1200 | 983 | Place-based cross-border cooperation in the Basque rural area: the case of Xareta Sin Fronteras/Mugarik Gabe | Alexander Amado Acedo, JUAN MANUEL TRILLO SANTAMARÍA
Cross-border cooperation in the European Union has played a key role in overcoming the barrier effect related to nation-state borders and has opened up new ways for the institutionalisation of innovative projects in cross-border contexts. Since the 1980s, the establishment of territorial cooperation policies and programmes has enabled European border areas to change their dynamics, shaping new spaces of functional, economic, social or cultural integration. Thus, cross-border governance has been a key instrument for managing common problems and challenges. In this regard, this research focuses on the analysis of the cross-border initiative “Xareta Sin Fronteras/Mugarik Gabe”, made up of four municipalities located at the Western end of the Pyrenees: Ainhoa and Sara, to the north of the Spanish-French border, and Urdax and Zugarramurdi, to the South, respectively in the historical territories of Lapurdi and Nafarroa. This geographical context is part of the Basque territorial area, located on both sides of the border: Northern Basque Country (Iparralde) and Southern Basque Country (Hegoalde). “Xareta Sin Fronteras/Mugarik Gabe” argues that, due to family links prior to its formation, this area has maintained strong cultural ties, regardless of border delimitations. In this way, thanks to European cooperation programmes, a cross-border living area has been shaped, focused on a common culture, identity and even mythology. Based on semi-structured interviews with the local population and the representatives of the initiative, the aim is to reflect on the elements that motivate the development of this cross-border experience on a local scale. In this way, the research will allow us to discuss the relevance of the existence of a previous cultural identity ―Basque, in this case― in the shaping of a structure of this type.
Alexander Amado Acedo, JUAN MANUEL TRILLO SANTAMARÍA
ID Abstract: 983