(Un-)natural borders: Multi-disciplinary perspectives on the boundaries of European integration - ASG, Pufendorf IAS

Advanced study Group (ASG) at the Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies

The term integration is often used when individuals who, in one way or another, are to be part of a community and contribute to societal unity. "European integration" also emphasizes a sort of unity, based on a common understanding of values, political cooperation, free movement, and so on. "European integration" is, therefore, a social construction. However, it significantly influences nature, as "European integration" is both determined and limited by factors such as forests, mountain ranges, and rivers.
An interaction takes place between social construction and natural conditions – and various types of boundaries exist here as well. It is time to challenge our conception of the complex interplay between nature and society in the sphere of European integration and of borders and boundaries of the EU. This Advanced Study Group sets out to explore how natural conditions determine the features and boundaries of European integration, and how European integration is represented – and creates boundaries – in the natural environment.