Borders, Identities and Representations

When Iron Curtain suddenly ceased to divide the European space, many political commentators hastened to announce the advent of a political space with no national borders. Schengen wiped away internal borders and a single European citizenship was granted by the Maastricht Treaty. The rapid integration of Central and Eastern European countries into the EU gave Europe the image of a continent that has overcome its internal divisions. Yet, this apparent evanescence of national borders has been accompanied by a surprising increase in supranational and sub-national efforts to "make border." New territorial claims by the regions, immigration controls, the setting of Frontex have contributed to the resurgence of the “border” theme in the European space. This section proposes to host panels that question the revival of border practices and bordering processes in Europe. The goal is to analyze from an interdisciplinary perspective contemporary changes of national borders and their implications on people living on these fault lines. It welcomes contributions dealing with, but not limited to, the following themes: the redefinition of the relationship between state, territory and sovereignty; the process of identity construction "at the border;” the political representation of European citizens "beyond borders;" representations of historical borders. BIOGRAPHIES Magdalena Dembinska is associate professor in Political Science, University of Montreal (postdoc McGill; PhD 2007 UdeM; MA Warsaw U). Her research focuses on identity politics and conflict, nationalism and diversity, in Eurasia and Central Europe. She has published Vivre ensemble dans la diversité culturelle with Presses universitaires de Rennes (2012). Her work appeared in Nations and Nationalism, Federal and Regional Studies, Ethnopolitics, Nationalities Papers, European and Regional Studies, Canadian Journal of Political Science, Études internationales, Comparative Political Studies, East European Politics and Societies, and in several edited volumes. Ramona Coman (PhD 2008 ULB; MA IEE-ULB; BA U of Bucharest) is Lecturer in Political Science at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) where she teaches policy-making in the European Union and politics and society in Central and Eastern Europe. Her research focuses on Europeanization, European/legal integration and judicial reforms. She has published Réformer la justice dans un pays post communiste. Le cas de la Roumanie (Editions de l’Université de Bruxelles 2009). She co-edited Europeanization and European Integration. From incremental to structural change (2014, Palgrave). She published in Journal of European Integration, Europe-Asia Studies, Perspectives on European Politics and Society, Politique européenne, Revue française de science politique, etc.