Disclosing the Relational Structure of Institutional Cross-border Cooperation in Two Cross-border Regions in Europe

Open Access

Abstract

Cross-border cooperation (CBC) has evolved as a crucial objective of the European Union and an object of extensive research. As an intrinsically relational process wherein networks, and cooperation are integral to understanding the CBC, social capital and social network analysis offer a complementary perspective. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews with experts and secondary sources. This paper contributes using social network analysis to examine and describe the network structure of institutional CBC and Interreg programmes in two different cross-border regions. The results address the importance of the visualization of less and more integrated areas and the identification of key institutional actors in CBC.