Can Institutionalization Be Considered a Trap in Defining Functional Cross-border Areas? Coopetition and Local Public Services in Borderlands

Abstract Cross-border cooperation can be an example of a non-hierarchical co-governance tool based on the principle of multi-level governance, which was successfully implemented mainly thanks to European integration as part of building EU territorial cohesion. As a new tool, it has not been limited by the experience of public administration organizations to date, and it is largely based on coopetition aimed at more effective co-management of border regions. Within the framework of this paper, we are exploring the new point of view in the debate on functional cross-border areas. In the first part of the paper, we shall move towards the establishment of multi-level governance (MLG) and re-analyze the adequacy of this concept in line with the general scientific discourse of functional cross-border areas. In the next part, on the basis of desk research and analyses of public policy, the tools and forms for MLG research as well as their implementation were identified and compared on the national and cross-border levels. In the last part of the case study from the Czech-Polish border, we identify the determinants for the organization and implementation of cross-border public services as a basis for defining cross-border areas functional for fire protection in the Jesenik District (CZ).