Neighbourhood across a divide? : borderland communities and EU enlargement

This collection of eight case studies presents a broad picture of some immediate and long-term effects of EU enlargement for local communities on both sides of a new external Union frontier. The rupture of cross-border economic and sociocultural ties is cited most frequently by local governments, businesses and associations in the context of the introduction of Schengen acquis restrictions. The research of the Institute of Public Affairs and six other Central and East European independent policy centres has produced a number of common conclusions on the nature of the new border. The wealth of direct quotes from border residents, extensive background notes and the rigorous methodological framework of humanistic sociology make this an indispensable reading for researchers and policy-makers on the situation of the new borderlands on the eve of accession.