Geografie 2020, 125, 243-269
Cross-border cooperation in the triangle Euroregions Nisa and Šumava from the perspective of mayors and mayoresses
, Daniel Kný2, Karel B. Müller2, Kamil Fleissner2
1Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Social Geography and Regional Development, Prague, Czechia
2University of Economics, Faculty of International Relations, Department of Political Science, Prague, Czechia
Received May 2019
Accepted January 2020
The aim of the research article is to present opinions of mayors and mayoress from Euroregions Neisse/Nisa/Nysa and Šumava/Bayerischer Wald-Unterer Inn/Mühlviertel, who are important local agents of cross-border cooperation. We want to determine whether and to what extent a positive perception of borders and crossborder cooperation, as well as a positive experience with cross-border activities, contribute to the process of horizontal (active border) Europeanization and development of complementary and inclusive collective identities. We collected responses to our questionnaire from 79 mayors. Collected data were described statistically, but also analyzed with the use of crosstabulation and cluster analysis. Four specific clusters of mayors were identified in relation to the transformation of their identity and their attachment to the EU. Such transformation represents an idiosyncratic reflexive outcome of their experience with and their perception of cross-border cooperation.
Funding
This work was supported by GA ČR, project No. 17-03881S (Active Border as a Source of the Europeanization. The Case of the Trilateral Euroregions).
