Milan Bufon

 

DOI: 10.35666/28310438.2008.2.570

UDC: 913[353.1:005.44](4)

  

Abstract: The European continent, the mother-land of nationalism, and the part of the world where political borders and different territorial and cultural identities are mostly inter-related, is now facing new challenges regarding how best to represent its numerous interests within one system. With the increase of international integration European countries began to devote greater attention to the development problems of their integration process. The fostering of a more balanced regional development problems also resulted in a strenghtening of regional characteristics, which the new model could no longer ignore. Regional characteristics in turn have always been preserved in Europe by persistent historical and cultural elements of ethnic and linguistic variety. Therefore it is not surprising that the process of European integration based on the new regional development model was accompanied by a parallel process of ethnic or regional awakening of minorities and other local communities. The key question for contemporary European (though of course this is not limited to Europe) political geography is, then, how the process summarised under the twin labels of social convergence and deterritorialzation will effect the persistent maintenance of social identities and the corresponding divergence of regional spaces. Or, in other words: is the „unity in diversity“ European programme ever practicable and exportable on aa world-wide scale or are we to be absrbed by a new global „melting pot“?

Key words: Europe, territoriality, borders, area of contact, integration, globalization.

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