#18 BIG Podcast – “History of cross-border cooperation in Europe since 1945”

featuring Birte Wassenberg – Professor in Contemporary History at the University of Strasbourg, France

The border reflects a division of the world into territorialized state, juridical and political orders that are spatially separated by territorial delimitations. Cross-border cooperation connects local and sub-national authorities, on both sides and across borders. In fact, this phenomenon challenges both the monopoly of external relations of the State, and the nature of the juridical limit of borders for subnational actions. This object of study is extremely complex, because we have a lot of terminologies, actors, tools, contexts, challenges, trends… The historical angle is the basis of the intelligibility. We will understand better this vast constellation with historian Birte Wassenberg.

Birte Wassenberg is Professor in Contemporary History at Sciences Po at the University of Strasbourg and member of the Research Unit Entre d’études internationales et européennes (CEIE). She holds a Jean Monnet Chair, is director of the Jean Monnet network Borders in Motion (FRONTEM), deputy director of the Franco-German Jean-Monnet Center of Excellence and director of the Master in Border Studies, International Relations. From 1993 to 2006 she was responsible for cross-border cooperation at the Région Alsace. Her research fields are: border regions, Euro-scepticism and the history of European organizations, especially the Council of Europe. She is also a former student from the College of Europe, promotion Charles IV, (1992-1993).

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