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The binational city Eurode : The social legitimacy of a border-crossing town

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Titre

The binational city Eurode : The social legitimacy of a border-crossing town

Sujet

region, border, binational, European Union, urban culture, inhabitants, economy, local authorities, governance, urban society

Description

This dissertation is about a project conducted in two neighbouring municipalities, Kerkrade and Herzogenrath, both situated on the Dutch-German border. The project’s goal was to become a
single border-crossing municipality which was to be called Eurode. The main point of research
interest was, to determine to what extent the inhabitants of both towns accepted and supported these plans. The reason why we are so interested in researching this is that the integration in border regions and towns is often considered to be a test-case in European integration. Since the social and democratic legitimacy of the European Union is a much discussed topic, the legitimation of the cooperation and even integration in border regions and towns could give an insight into the public support for the European integration. Although much scientific interest has been shown concerning the identity construction of those living on the border, and the extent of cross-border economic interactions, the aspect of how legitimate such cross-border constructs are, has received far less attention. Furthermore, in the border regions it is often asserted that the spirit of cooperation and integration across borders cannot be found in those living in these border regions. However, this has not been translated into quantitative investigations regarding public support for cross-border cooperation.

This dissertation aims to give a first onset for this. It serves to mainly document this major project in cross-border-place making and (social) legitimation. The materials have been collected, organised and categorised in order to give a ‘thick description’ of the case Eurode. The story of Eurode will resemble to a great extent a historical reconstruction, for Eurode cannot be understood without considering its historical background. We will first look at an analysis of the measures taken by the local authorities of both towns to construct Eurode and to strengthen public support. After that, we will view a survey which shows the actual support lent by the inhabitants of both towns. This detailed focus, on both the construction and the reconstruction of a border-crossing municipality, adds a new dimension to the current research into borders, and in particular to the research on border regions and towns. Furthermore, the results of this survey do not only give evidence of how socially legitimate Eurode is today, but it also provides a perspective for future prospects.

Créateur

Ehlers, Gertrude Andrea Nicole

Éditeur

Shaker

Date

2007

Contributeur

Ernste, H. Promotor

Langue

en

Type

Thesis

Identifiant

http://repository.ubn.ru.nl/handle/2066/30926
http://lallier.msh-vdl.fr/theses/items/show/907
http://lallier.msh-vdl.fr/theses/archive/files/9525323d10abaa83aeafc3206112fb2d.jpg