The European Union, borders and conflict transformation: the case of Cyprus

Much of the existing literature on the European Union (EU), conflict transformation and border dynamics has been premised on the assumption that the nature of the border determines EU intervention and the consequences that flow from this in terms of EU impact. The article aims to transcend this literature through assessing how domestic interpretations influence EU border transformation in conflict situations, taking Cyprus as a case study. Moreover, the objective is to fuse the literature on EU bordering impact and perceptions of the EU’s normative projection in conflict resolution. Pursuing this line of inquiry is an attempt to depart from the notion of borders being constructed solely by unidirectional EU logics of engagement or bordering practices to a conceptualization of the border as co-constituted space, where the interpretations of the EU’s normative projections by conflict parties, and the strategies that they pursue, can determine the relative openness of the EU border

What is the Other of Europe?

Peer reviewe

Mediating the European Ideal: Cross-Border Programmes and Conflict Resolution on the Island of Ireland

This article assesses the conditions, context and consequences of the European Union's role in conflict transformation through cross-border activity on the island of Ireland via analysis of interviews with individuals directly involved in EU-facilitated cross-border programmes, as 'mediators' of the European ideal of cross-border co-operation as a means to peace-building. Copyright (c) 2007 The Author(s); Journal compilation (c) 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.