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Changing European borders: from separation to interface?Guest editorsOlivier Walther, Centre for Population, Poverty and Public Policy Studies LuxembourgJen Nelles, University of Toronto&#160;The special issueThe aim of this special issue is to address the evolution of European borders from a comparative perspective. In the past, border situations were seen mainly as a problem of peripheral regions. Political borders created many problems in terms of competition and development because of administrative obstacles, lack of services or competing interests. For the last decade, though, an increasing number of researchers have shown that the opening of borders in Europe also constituted an opportunity for regions and cities to exploit border differentials and flourish from the positive effects that they represent.&#160; This is particularly true for cities located close to new members states in Europe, which can operate as nodal centres of cross-border interactions. Far from being only territorial barriers or obstacles being abolished, borders in Europe are increasingly becoming interfaces encouraging contacts and exchanges.&#160;Against this background, the guest editors welcome conceptual and empirical papers on any aspects of the evolution of European borders. Papers dealing with &#8211; but not necessary limited to &#8211; one the following topics are particularly welcome:&#160;    The importance of borders in economic development strategies    The spatial impact of the opening up of borders (including labour markets)    The strategies of states in regulating border differentials and flows    The strength of cross-border partnerships in the development of national policies    The development of local and regional levels of government in border areas    The effectiveness of cross-border development strategies    Cross-border initiatives in key areas such as transportation, environmental management, and sustainable development    The importance of new institutional tools that can help formalise cross-border projects    The perceived relevance of the border in social and/or economic interaction patternsHow to submit a paper?Authors are invited to submit a 2-3 page abstract in English or French by 20 April 2010to the editors (olivier.walther@ceps.lu and jen.nelles@utoronto.ca). Feedback will be sent to authors by 20 May 2010.Authors selected to write full papers will then be invited to submit their manuscripts no later than 1st September 2010. According to the journal review policy, these papers will then be submitted to a double-blind review which will guarantee that both the referee and the author remain anonymous throughout the process.Articulo - Journal of Human SciencesArticulo - Journal of Human Sciences (http://articulo.revues.org) is a peer-reviewed online journal devoted to articulating the different human sciences and their different levels of analysis. It was created in 2005 as a multidisciplinary open access journal and is now referenced by several international online directories, including DOAJ and INTUTE. The journal&#8217;s website currently receives over 3,000 visits per month and publishes about 16 articles per year in two or three issues totaling about 240 pages. Articulo only publishes papers which have not been submitted or published elsewhere. More information about the submission procedure can be found here: http://articulo.revues.org/index921.html.