Expertise in European Studies and Border Studies is brought together in a research pool that creates the necessary synergies for coherent, focused and coordinated multidisciplinary and international research on the role of the border in European integration.
The activities of the Frontem Network reinforce existing networks in Border Studies and European Studies. Several partners of the network are already involved in Border Studies associations at the European and international level.
This new network federates 3 Jean Monnet Centers of Excellence in Cluj (Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca), in Strasbourg (IEP Strasbourg/Hochschule Kehl) and in Victoria (University of Victoria, Canada), as well as 7 Jean Monnet Chairs from different disciplines. The network also relies on the pool of expertise of the Franco-German Jean Monnet Center of Excellence in Strasbourg created in 2018, which brings together a multidisciplinary team of 13 French and German researchers specialized in European studies.
The Frontem network is also intended to be open to structures representing civil society at the borders. This is why it also associates leaders of cross-border actors. This opening should allow an exchange of information and knowledge between researchers and practitioners specialized in Border Studies.
Birte Wassenberg
Network director, France/Germany research coordinator
Birte Wassenberg is Professor in Contemporary History and International Relations at Sciences Po Strasbourg at the University of Strasbourg and the head of the research axis on the actors of European construction at the Research Unit Dynamiques européennes (UMR). She held a Jean Monnet Chair (2013-2016) on the contribution of cross-border cooperation to the European Neighbourhood Policy, is deputy director of the Franco-German Jean-Monnet Center of Excellence, and director of a Master in Border Studies. From 1993 to 2006, she was responsible for cross-border cooperation at the Région Alsace. Birte WASSENBERG is also a visiting professor at the College of Europe (Bruges campus), and a member of the consortium on the history of the European Commission. With Bernard Reitel she edited a Critical Dictionary of cross border cooperation in Europe (2020).
Birte Wassenberg is the coordinator of the Jean Monnet Network and the team on the Franco-German border. She leads the steering group and the scientific committee.
Canada
Emmanuel BRUNET-JAILLY
Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly is Professor of Political and Administrative Sciences at the University of Victoria (UVIC) in Canada, Jean Monnet Chair in Cross-Border Urban and Regional Policy and Director of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in Victoria. He is also the leader of a Canadian project of excellence Borders in Globalization (BIG), and the president of the Association for Borderlands Studies (ABS).
He is the coordinator of the Canadian/American border team of the Frontem network. He is a member of the steering group and the scientific committee and is responsible for the comparative seminar in Victoria. He co-edits the special issue of the Bordeland Studies Journal with Birte Wassenberg.
Helga HALLGRIMSDOTTIR
Helga Hallgrimsdottir is Professor of Sociology at the University of Victora. She is a specialist in European integration, including public opinion on issues of memory, migration and xenophobia in the European Union (EU). She participates in the international program Borders in Globalization at Victoria University and is coordinator of a Jean Monnet project on migration issues in the EU.
She is a member of the Canada/US Border Team of the Jean Monnet Network, a member of the scientific committee, and participates in the organization of the research seminar in Victoria.
Amanda MERRITT
Amanda Merritt is a creative writing instructor and European Studies Program coordinator at the University of Victoria (UVic). She took over the missions of former member Nicole Bates-Eamer as a member of the Canada/US border research team of the FRONTEM network and member of the scientific committee.
Oliver SCHMIDTKE
Oliver Schmidtke is Professor of Contemporary History and Political Science at the University of Victoria (UVic) in Canada. He is Director of the Centre for Global Studies and Jean Monnet Chair in the Department of History and Political Science. He participated with Birte Wassenberg in the Borders and Migration Policies network for which UVic was lead partner.
He is a member of the Canada/US border team of the Jean Monnet Network, a member of the scientific committee, and participates in the organization of the seminar in Victoria.
Image source : University of Victoria : https://www.uvic.ca/socialsciences/politicalscience/assets/images/photos/profiles/oliver-schmidtke.jpg
France/Belgium/UK
Fabienne LELOUP
Fabienne Leloup is a professor in political sciences at the University of Louvain (UCLouvain Fucam Mons) in Belgium, and has been the president of the Franco-Belgian scientific interest grouping: Institut des Frontières et Discontinuités (IFD). She was one of the co-organizers of the Borders In Transition (BRIT) Conference in 2014 and currently is spokesperson for the UCLouvain of the Interreg V TRANSUNIV project of partnerships between 3 Walloon universities, 2 Flemish universities and the University of Lille. She is a partner of the Jean Monnet project on the European Capitals of Culture and Cross-border Urban Cohesion (CECCUT | home).
