Overview

Borders are frequently conceived as defensive lines—rigid edges of sovereignty, fortified margins, or hotspots of conflict. This book challenges that assumption. By rethinking borders not as barriers but as dynamic spaces of encounter, it redefines the very foundations of border studies as a historical discipline. Focusing on Europe and its colonial territories across both pre-modern and modern eras, the author demonstrates how borderlands have repeatedly served as sites of exchange, negotiation, and creativity. Far from being static peripheries, these regions have produced hybrid identities, fostered transboundary solidarities, and yielded unexpected responses in moments of crisis. Through vivid historical examples, the book shows that borders often become generative centers—places where new ideas, communities, and forms of coexistence emerge. Clear, compelling, and rigorously researched, this book offers a crucial corrective to traditional border scholarship. It urges readers to rethink how borders have operated across history, how they have shaped human lives, and why their significance endures today. In a world that witnessed the extraordinary border closures of COVID-19, this work provides a timely and necessary opportunity to reflect anew on what borders truly mean.

Full Product Details

Author:   Yongku Cha
Publisher:   Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Imprint:   Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN:  

9783032169426

ISBN 10:   3032169429
Pages:   263
Publication Date:   31 March 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

Part I: Western Europe.- Chapter 1. The Teutoburg Forest: A Border War between Empire and Periphery.- Chapter 2. Aachen: A Historic Borderland.- Chapter 3. The ULB–VUB Interface: A Border within Brussels.- Chapter 4. Lotharingia: The Lost Border Kingdom.- Chapter 5. Strasbourg/Straßburg: A Historic Border City.- Chapter 6. The Rhine: Birthplace of French and German Nationalism.- Chapter 7. Lake Constance: A Shared Border.- Part II: Central and Eastern Europe.- Chapter 8. Border Commission of West Germany and East Germany.- Chapter 9. Berlin: Duet of Center and Periphery.- Chapter 10. Austria: Eternal Borderland.- Chapter 11. Oder-Neisse Border: from Bloody Border (blutige Grenze) to Bridge.- Chapter 12. Broumov in the Czech Sudetenland: A Migrant-Founded Border Town.- Chapter 13. Hungary: Europe’s Border Checkpoint.- Chapter 14. Ukraine: Eternal Borderland.- Part III: Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea.- Chapter 15. The Baltic Sea: A Sea of Transboundary Diasporas.- Chapter 16. Kaliningrad: City of Migration and Vengeance.- Chapter 17. Novgorod: Competing Memories.- Chapter 18. Tallinn: The City of Coexistence.- Chapter 19. Schleswig: The Tragedy of the Border Plebiscite.- Part IV: Port-Cities in the Mediterranean.- Chapter 20. Trieste: A Port-city of Exiles, Artists, and Coffee.- Chapter 21. Rijeka/Fiume: The Never-Ending War of Memories.- Chapter 22. Palermo: A Medieval Port-City.- Chapter 23. Acre: A Port-City of the Crusader Kingdom.- Part V Colonial Borders.- Chapter 24. Haiti and Dominican Republic: Tears of the Sugar Island.- Chapter 25. Afghanistan’s Durand Line: The Great Game’s Sacrificial Lamb.- Chapter 26. Radcliffe Line: Britain’s Exit Strategy.- Chapter 27. Sykes–Picot Line: The Geopolitical Powder Keg of the Modern Middle East.- Chapter 28. Israel and Palestine: The Aftermath of European Imperial Partition.- Chapter 29. Epilogue.

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Author Information

Yongku Cha is a Professor in the Department of History at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, South Korea. He received his Bachelor of Arts (BA) in History from Korea University and both his Master’s (MA) and Doctorate (PhD) in History from the University of Passau, Germany. He has served as Director of the HK+ Research Center for Reconciliation and Coexistence in Contact Zones (RCCZ) at Chung-Ang University.

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