Determinants of cross-border cultural integration: Case studies of the EU Basque and Upper Rhine cross-border regions

The spatial integration of cross-border regions is a complex multidimensional process. Cultural integration across borders is a crucial element in broader cross-border regionalism and the intensification of economic transactions. While cultural integration has been viewed as a contingent ontological determinant for establishing cross-border integration and cooperation, there is a lack of empirical evidence on cultural integration. This study sets out a new methodological framework to measure the extent of spatio-cultural integration in cross-border regions. A P-ITEMS model containing six determinants of cultural integration was developed using primary data obtained through mixed methods of qualitative perceptual mapping and quantitative questionnaires. Two European Union cross-border regions – the Basque region and the Upper Rhine region – were selected as case studies, representing two different contexts with varied characteristics, to assess the extent to which the methodological framework can enhance understanding of the cultural integration process. The study shows that this new model can provide a range of findings and perspectives depending on the qualitative or quantitative methodological lens applied. The model revealed that the Basque cross-border region is strongly culturally integrated from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective, with high cross-border interactions, and its residents on both sides of the national border share a common perceptual image of the cross-border region despite its difficulty. In contrast, in the Upper Rhine cross-border region, this joint perceptual representation is missing from the qualitative data; however, the quantitative data indicates that considerable cultural interactions and integration take place.