The current debate on border(s) applied to the Iberian case: elements of de-bordering and re-bordering between Spain and Portugal in the 21st Century ; El debate actual sobre la(s) frontera(s) aplicado al caso ibérico: elementos de des-fronterización y re-fronterización entre España y Portugal en el...
Since the last decades of the 20th century, the narrative of a world without borders, where territorial relations are no longer determined by States, has been gaining strength among academics and decision-makers. Transnational cooperation projects such as the European Union (EU) seem to demonstrate that borders no longer represent economic, political and social discontinuities. These new scenarios have opened a new phase in the relations between the territories of Spain and Portugal and overcome the historical separation. This is a rapprochement reflected in the creation of cross-border cooperation structures and in the decades of constantly growing economic relations between both countries, although the process was slowed by the economic crisis beginning in 2008. In this paper, the focus is the evolution of these relationships and also an analysis of the effectiveness of cooperation as an adequate means for overcoming the effects of the crisis. Since the crisis ended, cross-border relations between Portugal and Spain have regained their vigour, especially at the local and regional levels. Thus, thanks to cultural, social and economic complementarities, cooperation can overcome the limits of States and be conceived as an effective instrument for territorial development. ; En las últimas décadas del siglo XX, los discursos sobre un mundo sin fronteras, donde las relaciones territoriales ya no son determinadas por los Estados, ganaron fuerza entre académicos y decisores políticos. Los proyectos de cooperación transnacional, como los que están en la base de la Unión Europea, parecían demostrar que las fronteras dejaban de significar discontinuidades económicas, políticas y sociales. Estos nuevos escenarios permitieron abrir una nueva fase en las relaciones entre territorios de España y Portugal y superar su separación histórica. Este acercamiento se refleja en la creación de estructuras de cooperación transfronteriza y décadas de constante crecimiento de las relaciones económicas entre ambos países. Este proceso ...