Incommodious border? Rethinking the function of the Finnish- Russian border

Abstract

This article examines the manner in which the often-mentioned barrier effect of the Finnish-Russian border as well as the greater interaction, enabled by the gradual opening of the border, is perceived among actors involved in cross-border co-operation or border management. The discussion surrounding the impacts of borders on the areas they divide provides the analytical basis on which this article is built. It is a composition of several proposals, which taken together suggest that, first and foremost, borders are barriers for interaction, which have several different roles, some of which are more resistant to change. The empirical data consists of 81 questionnaires, originally collected for the EXLINEA research project from North and South Karelia, in Finland and in the Republic of Karelia and the Leningrad Oblast in Russia. The basic assertion of this article is that despite the benefits gained from its partial opening, the Finnish-Russian border and its side-effects still function as a barrier, separating the two sides from each other and hindering interaction. Given the role that the border plays this is not, however, a purely negative thing. A majority on both sides perceives the border as a necessary and useful institution that is sufficiently transparent to enable the two neighbours to interact in a mutually beneficial manner.