On the Value of a Transatlantic Dialogue on Border Research

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 question 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.