Constructing a Cross-Border Region in the Pacific Northwest

For residents living at national borders, the divisions between countries are rarely black and white, and often everyday interactions contribute to the creation of a cross-border region. This book examines this phenomenon in Cascadia, which runs along the Canada/US border in the Pacific Northwest. Placing people at the heart of the analysis, the book considers the everyday interactions and links which bind residents together and help to define Cascadia as a cross-border region. The book also assesses the impact that increased border security in the wake of 9/11 has had on border residents. Following a bottom-up approach rather than a top-down approach, the book examines how border security impacts the residents' mobility, their representations of the border and, potentially the existence of a cross-border identity. Drawing on extensive original qualitative and quantitative data, this book will be of interest to researchers across border studies, geography, geopolitics, and cultural studies, as well as to policy-makers and other stakeholders with an interest in cross-border cooperation.

Pierre-Alexandre Beylier is Associate Professor in North American Studies at Université Grenoble-Alpes, France.

1 Introduction - Theory About Cross-Border Regions 2 Cascadia, a Historical Overlook of a Region That Challenges the National Border 3 Cascadia, a Functional Cross-Border Space? An Analysis of Trade and Mobility 4 Perceptions and Representations of Cascadia 5 Cross-Border Cooperation - Cascadia's Institutional Framework 6 Cascadian Identity - Is There a Collective Consciousness That Transcends the Canada/US Border?