Impact of border processes on socioeconomic development in border regions in Central Europe

The process of economic and political integration in Europe implied fundamental changes in the nature of the EU’s internal and external borders. The project aims to study the changing nature of state borders and its impact on regional development and the socioeconomic performance of border regions. The main research questions are: What are the effects of border processes on socioeconomic development in different border regions? What are the determinants of these potentially heterogeneous effects? What are the underlying mechanisms behind the socioeconomic changes in the border regions, and what role do the key regional actors play?

The empirical research focuses on border regions in the Central European region (Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Germany, and Austria,) which were affected by the changing nature of borders due to major institutional changes following the fall of the Iron Curtain and the European integration process. Theoretically, the project builds upon the latest contributions to theories of regional development. Methodologically, quantitative and qualitative methods are combined in order to integrate the analysis of macro-level impacts of the changing nature of borders on the socioeconomic performance of border regions with the micro-level perspective represented by perceptions of key agents on the role and effects of borders.

  • Type: General
  • Supervisor: Pavlína Netrdová
  • Programme: Social Geography and Regional Development
  • Duration: 4 years
  • Start date: October 1
  • Application deadline: 30th April (consulting with the tutor in advance is strongly recommended)
  • Funding: Scholarship 10 500 CZK per month (+ additional 2 000 CZK once the doctoral examination is successfully passed)