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SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN THE ITALO‐SLOVENE GORIZIA TRANSBORDER REGION
Author(s) -
BUFON MILAN
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.766
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1467-9663
pISSN - 0040-747X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9663.1998.tb01554.x
Subject(s) - economic geography , phenomenon , world war ii , geography , field (mathematics) , population , political science , regional science , sociology , demography , archaeology , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , pure mathematics
This article provides a survey of the local dimensions of a particular, but at the same time emblematic, Central European border landscape; the problems caused by the dividing of a consolidated historical region after World War II; and the phenomenon of its persistence in the field of human relations; thereby providing a basis for a gradual reintegration of the two border areas. The analysis of the regional structure and cross‐border behaviour leads to the conclusion that social and functional cross‐border integration is determined less by the proximity of the border than by a common social, cultural and territorial background of the border population. In fact, a lower degree of cultural affinity between the two sides of the border has a clearly negative influence on the intensity of cross‐border relations, even if the two sides have a similar or functionally complementary socio‐economic structure.