EU‐Russia cross‐border cooperation in the 21 st century: turning marginality into competitive advantage

• Published in: Regional Science Policy & Practice
• Main Authors: Bobylev, Nikolai, Gadal, Sébastien, Kireyeu, Viktar, Sergunin, Alexander
• Other Authors: Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU), North-Eastern Federal University, Études des Structures, des Processus d’Adaptation et des Changements de l’Espace (ESPACE), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Avignon Université (AU)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA), Aix Marseille Université (AMU), FMSH-RBSF OSAMA (development Of an optimal human Security Model for The Arctic), Российский Фонд Фундаментальных Исследований (РФФИ). Grant Numbers: 18‐55‐76003, 20‐514‐22001
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: city‐twinning; competitive advantage; cross‐border co‐operation; EU; European neighbourhood instrument; Euroregions; marginality; northern dimension partnerships; Russia; [INFO.INFO-TI]Computer Science [cs]/Image Processing [eess.IV]; [SHS.STAT]Humanities and Social Sciences/Methods and statistics; [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society; [SHS.GEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Geography; [INFO.INFO-MO]Computer Science [cs]/Modeling and Simulation; Russian North
• Online Access: https://hal-amu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02902279; https://hal-amu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02902279/document; https://hal-amu.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02902279/file/2020-bobylev2020.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1111/rsp3.12316

International audience This paper aims to examine how Russian north‐western regions and municipalities use their marginal/border position as a resource to build a sustainable development strategy. Theoretically, this study is based on the marginality theory which states that border or remotely located subnational units are able to turn their marginality from disadvantage to a resource and transform themselves from depressed and provincial territories to attractive places hosting intense international flows of goods, services, capital, technologies and people. A number of venues for the EU‐Russia cross‐border cooperation are explored: the European Neighborhood Instrument, Northern Dimension partnerships, Euroregions and city‐twinning. The authors conclude that despite some problems with establishing a proper division of labor between above programs and project implementation cross‐border cooperation proved to be a valuable instrument not only for successful development of the marginal/border actors but also for establishing mutual trust and collaborative relations between Russia and neighboring EU countries.