Martin van der Velde

Cross-Border Differences and Unfamiliarity: Shopping Mobility in the Dutch-German Rhine-Waal Euroregion

Many international differences can be experienced in shopping spaces on both sides of a national border. Other languages, unfamiliar goods and unknown spatial codes are only a few of the physical-functional and socio-cultural differences that could cause exciting and stimulating situations but could also be perceived as problematic and deterring. This paper analyses perceptions, motivations and practices of cross-border (non-)shoppers and provides insights into ways in which people from cross-border regions deal with differences and the extent to which they interact across borders. The aim is to both theoretically and empirically substantiate the dynamic concept of (un)familiarity by scrutinizing the impact of “push”, “pull”, “keep” and “repel” factors on shopping (im)mobility in the Dutch-German Rhine-Waal Euroregion. These factors are seen as rooted in dynamic processes of constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing differences between places on both sides of the border. In so doing, attention is paid to changing shopping practices and motivations and influencing changing perceptions of international differences. As such, the paper also discusses “familiarization processes” in cross-border regions. The concluding section provides critical reflections on the current European policy approach towards cross-border regional development. In fact, the paper ends with a plea for more instead of less borders, as borders are markers of international differences which could promote cross-border mobility.

Cross-Border Mobility, Unfamiliarity and Development Policy in Europe

In this special issue, we seek to explore experiences, performances and effects of both “unfamiliarity” and “familiarity” across a diversity of inner and outer borders of the European Union. In EU integration discourse, cross-border unfamiliarity is usually considered to obstruct international mobility and diminish opportunities for cross-border cohesion and communities to develop. European development policy, therefore, often focuses on creating mutual understanding in border regions, especially through diminishing the barrier effect of borders. One of the consequences is that more cross-border familiarity is created. However, too much familiarity may also have undermining implications for cross-border mobility, integration and community-building. This special issue, therefore, scrutinizes what “being” and “feeling” (un)familiar imply in cross-border contexts and what consequences both have for spatial practices in and representations of borderlanders in several Euroregions—as well as for European regional development policies aiming for cross-border mobility, integration and community-building.

Consumer Mobility and the Communication of Difference: Reflecting on Cross-Border Shopping Practices and Experiences in the Dutch-German Borderland

Abstract The current debate on consumption and retailing represents shoppers as highly mobile and looking for different experiences. In an attempt to find satisfaction, shoppers are assumed to explore many places and countries. It is in cross‐border regions that large functional, physical, and socio‐cultural differences can be experienced in a relatively small area. Such differences could make crossing national borders appealing as well as unappealing. This contribution scrutinizes what cross‐border shoppers are looking for and what level of “unfamiliarity” they are willing to accept. A brief analysis of cross‐border shopping practices in the EU is combined with a detailed case study of Millingen in the Netherlands and Kranenburg in Germany to explore what shoppers see as (un)appealing. We argue that the knowledge shoppers have of people and places on “the other side” and information that is communicated may (re)arrange differences as “ familiar” and “unfamiliar”. Places promising “ familiar unfamiliarity” seem to appeal to shoppers and therefore generate cross‐border shopping practices. Paradoxically, the construction of borders and the communication of appealing differences seem necessary to sustain and promote shopping mobility.

Drifting in a Global Space of Textile Flows: Apparel Bazaars in Poland's Łódź Region

This paper examines the influence of globalization and the circulation of money, goods and people on the functioning of post-socialist apparel bazaars in Polands Łódź region. The theoretical backbone of the study is presented first, followed by an introduction to the general phenomenon of the bazaar. The following sections then address the temporal, spatial and institutional contexts of the development of the Łódź regions textile industry, and how the more recent opportunities, constraints and threats of globalization have been perceived and maintained by key players at the PTAK Bazaar. We argue that local economic development, in which the bazaar plays a crucial role, is scale-dependent. No longer the subject of a topo-cratic, hierarchical policy as it was under the socialist regime, current performance is the result of both vertical and horizontal power geometries.

