Cross-border cooperation in Europe: Governance, Administrative Tools, and Practices

Cross-border cooperation is one of the most significant phenomena of the contemporary process of European integration. Long overshadowed by major EU policies , it has gradually established itself as a prime testing ground for Europeanintegration , revealing both the potential and the contradictions of the European project.This book stems from a twofold conviction. The first is that cross-border cooperation deserves rigorous academic analysis that goes beyond purely descriptive or technocratic approaches in order to grasp its underlying institutional, political, and sociological logic. The second is that the Upper Rhine region-which brings together France (Alsace, Franche-Comté), Germany (Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate), and Switzerland-spanning a shared territory of approximately 21,518 km² and home to 6.2 million inhabitants-offers an exceptional case study: it is one of the oldest, most institutionalized, and best-documentedareas of cross-border cooperation in Europe.