OLD AND NEW IDENTITIES IN THE UPPER ADRIATIC: IS A CROSS-BORDER KIND OF CITIZENSHIP EMERGING IN CROSS-BORDER REGIONS?
OLD AND NEW IDENTITIES IN THE UPPER ADRIATIC: IS A CROSS-BORDER KIND OF CITIZENSHIP EMERGING IN CROSS-BORDER REGIONS?

Summary/Abstract: The 1990s have witnessed a strong debate around the emergence of a new kind of citizenship in Europe. This paper analyses the ways in which identity and citizenship are being reshaped in cross border areas following the implementation of EU CBC programmes and civil society mobilization, with reference to the Upper Adriatic area. First, it offers a brief theoretical background on citizenship. Second, it investigates how different crossborder grassroot stakeholders relate to each other in the process of implementing CBC projects, and through their interaction construct new meanings, interests, and values and revisit their identities. It concludes by arguing that the constant interaction between societal and political cross/border actors at the local/elite level is leading to greater mutual understanding, long-term transnational initiatives and an increasing emphasis on shared interests and values.

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