Bordering Practices in the EU’s Eastern Borderland/s. Conceptualizing Space (and Community) within and without Europe

Practices of re-bordering, de-bordering, and othering are inherently complex phenomena which, in the context of the EU’s Eastern borderlands, manifest in particularly intricate and multifaceted ways. They therefore raise a range of critical questions and call for a multidisciplinary analytical approach. By adopting a borderlands perspective, it is possible to highlight the dynamics through which this internally diverse area has moved from being a “‘grey zone’”, caught between opposing bordering and de-bordering practices, to a “frontline zone”, where new dividing lines are progressively crystallizing. The special issue brings together contributions that explore, from different perspectives and theoretical traditions, the relationships between borders and space, borders and identity, and borders and mobility, adopting predominantly a perspective from the region.