Jean Monnet Network 2020-2023

Borders, Human-to-Military Security Database

Overview

The ongoing migration crisis in Europe and North America is the worst humanitarian crisis since the Second World War. It is forcing Europeans and Canadians to face past and future issues; and the decisions they are taking will have long-standing impact on values (and integration) in the Union and in Canada. Our fundamental assumptions are that in the face of current events the European Union policy answers are leading the way worldwide, and need to be documented, researched and studied comparatively, and also brought to classrooms, and that such work requires a sustained dialogue between the academic world and policy-makers across the networks of our partners in EU cross-border regions. Our networks’ hypotheses are that responses to this crisis are shaping Europe’s internal and peripheral border policies, that from the perspectives of a human-to-military security policies continuum they impact and reshape European integration efforts, and value frameworks, and they have to be studied in comparative perspective and context to illustrate emerging policy complexities.

Our network partners (Universities in Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, North Ireland, Poland, and two non-governmental organisations, the Association of European Border Region (AEBR) and Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière (MOT)) are bringing together tremendous expertise to research, study and compare, and train students. Our core activities focus on building multiple data-sets, and indexes, on the internal and external borders/dyads to contrast and compare human to military security policies in the EU and Canada.

Activities

This Jean Monnet Network studies borders along the continuum of human-to-military security issues in the pan European Union context and compares these with Canada. All borders in the EU and its periphery are included, broken down into individual state-state segments, or dyads.

Our concrete objectives are:  
(1) To develop a database of EU internal and peripheral border dyads, along a continuum of policies concerning human security and state security, so that systematic comparison of all EU border region is possible with Canada (and by extension the rest of the world).
(2) To engage graduate students and younger researchers and professors among all nine policy and research partners of the network
(3) To create a new open-access course that will address how EU security policy has adapted with regard to borders and human mobility both within the union and across its frontiers.

Online

Launch Workshop

The network met virtually to officially launch the network partnership and to discuss the development of potential database indicators.

Strasbourg, France

Workshop #2

The network is scheduled to meet in-person in November 2021 to discuss the status and progress of the network.

Location TBD

Final Conference

Our final conference will take place in late 2023. More information to come.

Team

This network is housed at the University of Victoria and led by Dr. Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly.

The Canadian team includes Dr. Helga Kristin Hallgrimsdottir, Benjamin Perrier, Maria Finnsdottir, Kasra Ghorbaninejad, Stephanie Gruhlke, and a team of research assistants.

The European team includes Gulya Ocskay (Central European Service for Cross-Border Initiatives (CESCI), Hungary), Martin Guillermo Ramirez (Association of European Border Regions (AEBR), Berlin), Birte Wassenberg (University of Strasbourg, France), Katy Hayward (Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland), Jean Peyrony (Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière (MOT), France), Hynek Böhm (University of Opole, Poland), Bernard Reitel (University of Artois, France), Gregory Hamez (University of Lorraine, France), and Joachim Beck (University of Kehl, Germany).

Additional Resources

Building a Database Series

Introduction 1

This video provides a general overview of the network including an introduction to our goals, fundamental assumptions, hypothesis, and projects outcomes and impact.

Building a Database Series

Introduction 2

This video provides a deeper dive into our methodology and database, as well as a discussion about dyadic research more generally.

Building a Database Series

Introduction 3

This video includes a presentation on the MySQL database format and background on our database consecution.

Building a Database Series

Preparing Datasets

This video discusses how to find, source, organize, and prepare data for the database.

Building a Database Series

Relational Databases

This video explains what a relational database is and defines terms such as variable, indicator, database, and database.

Building a Database Series

Inputting Data

This video outlines our standards for data and goes over the dos and don’ts of inputting data.

Project Funders