Socio-cultural proximity, daily life and shopping tourism in the Dutch–German border region

ABSTRACT This paper analyses feelings of socio-cultural proximity and distance with a specific focus on the tourist experience in cross-border shopping and everyday life practices in border regions. We examined shopping practices of Dutch border crossers who visit the German town Kleve in the Dutch–German border region. This particular border context has allowed us not only to reflect on a multidimensional approach towards socio-cultural proximity and distance, but also to examine how these different dimensions express themselves in the tourist experience when it comes to people and places that are geographically ‘close’ but assumingly socially and culturally ‘distant’ from home. Although some differences prompted feelings of discomfort, in particular, differences in social engagement, feelings of comfort stand out in our analysis of cross-border shopping tourism. Furthermore, our study shows that shopping tourism and exoticism, on the one hand, and everyday routines and the mundane, on the other hand, are closely intertwined in the lives of people living in a border region, resulting in a fluid interpretation of the exotic and the mundane in the cross-border context.

Borders for a New Europe: Between history and new challenges

In mid-2004, the European Union (EU) moved to a dramatic enlargement of its membership that significantly changed its character. The meaning of the enlargement evolved from several factors: adding 10 nation-state members to the 2004 membership of 15 for a total of 25 EU members; granting 80 million additional people citizenship in the EU and awarding them almost all of the rights of the previous 350 million; and advancing the EU’s outer borders eastward. In the process, the enlargement encompassed territories in Russia’s traditional sphere of influence and even approached the contemporary New East, the land of the Muslim faith. The enlargement brimmed with splendid opportunities, but it also implied knotty challenges and difficult problems. Positive potential and negative dilemma ranged from the political fundamentals of decision making to socio-cultural nuances of differing customs and traditions. At a fundamental, structural level, ten new semi-sovereign entities implied even more complexity in consensus building. The issue especially haunts the powerful European Council. It is the final decision-making body of the EU, and significantly, the repository of the national veto. The veto is granted to every one of the 25 semi-sovereign nation-states in the EU, including the likes of Cyprus, Latvia, Malta, et cetera. The aborted European Constitution anticipated the veto conundrum by extending the principle of Qualified Majority Voting to the EU’s Council of Ministers and even to the European Council. However, there is no new EU constitution almost two years after the enlargement of 2004 and the EU may not have a new constitution in the foreseeable future. The EU agonizes in a semi-official period of contemplation on the stalled constitution. At the other end of the spectrum of human affairs, more mundane, but equally intransigent, socio-cultural problems emerged or intensified with enlargement. Communicating in a host of new languages weighed upon the newly enlarged European Union. The European Parliament, for example, had to hire a passel of new interpreters and translators to deal with the esoterica of the likes of the Estonian and Hungarian languages, not to mention the several extrapolations of the Slavic tongue spoken in Central Europe.

The adoption of Thinking Through Geography Strategies and their impact on teaching geographical reasoning in Dutch secondary schools

The development of geographical reasoning is essential in geographical education. Strategies developed by the English Thinking Through Geography group (TTG) offer a promising approach to promote geographical reasoning. In the last decade, the TTG approach has become a regular element in geographical education in several countries. Research suggests that teachers acquainted with TTG do not always take full advantage of the possibilities of these strategies. The adoption of the TTG approach is explored ten years after its introduction in the Netherlands. Findings are presented of a survey conducted among Dutch geography teachers (N = 307) about the significance they assign to geographical reasoning and their use of TTG assignments. The results suggest that teachers use TTG selectively and adapt TTG assignments to fit them into existing practices and beliefs about students and teaching geography.

On the value of a transatlantic dialogue on border research

This essay addresses two central questions regarding border research in Europe and North America. The first concerns the evaluation of the extent to which this special issue contributes to a proper introduction of European studies to Journal of Borderlands Studies (JBS) readers. The second questions deals with the value added by a transatlantic dialogue to the future of border research. This special issue introduces European border studies and the border landscape in a proper and thorough way. It will certainly contribute to widening the scope of the JBS, which until now has been almost solely oriented toward the U.S.‐Mexican border. Ample opportunities are found for scholars on both sides of the Atlantic to benefit from one another, as there are marked and intriguing differences in their respective approaches.Abstract This essay addresses two central questions regarding border research in Europe and North America. The first concerns the evaluation of the extent to which this special issue contributes to a proper introduction of European studies to Journal of Borderlands Studies (JBS) readers. The second questions deals with the value added by a transatlantic dialogue to the future of border research. This special issue introduces European border studies and the border landscape in a proper and thorough way. It will certainly contribute to widening the scope of the JBS, which until now has been almost solely oriented toward the U.S.‐Mexican border. Ample opportunities are found for scholars on both sides of the Atlantic to benefit from one another, as there are marked and intriguing differences in their respective approaches.