The Approach of Contemporary History to Border Studies in Europe

Inhaltstext: „In Europe, Border Studies is a relatively new research field for Contemporary History. It has been explored since the 1990s by historians mainly in connection with Area Studies and the History of European Integration. It therefore finds itself at the intersection between International Relations and European Studies. This contribution will assess how Contemporary Historians in Europe interpret Border Studies. It will show that, contrary to international scholars who approach Border Studies generally via Global History, they are dealing with this field either by individual case studies on the border in cross-border regions (Area Studies) or as a sub-section of research on the process of European Integration. It will also argue that, when historians are ready to take open up to new research methodologies and take on a multi-disciplinary and multi-scale perspective, they can largely contribute to Border Studies by means of a long-term, historically context-based approach to borders and borderlands.“