She is co-coordinator of the team on the Franco-Belgian-British border of the Jean Monnet network (with Bernard Reitel). She is a member of the steering group and the scientific committee and is responsible for the seminar in Mons.
Bernard REITEL
Bernard Reitel is Professor in political and urban Geography at the Artois University (France). He holds a Jean Monnet Chair (2017-2020), and he is a partner of the Jean Monnet project European crises and border regions of Birte Wassenberg. He is director of the research unit 'Discontinuités', member of the Franco-Belgian consortium ‘Institut des Frontières et des Discontinuités”, and director of the Master in “Territorial Development, Spatial Planning and Environment”. He edited a Critical Dictionary of cross border cooperation in Europe (2020) with Birte Wassenberg.
He is the co-coordinator of the team on the Franco-Belgian-British border of the Jean Monnet network (with Fabienne Leloup). He is a member of the steering group and the scientific committee and responsible for the focus group in Arras.
Rumania/Hungary
Nicolae PAUN
Nicolae Paun is Professor of Contemporary History, Jean Monnet Chair, and Director of the Faculty of European Studies and of the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj, Romania. He is also a member of the Liaison Group of Professors of Contemporary History at the European Commission.
He is the coordinator of the Romanian-Hungarian border team of the Jean Monnet Network. He is a member of the steering group and the scientific committee and responsible for the seminar and focus group in Cluj.
Image source : https://euro.ubbcluj.ro/staff/prof-dr-nicolae-paun/
Antoanela-Paula Mureșan
Antoanela-Paula Mureșan is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of European Studies, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, where she teaches Europe. History and Modernity and the European Institutions. Her area of interest is linked to international relations in Europe, especially with regard to the European far-right in the 20th century. She also coordinates, at bachelor level, the specialization International Relations and European Studies, Romanian line and contributed to two Jean Monnet Projects “Borders, Identities, Communities: The Road to Reconciliation and Partnership in Central and Eastern Europe” and “European Culture”.
She is a member of the Romanian-Hungarian border team of the Jean Monnet network, a member of the scientific committee, and co-responsible for the organization of the seminar and focus group in Cluj-Napoca.
Ireland/Northern Ireland
Katy HAYWARD
Katy Hayward is Professor in Sociology at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland, specializing in conflict resolution, Northern Ireland-EU relations and currently working on Brexit.
She is a member of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Border Team of the Jean Monnet Network, a member of the scientific committee and co-leader of the Belfast seminar.
Mary C. MURPHY
Mary Mc Murphy is Professor of European Studies (Political Science) at University College Cork in Ireland, and Jean Monnet Chair. She is a specialist in European integration and relations between Northern Ireland and the European Union.
She is co-coordinator of the Jean Monnet Network's Ireland/Northern Ireland Border Team. She is a member of the scientific committee and co-leader of the seminar in Belfast.
Anthony SOARES
Director of the Centre for Cross-Border Studies (CCBS) in Armagh, Northern Ireland, Anthony Soares holds a Doctorate in Portuguese Studies and is a specialist in cross-border cooperation, conflict resolution and the peace process in Northern Ireland.
He is a member of the steering group and the scientific committee, and responsible for the Jean Monnet Network's team on the Ireland/Northern Ireland border. He is coordinating the organization of the research seminar and focus group in Belfast, and will participate in the development of the toolkit on border management models.
France/Germany
Joachim BECK
Joachim Beck is Rector and Professor of Political and Administrative Sciences at the Hochschule of Kehl (Germany). He is also responsible for the center for applied research on cross-border cooperation, and German deputy director of the Jean Monnet Franco-German Center of Excellence in Strasbourg. Former director of the Euro-Institut in Kehl, he has conducted an interdisciplinary research cycle with Birte Wassenberg which resulted in a series of 6 publications on cross-border cooperation in Europe.
He is a member of the scientific committee and the German partner for the organization of the research seminar on the Franco-German border.
Frédérique BERROD
Frédérique Berrod is a Professor of Law at Science Po Strasbourg. She is a specialist in EU law and in particular in issues related to free movement and the internal market, as welle as issues related to human rights protection at the European Council. She is currently working on an interdisciplinary book in law/history with Birte Wassenberg on "the unnecessary borders of the EU". She is a visiting professor at the College of Europe (Bruges and Natolin campuses).
