Cross-Border Regionalism in European Integration Strategies: A Conceptual Dimension

Abstract

At the turn of the millennium, the issues of borders and border territories that arose as a result of the reinterpretation of the place and role of national states and supranational entities became the focus of social analysis. Scientific attention to cross-border strategies of European integration processes is determined both by a new vision of the phenomenon of regionalism and the characteristic features of territorial identities. The relevance of the study of crossborder regionalism lies in the awareness of the increasing specific weight of territoriality in the modern world system and the need to find algorithms to answer the challenges of our time, which are marked by “binding to the territory”. The purpose of the article is the theoretical and methodological study of models and concepts of cross-border cooperation, which are formed under the influence of interconnected processes of globalization and regionalization within the European space. The current conditions of functioning of countries in the context of cross-border cooperation necessitate the substantiation of conceptual approaches to uncovering the essence of the cross-border region as a methodological construct. The application of geopolitical and geohistorical methodology determines the representation of the essential characteristics of cross-border regionalism as well as the determination of the role and place of border regions in European integration strategies. As a result of the study, it was proven that the effectiveness of cross-border cooperation depends on the extent, to which the historical traditions, mentality and social attitudes of the population of the border areas are taken into account in the process of creating Euroregions. It has been found that the minimization of risks caused by the long-term development of societies within various state organizations directly depend on the degree of scientific understanding of the specifics, potential and opportunities of cross-border regions, as well as the variability of value orientations and behavioral stereotypes. It was determined that the “transparency” of borders is a powerful resource for the balanced development of states, increasing the role of cross-border dynamics in the sphere of economy, culture, and ecology. The practical significance of the study is determined by the representation of spatial trends in the coordination of European integration strategies, the development of regional identity, and the decentralization of decision-making. Increasing scientific knowledge about cross-border regionalism will help to better understand the role and place of Ukraine in the modern world and bring it closer to entering the European political space