ABSTRACT
The study of state boundaries and their general societal significance has become a truly international phenomenon. Furthermore, the study of borders is developing both quantitatively in terms of the amount of research being undertaken and qualitatively in terms of new interdisciplinary approaches. However, it is in Europe that border studies appear to have expanded most rapidly. This is no coincidence as borders have posed a central problem to the emergence of a transnational political community within Europe. The state of the art in border studies can indeed be related to overlying geopolitical events, reflecting the concerns of the times. This, of course, also includes the ways in which Europe and its internal and external borders have been perceived.
