This publication is an attempt to enlarge the perspectives of Contemporary European Border Studies both temporally and epistemologically. Border studies in Europe are indeed still largely focused on the analysis of cross-border cooperation and its relationship with the process of European Integration after the Second World War. What is generally missing is a long-term historical perspective and the consideration that circulation and networks can also be built across borders because there is a community of ideas or a shared good to defend : a common scientific culture, health, environment.

This is an open access book. Media industry research and EU policymaking are predominantly tailored to large (and, in the latter case, Western) European markets. This open access book addresses the specific qualities of smaller media markets, highlighting their vulnerability to global digital competition and outlining survival strategies for them. New online distribution models and new trends in the consumption of audiovisual content are limited by, and pose new challenges for, existing audiovisual business models and their legal framework in the EU. The European Commission’s Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy, which was intended e.g. to remove obstacles to the cross-border distribution of audiovisual content, has triggered a heated debate on the transformation of the existing ecosystem for European screen industries. While most current discussions focus on the United States, Western Europe, and the multinational giants, this book approaches these industry trends and policy questions from the perspective of relatively small and peripheral (in terms of their population, language, cross-border cultural flows, and financial and/or symbolic capital) media markets.

If the European political space has been extensively explored, research has remained all too often focused on the institutions of the European Union and the Council of Europe rather than on the actors who make Europe. This dictionary brings a new angle to scholarship on Europe by systematically investigating its actors: those who work within the institutions or in close contact with them; those who are the targets of European policies; those in the name of whom reforms are carried out; those who promote Europe and those who oppose it. It showcases a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach that bridges the usual separation between the European Union and the Council of Europe. In each entry, contributors selected among the leading specialists in their fields of research present the state of the art and the most current research perspectives on European actors. Students, teachers and researchers with an interest in Europe will find this volume to be a valuable work of reference and a source of new and stimulating ideas and perspectives on Europe. More broadly, the dictionary will appeal to ‘professionals of Europe’ eager to gain insights into their working environment as well as to readers interested in understanding Europe through its actors.

European integration is one of the most ambitious and socially far-reaching developments in world politics and in world economics. Against growing opposition and despite increasing social heterogeneity, the European Union continues to expand and to acquire new competences. But to what extent is the self-proclaimed "ever closer union among the peoples of Europe" a social reality? In which ways is the political European project anchored in social developments? How does social change impinge upon political integration? Societal trends in multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and socially diverse Europe have never been studied systematically. Handbook of European Societies: Social Transformations in the 21st Century sets to rectify this neglect of societal developments in Europe, providing a groundwork for the sociology of European integration. The book portrays social life and social relations in the enlarged Europe, and gives a perspective on the European Union as an evolving social entity. Handbook of European Societies is a pioneering source book analyzing the current social patterns on the continent. It covers a representative selection of major topics of social concern and sociological relevance, such as Collective Action, Consumption, Identity, Power Structure, Sexuality, Stratification and Well-being. Each contribution probes key developments in a strictly comparative manner. The Handbook thus offers a detailed look into the intricacies of the national societies of Europe and into the prospect of an emerging European society. The Editors have enlisted leading researchers to synthesize existing knowledge and to make use of many different data sources in a straight-forward style. The contributions stay away from jargon, simple labeling and sweeping assertions. Instead, they provide solid and accessible information on a wide variety of social trends and processes within and across European societies.

The two volumes Gender and Migration: crossing borders and shifting boundaries offer an interdisciplinary perspective on women and men on the move today, exploring the diversification of migratory patterns and its implication in different parts of the world. It reflects the vibrant scholarly debates as well as unique learning and teaching experiences of the Project Area Migration, the International Women's University. While pointing to historical continuities, it is shown how contemporary ways of bridging time and space are shaped by the new opportunities - or lack of them - related to the process of globalization. This shaping is gendered. Gendering migration paves the way for further intersectional analysis. Vol. I critically examinesmobility, globalization and migration policy from a gender perspective. It includes case studies on internal and international migratory processes inand from Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. Furthermore it makes an important contribution to the issue of agency and empowerment emerging from migrant women's experience.

Focussing European borders: The book provides insight into a variety of changes in the nature of borders in Europe and its neighborhood from various disciplinary perspectives. Special attention is paid to the history and contemporary dynamics at Polish and German borders. Of particular interest are the creation of Euroregions, mutual perceptions of Poles and Germans at the border, EU Regional Policy, media debates on the extension of the Schengen area. Analysis of cross-border mobility between Abkhazia and Georgia or the impact of Israel's »Security Fence« to Palestine on society complement the focus on Europe with a wider view.