Stories of the "Boring Border"

Book excerpt: This book examines the 'open' Dutch-German border and people's everyday practices in relation to this border within the context of Dutch-German relations and the process of European integration. It concentrates on people's perceptions of the 'open' Dutch-German border and people's practices of crossing it - or not. The work also introduces new methodologies and forms of border research, e.g. on borders in people's minds, which are concerned with the construction of bordered spaces and the performed manners of nationalised daily routines. In this context, borders are framed as constructed by narratives and images, but also as representations themselves - as part of popular imaginations.