DISCOVER THE PROJECT

Open Borders

Cold War Europe Beyond Borders. A Transnational History of Cross-Border Practices in the Alps-Adriatic area from World War II to the present

DISCOVER THE PROJECT

Open Borders

Cold War Europe Beyond Borders. A Transnational History of CrossBorder Practices in the Alps-Adriatic area from World War II to the present

This project aims to rethink the history of Cold War Europe by examining the development of transnational cross-border cooperation from the end of World War II to the present. Overcoming traditional narratives of a clear-cut European separation symbolised by the Berlin Wall, a decentralised analysis of recent European history will show us that the question of a divided continent should be reframed. The final objective is to challenge a dichotomous vision of two separate Europes, “East” and “West”, from a new, border perspective.

A highly qualified team of senior and junior scholars under the guidance of Borut Klabjan focuses on the Alps-Adriatic region, a historical area that is now shared by Austria, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. During the Cold War it was divided among socialist but non-aligned Yugoslavia, capitalist but neutral Austria, and NATO and EEC member Italy. Its development from the “southern end” of the Iron Curtain in 1946 to the “most open border” during the Cold War and a precursor to present-day Schengen Europe, represents a paradigmatic case to study an alternative attitude towards borders, frontiers and boundaries.

Reconsidering the European past from this transnational angle, both in terms of geographic and methodological perspectives, will allow us to rediscover the human face of European integration and will offer us a new platform for contemporary discussions on sovereignty, territoriality and belonging and on the future role of borders in Europe and in the world.

Post-war food market in Trieste – Author: Slavko Smolej – Kept at the Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia (FS2274_16_OB)

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