CALL FOR PAPERS: Borders and Border Regions in Times of Change: Integration, Re-Bordering and Territorial Development
Guest Editors: Andrzej Jakubowski, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (andrzej.jakubowski@mail.umcs.pl), Dominika Studzińska, University of Gdańsk, Sylwia Dołzbłasz, University of Wrocław, Małgorzata Leśniak-Johann, University of Wrocław
Borders have re-emerged as a key concern in European territorial debates. Over the past decade, processes of integration have increasingly coexisted with selective re-bordering, crisis-driven closures and renewed geopolitical tensions. Migration pressures, pandemics, war, security concerns and climate-related challenges have reshaped the institutional, political and socio-economic context in which borders operate. Rather than signalling a simple disruption or reversal of integration, these developments point to a broader transformation of borders and their territorial implications across Europe.
At the same time, these developments coexist with (and in some cases even stimulate) the deepening of functional cross-border integration, manifested in persistent mobility flows, cross-border labour markets, service provision and infrastructural interdependencies. This highlights the complex and non-linear nature of contemporary bordering processes, in which integration and re-bordering unfold simultaneously and unevenly in European space.
International border and regional studies literature has increasingly conceptualised borders as processes, highlighting bordering, de-bordering and re-bordering as ongoing, multi-scalar dynamics embedded in governance structures, everyday practices and policy frameworks (Paasi, 2011; Sohn, 2014). Research has also shown that cross-border cooperation and functional integration are highly sensitive to institutional design, actor networks and regional asymmetries, with important implications for territorial development outcomes (Dołzbłasz, 2018).
In this context, border regions emerge not only as spaces exposed to uncertainty, but also as strategic territorial interfaces where European integration, national policies and local development priorities interact. Borders operate simultaneously as barriers, filters, connectors and resources, producing differentiated development trajectories and new governance challenges, while sustaining long-term functional linkages across state boundaries and underscoring their strategic importance for territorial cohesion, resilience, stability and policy innovation.
This Thematic Issue of Europa XXI invites contributions examining how integration, re-bordering and territorial development interact in border regions under conditions of change. The focus is on border regions as dynamic territorial systems shaped by evolving border regimes, multi-level governance arrangements and functional interdependencies, rather than as static peripheral zones.
The Thematic Issue builds on the long-standing profile of Europa XXI as a journal devoted to the territorial dimension of socio-economic and political processes in Europe. Previous issues have addressed interactions and networks at the European Union’s internal and external borders (2010), new challenges for European cross-border and transboundary cooperation (2021), and inter-regional linkages and territorial challenges in Europe (2022), emphasising both policy relevance and empirical grounding (Jakubowski & Miszczuk, 2021; Komornicki, 2021; Więckowski, 2021). Recent contributions, however, have demonstrated how external shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the geopolitical rupture on the EU’s eastern borders, further reshape cross-border interaction, accessibility and regional resilience (Hippe et al., 2022; Studzińska, 2023). These findings highlight the open-ended and evolving nature of border-related processes, suggesting that existing evidence remains partial and context-dependent and that further comparative and systematic research is required.
Against this background, the Thematic Issue seeks theoretically informed, empirically grounded and methodologically diversified contributions. We welcome qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods studies addressing internal and external EU borders, as well as comparative and multi-scalar perspectives linking local border dynamics with European and global processes.
Key research questions
The Thematic Issue seeks to address, among others, the following overarching questions:
• How do changing border regimes reshape territorial development trajectories in European border regions?
• What forms of integration persist or emerge under conditions of selective de- and re-bordering?
• How do crises affect the durability and effectiveness of cross-border governance arrangements and cross-border cooperation?
• To what extent do current policy instruments adequately address the specific challenges of border regions?
• How can border regions contribute to territorial cohesion, resilience and sustainable development in Europe?
Suggested topics (not limited to)
Contributions may address, among others, the following themes:
• Integration, re-bordering and territorial development in European border regions
• Changing border regimes and their spatial and policy implications
• Cross-border cooperation: continuity, disruption and institutional adaptation
• Governance, networks and actors in border regions
• Border-regional resilience in times of crisis and uncertainty
• Border regions on the EU’s eastern flank and other geopolitically exposed borderlands
• Measuring integration, border permeability and cross-border interaction
• Mobility, accessibility and border effects
• Transport, connectivity and sustainable transitions in border regions
• Border regions, inequality and territorial cohesion.
Submission procedure and timeline
This Call for Papers follows a two-stage submission process:
Deadline for abstract submission: 15 February 2026
Extended abstracts (300-400 words mail to andrzej.jakubowski@mail.umcs.pl or Europa.XXI@twarda.pan.pl) should outline the research question, conceptual framework, data and methodology, and expected contribution.
Notification for full paper invitation: 28 February 2026
Deadline for paper submission: 31 August 2026
All manuscripts will undergo the standard double-blind peer-review process of Europa XXI. Submissions must comply with the journal’s author guidelines. Authors should clearly indicate that their submission is intended for the Thematic Issue “Borders and Border Regions in Times of Change: Integration, Re-Bordering and Territorial Development.”
References:
Dołzbłasz, S. (2018). A network approach to transborder cooperation studies as exemplified by Poland’s eastern border. Geographia Polonica, 91(1), 63–76. https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.0091
Hippe, S., Bertram, D., & Chilla, T. (2022). The COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst for cross-border cooperation? Lessons learnt for border-regional resilience. Europa XXI, 43, 29–50. https://doi.org/10.7163/Eu21.2022.43.1
Jakubowski, A., & Miszczuk, A. (2021). New approach towards border regions in the Territorial Agenda 2030. Europa XXI, 40, 11–25. https://doi.org/10.7163/Eu21.2021.40.1
Komornicki, T. (2021). Editorial: New challenges for European cross-border and transboundary cooperation. Europa XXI, 40, 5–9. https://doi.org/10.7163/Eu21.2021.40.8
Paasi, A. (2011). A Border Theory: An Unattainable Dream or a Realistic Aim for Border Scholars? The Routledge Research Companion to Border Studies. London: Routledge.
Sohn, C. (2014). The Border as a Resource in the Global Urban Space: A Contribution to the Cross-Border Metropolis Hypothesis. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 38(5), 1697–1711. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.12071
Studzińska, D. (2023). Borderlands in times of crisis: The possibility of de-marginalisation of the Polish border zone with Russia after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Moravian Geographical Reports, 31(3), 120–128. https://doi.org/10.2478/mgr-2023-0011
Więckowski, M. (2021). Sustainable transport for border areas in the European Union. Europa XXI, 40, 127–136. https://doi.org/10.7.7163/Eu21.2021.40.9