COST IS0803: WG3 Differences and Inequalities: The Welfare Gap (Janike Harsheim)

Through a focus on the informal, everyday aspects of this, COST IS0803 draws together existing knowledge and develops new understandings of the combined social, moral and material elements of how the eastern borders of Europe are experienced and thought a bout. Its aim is to develop a new approach for studying changes in the Eastern periphery of Europe, through: (a) exploring the process through which borders themselves become visible and meaningful (or disappear), rather than take borders for granted and then study their effects; (b) a simultaneous focus on what borders separate and what they bring together; (c) a focus on remaking borders, which means studying understandings of possible futures as well as the past; (d) a focus on money, gender and sex uality, which in both empirical and conceptual terms brings together material, political, social and moral aspects of border-making and allows the study of border transgressions. This particular event takes place under the heading of WG3 Differences and inequalities and the title of the seminar is The Welfare Gap. At the Work Group meeting, scholars from all over Europe will present their work on different aspects, manifestations and outcomes of the welfare and social security gaps that exist between the neighbours in the eastern periphery of Europe. We aim to discuss various social phenomena and social processes that originate from a discrepancy in economic and social standards between the EU/Schengen and non-EU/non-Schengen countries. A wide variety of themes will be covered, from old and new routes of international migration and transborder work commuting to subversive border economies and official projects of crossborder cooperation aiming at building a common economic and social transborder space ac ross the welfare gap.