Preliminary communication
Constructing “New” Boundary: Slovenia and Croatia
Simona Zavratnik-Zimic
Abstract
Newly established boundary between Croatia and Slovenia in 1991. considerably changed the functions of thus formed borderland. Previously local areas turned into national peripheries, while due to current European integration they're also becoming parts of extensive 'Schengen periphery' at the entrance to Europe. This article argues that new Slovene-Croatian boundary has been turning into one of the significant selective mechanisms in this part of the region. In addition, this boundary is an example of a non-border turning into an electronic and mental wall separating two different parts of Europe. In this perspective, the Schengen border can be disputed within the context of societies in transition, which found themselves at the Schengen periphery. This new image of Europe can be defined by at least three highly relevant emphases pertaining to post-modern boundaries, identity and mobility: 1. Construction of new type of borders (the shift from “stone to electronic walls”, from Berlin wall to 'e-borders'), 2. Schengen e-border as an instrument of identity borderlines, and 3. Issue of social mobility and its restrictions in global networking of societies.
Keywords
BOUNDARIES; SLOVENIA; CROATIA; SCHENGEN BORDER; EUROPEAN INTEGRATION; THE BALKANS; IDENTITY
Hrčak ID:
14498
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2003.
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