Migration and Borders: the Balkans within Global Historical Developments - Detailseite

During the ongoing refugee crisis borders again returned to be crucial factors to define/regulate/protect/”fortify” Europe/the EU. Migrations again seem to form the most urgent challenge in Europe and beyond. Within wider developments also the “Balkans” was (again) regarded as a focus region to deal with this “problem”.

In this seminar we will discuss how borders and migrations have affected/defined the Balkans in past and present. The following questions will form the framework for our work: According to which principles have borders been established and maintained in the course of the 19^th and 20^th c. and what are the detailed developments in the last 25 years? According to which (new) theories do we want to conceptualize the history of migration in the region? What can we learn for a better understanding of the ongoing refugee crisis by bringing together the discussions of border and migration studies?