CROSS-BORDER MOBILITY: SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND SPATIAL DYNAMICS OF SHORT-DISTANCE TRANSBOUNDARY MIGRATION IN GERMANY.

• Applicant: Elifcan Karacan, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 442292186

Although short-distance cross-border commuting is different than long-distance migration, in terms of temporality and geographical proximity, it is a multifaceted circular mobility, practiced across nation states and therefore has similar patterns of dealing with dual frames, having a family at a distance, establishing social networks, and the organization of daily life practices. Cross-border commuting is also a complex phenomenon in terms of regional differences, variety of commuters’ motivations and decisions for commuting, and diverse in its socio-economic and political impacts. However, this complexity of the phenomenon is under-explored in previous researches, as a result of limiting their focus with a unique form of cross-border commuting practiced in a single border region. This research aims at filling this gap in the literature by conducting a qualitative and a comparative field study in four German border regions to understand the potential transformational social and spatial effects of cross-border mobilit(ies).

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Netherlands