She is a member of the scientific committee and participates in the organization of the research seminar on the Franco-German border.
Sylvain SCHIRMANN
Sylvain Schirmann is Professor of Contemporary History and International Relations at the IEP of Strasbourg, and was Director of the IEP from 2006 to 2015. He holds a Jean Monnet Chair, and directs the Jean Monnet Franco-German Center of Excellence. He is a member of the Liaison Group of Professors of Contemporary History at the European Commission and Secretary General of the International Association for Contemporary European History. He chairs the scientific committee of the Maison Robert Schuman and the Lieu d'Europe in Strasbourg, and is a member of the scientific committee of the International Forum for Democracy of the Council of Europe. He is a visiting professor at the College of Europe (Bruges and Natolin campuses).
He is a member of the scientific committee and French partner for the organization of the research seminar on the Franco-German border.
Anne THEVENET
Anne Thevenet is Deputy Director of the Euro-Institut Kehl which is a Franco-German training organization on cross-border cooperation, and a member of the Franco-German Centre of Excellence Jean Monnet in Strasbourg. She us is the director of a Transfrontier Euro-Institute Network (TEIN) which brings together 13 research centers and universities from 8 border regions in Europe. She is a specialist in the management and animation of cross-border networks, and has developed a toolkit on intercultural management of cross-border projects.
Anne Thevenet is a member of the steering committee and the scientific committee of the Jean Monnet network. She is in charge of the organization of the focus group on the Franco-German border, and is piloting the development of the toolkit on border management models. She is also co-responsible for the organization of the summer school.
Denmark/Germany
Steen Bo FRANDSEN
Steen Bo Frandsen is Professor of Contemporary History at University of Southern Denmark, Sønderborg, and Director of the Centre for Border Region Studies. He is a specialist in German-Danish relations, regionalism and Scandinavian history. He co-organizers of a conference of the Borders In Transition (BRIT) network in 2014 and 2016.
He is a member of the Jean Monnet Network's German-Danish border team, a member of the scientific committee, and participates in the organization of the research seminar and focus group in Sonderborg.
Martin KLATT
Martin Klatt is Professor of Contemporary History at University of Southern Denmark, Sønderborg, and associated with the Centre for Border Region Studies. He is a specialist on the Danish-German border and minority issues and co-edited with Birte Wassenberg a special issue of the journal Regional and Federal Studies on Secondary foreign policy-Local International Relations (2017).
He is a member of the German-Danish border team of the Jean Monnet Network, a member of the scientific committee, and co-responsible for the organization of the research seminar and focus group in Sonderborg.
Katarzyna STOKLOSA
Katarzyna Stoklosa is Professor of Contemporary History at University of Southern Denmark, Sønderborg, and associated with the Centre for Border Region Studies. She is a specialist in cross-border cooperation, minority and migration issues in Europe and participates with Birte Wassenberg in the Jean Monnet Project on European crises in border regions. She co-organized of a conference of the Borders In Transition (BRIT) network in 2014 and 2016
She is the coordinator of the German-Danish border team of the Jean Monnet network. She is a member of the steering group and the scientific committee and responsible for the seminar and focus group in Sonderborg.
Representatives of CBC Actors
Gyula OCSKAY
Guyla Ocskay is Director of the Central European Service for Cross-Border Cooperations (CESCI) in Budapest. CESCI provides operational support to cross-border project developers in Hungary and neighbouring countries and cooperates closely with the MOT.
It is a member of the scientific committee and co-organizer of the seminar and focus group on the Romanian-Hungarian border. He participates in the elaboration of the toolkit of border management models. He ensures the link with the actors carrying out cross-border projects in Central and Eastern Europe.
Jean PEYRONY
Jean Peyrony is Director General of the Mission opérationnelle transfrontalière (MOT) in Paris and a former seconded expert at DG REGIO (European Commission). The MOT is a non-profit organization helping local authorities to develop cross border cooperation projects on borders around France.
Jean Peyrony contributed to the Critical Dictionary on Borders, Cross-Border Cooperation and European Integration (elaborated by Bernard Reitel and Birte Wassenberg).
He is a member of the scientific committee and coordinates the cartographic part of the toolkit of border management models. He is in charge of the association of actors with cross-border projects to the focus groups, and also ensures the links with DG REGIO.
