The impact of rebordering on cross-border cooperation. A social semiotic approach to borders' symbolic meaning

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a global increase in travel bans and several intra-Schengen borders have been closed outright for many weeks or even months. Following Brexit and the migration and asylum crisis of 2015–16, these border closures represent another signal of the resurgence of national borders in the political agendas of European states. In addition to the difficult practical consequences for everyday life, the rebordering dynamics call into question the future development of cross-border regions, with important social, economic and political implications. Against this background, the overall goal of the BOMIOTICS project is to assess the extent to which the hardening of the intra-Schengen border regime is challenging the significance of supposedly open borders for cross-border cooperation (CBC) and cross-border region-building. More specifically, it will involve analyzing how rebordering affects the ways in which borders are mobilized as meaning-making signs or symbols by local CBC actors for the political and discursive construction of cross-border urban agglomerations. The premise underlying this project is that the significance of national borders does not merely diminish with CBC and regional integration. As the role of borders changes, their transformation is accompanied by a process of “symbolic recoding” intended to give them new meanings. Provided they are recoded accordingly, borders may play an important role in the formation of regional identities and the legitimization of cross-border territorial projects. Hence, to understand the extent to which rebordering is likely to modify the role and meaning of borders in CBC initiatives, it is necessary first of all to look at the way in which borders are used by local actors as means for meaning-making. Two main symbolization strategies aimed at “recoding borders” have been identified: the invisibilization of the border as a symbol of “borderlessness” and the valorization of the border as a symbolic resource for promoting the connectivity of the cross-border area, its economic attractiveness, or political and territorial recognition. Given the research issue to be addressed, theories of social semiotics that pay attention to the way actors use signs and symbols to create meaning and communicate it in specific situations will be mobilized. Four specific objectives required to meet the goal of the project are defined: (1) elaborating a conceptual framework informed by social semiotics and adapted to the case of border symbolism; (2) analyzing borders’ symbolization strategies at work based on case studies; (3) examining more specifically the material form of borders in space and the political implications of their visibility or invisibility; (4) assessing the impact of rebordering dynamics on CBC discourses and border symbolism. The empirical analysis will focus on four cross-border urban agglomerations that constitute emblematic cases of crossborder regionalism in Europe: the Alzette-Belval European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation along the French- Luxembourg border, the European Twin City Frankfurt (Oder)-Słubice at the German-Polish border, the Trinational Eurodistrict Basel at the triple point between Switzerland, France and Germany, and Greater Geneva along the French- Swiss border. The investigation of the symbolization strategies at work in these “laboratories of integration” will rely on discourse analysis focusing on CBC actors’ narratives and the images they use. This multimodal approach will consider different methods of expressing ideas, concepts, or beliefs; thereby representing an innovative and substantial contribution to a better understanding of the symbolic role of borders in the shaping of regional imaginaries, the political construction of cross-border spaces, and the capacity of CBC projects to face the challenges posed by rebordering.