long regarded as a success story due to the development of cross-border institutionalisations such as Eurodistricts and formalised structures such as European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTCs). Irregular migration, terrorism, the Covid-19 pandemic and a wide range of other crises, including populist tendencies and a shift to the right in Europe – the so-called ‘polycrisis’ – have once again highlighted the kinds of disconnections that can occur in the 21^st century.

In this context, analyses of current events would benefit from historical contextualisation, allowing crises to be understood as the norm and as a source of productive momentum whilst also recognising their destructive potential.

• What border metamorphoses have occurred and are occuring? 

• What (dis)integrating transformations have taken place and are taking place? 

Multi-perspective, conceptual and methodological approaches are intended to guide the doctoral programme, from which the participating doctoral candidates can benefit by decentring their own perspectives. By working together in a multidisciplinary network, it thus becomes possible to understand (boundary) shifts in a complex world in a (more) nuanced way and to address them (more) systematically.

Workshops

During the first four years of the doctoral programme (2027–2030), various workshops will be held at the participating partner universities on topics including the following:

• The processual nature of borders

• Border Studies and the history of European integration

• Space and time: border temporalities 

• Continuity and disruption in border regions 

• Border crises and transformations 

• Resilience of cross-border interlinked spaces

• Border (dis)orders 

• The complexities and multivalence of borders

This provides early-career researchers with the opportunity to network and further their training in an international and multilingual research environment. Alongside to specialist lectures and panel discussions, the workshops provide participants with the opportunity to present their doctoral research topics, seek peer feedback, and engage in open discussions. In doing so, contacts are established with stakeholders from politics, administration, culture and civil society, linking academic perspectives with social practice. Following the workshops, joint publications in the form of an edited volume are planned. 

DFH-funded stay abroad

In addition to participating in the workshops, the doctoral programme enables students to spend a period abroad at one of the programme’s partner universities, funded by the Franco-German University.