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- Dissemination, Communication and Exploitation Plan:
This document describes how we plan to spread our results in the scientific community (dissemination), to the general public and political stakeholders (communication) and how the results can be used commercially (exploitation).
- Study report on borders as factors shaping borderlanders’ perceptions of Europe and the European project:
This document presents the state of the art of research relevant to B-SHAPES’ research question to outline a consistent theoretical framework guiding the research activities undertaken in B-SHAPES. It is argued in the project that narratives play a crucial role in shaping these perceptions, influencing not only people’s beliefs and attitudes but also policymaking.
- Progress report on borderlanders’ perception of Europe discussing theoretical concepts, outlining the need for further empirical research:
This document outlines the main theoretical approaches and research findings to identify gaps and provide a solid basis for the empirical analysis of the B-SHAPES project. It is argued that living in borderlands and being exposed to 'others' shapes the way residents imagine and internalize Europe. However, following the constructivist conceptualisation of borders, which are not only located at territorial edges but are also created in discourses, narratives, and practices, we argue that borderlanders' perceptions of Europe are influenced not only by everyday life in border regions, but also by macro-narratives of polycrisis and the ways in which people on the move, securitisation policies and (in)securities are categorised and framed. Thus, the report focuses on three crucial events that may influence public perceptions and the European imaginary: the 'migration crisis', re-bordering trends related to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the European elections of May 2024.
- Border discourses in minority language media:
This report presents the results of a media analysis of narratives of borders and Europe in selected minority language newspapers during the so-called migration crisis of autumn 2015 and the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. It demonstrates that national minorities in borderlands were specifically sensitive about border controls and border closures implemented during this time, but also that the picture was different in the different border regions taken up for analysis.
5. Report on the results of the media analysis (pending approval by the commission):
This report compiles the main results of the analysis of narratives in regional news media in four European border regions: the Danish-Swedish, Franco-German, Polish-German-Czech, and Slovak-Hungarian border regions. Utilising a narrative analytical framework, the case studies explore how media narratives shape perceptions of borders, European integration, and cross-border cooperation within the context of significant events like the Covid-19 pandemic or the migration crisis.
6. Report Re-evaluating the nature of Euroscepticism in border regions: Narratives of Europe in a European election year (pending approval by the commission):
In this report, we present a narrative analysis of our original politician interview and citizen focus group data to investigate how borders are featured and narrated in European election campaigns, and how border region residents respond to border narratives in the broader frame of their perceptions of the European project. We use ‘structured narrative analysis’, whereby we seek out recurring narratives about borders. In this, we include both master narratives that were identified a priori, and narratives that emerge spontaneously from the bottom up.
7. Report: Minority Youth and Their Perceptions of Borders and the EU (pending approval by the commission):
This report explores how young people from national minority communities in European border regions perceive borders, Europe, and the European Union (EU). It draws on five case studies—South Tyrol (Italy–Austria), Zaolzie/Tešin Silesia (Poland–Czechia), North and South Schleswig (Denmark–Germany), Southern Slovakia (Hungary–Slovakia), and Western Thrace (Greece–Bulgaria–Türkiye)—to provide bottom-up insights into everyday experiences of borders and European integration.