Central Europe As Semi-Border and Semi-Urban Region and Its Marketisation

CENTRAL EUROPE AS SEMI-BORDER AND SEMI-URBAN REGION AND ITS MARKETISATION JAN SUCHÁČEK Introduction or Brief Description of Central Europe The notion of ‘Central Europe’ has traditionally attracted much attention. Numerous issues connected with this enormously complex and appealing region go beyond the extent of this article; however, it should be stated that, as defi ned by Milan Kundera, the area was “geographically in the Centre, culturally in the West, and politically in the East”1. Various cultural and political streams, often almost antagonistic but at the same time intensely interconnected, have shaped the character of this territory. Before 1989, political arguments that stressed the absurdity of two separate Europes were prevailing in the context of the idea of a Central Europe. Since 1989, one has been able to observe the slow return of common pluralistic values so typical of Central European culture. Over the past years we have witnessed the rebirth of the idea of Central European partnership, which can be perceived as a process of positioning in the context of EU enlargement. The region of Central Europe2 is currently infl uenced by two relevant processes. The fi rst one is a spontaneous process of economic and social restructuring. It involves the whole Central European space. The second is a specifi c process of transition in Central Eastern Europe that includes a major part of Central Europe. The problem of the transitional part of Central Europe consists mainly in the discrepancy between formal and informal institutions3 1 Tomaszewski, A.: Central Europe: Cultural Property and Cultural Heritage, In: Central Europe: A New Dimension of Heritage, ICC, Cracow, 2003. 2 The Central European region is composed of several countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. 10 CENTRAL EUROPE AS SEMI-BORDER AND SEMI-URBAN REGION Figure 1. Central Europe in the Context of Political Economic Transformations Political-Economic Transitional Stage Communistic Mainstream Experiment Relative Harmony of Distorted Formal and Informal Formal and Informal Institutions Institutions Remedy of Formal Institutions, Return to the Natural Inertia Developmental of Trajectory Informal Institutions CONTINUITY Relative Similarity of Inherited Distorted Formal Institutions Discordance Between Informal Institutions in Developed and Formal and Informal Institutions in Transitional Countries in Transitional Countries Transitional Countries In light of the preceding lines it is apparent that Central European history and development have been of a restless nature. The peculiar character of Central Europe embodies both historical and territorial dimensions of the norms and values that regulated human activities and shaped the essential elements and interactions in the framework of this entity as well as its relations with other socio-cultural systems and with the environment. All historical and today’s functional, physical and social structures give us abundant evidence about Central Europe as an area of dialogue and confl ict and a territory of borders, memory and traditions. The main aim of this article is to show the opportunities for the marketisation of Central Europe. Since territorial marketing is based primarily on the bottom- up approach, the creation of trust and learning, it provides a truly useful tool 3 Formal institutions are describable as the system of legislation, formal rules, public administration and all kinds of organisations. Formal institutions can be changed relatively easily since they are hierarchised. On the contrary, informal institutions that include human behaviour, attitudes, values and habits cannot be changed so quickly and they tend to be more continuous. Their modifi cation is the subject of long-lasting, generational processes. 11 CENTRAL EUROPE AS SEMI-BORDER AND SEMI-URBAN REGION for coping with the discrepancy between formal and informal institutions in the daily life of transitional Central European countries. As is argued, both material and immaterial elements of a Central European heritage enhance the space for co-operation within this region and its subsequent marketisation. Border Dimension of Central Europe Cultural diversity is certainly a specifi c strength of Central Europe. In spite of unfavourable development in recent history, multicultural tradition still creates an inseparable part of Central European identity. Various cultures have coexisted alongside one another. This multicultural “melting pot” is even strengthened when taking into consideration that in the course of history the Central European territory has been criss-crossed by dozens of national, administrative as well as cultural boundaries4. At the same time, it is necessary to state that Central European borders were almost constantly moving and very often, they were easily penetrable. This contributed signifi cantly to the specifi c charisma of Central European culture and could be succinctly labelled as ‘relativity of borders in Central Europe’. Less fi xed borders or semi-borders in Central Europe (with the exception of the communist era) in connection with the geopolitical position of this region have induced numerous important historical events (and it is questionable, whether Central Europe has been able to cope with these historical events). Put succinctly, the qualities of Central Europe would not exist without historical semi-borders. Currently we are witnessing a new transformation of Central European borders. The process of the disappearance of the borders, which leads towards ‘opening the space’ has complex impacts on the developmental possibilities of particular territories that will be exposed to innumerable new socio-economic factors and trends. From the wider perspective, the process of vanishing borders can be perceived as a return to the natural developmental spatial trajectory5, which brings both opportunities and threats for particular areas. This process 4 In this article, we are concentrating merely on manmade borders, i.e. economic, administrative, legislative or socio-cultural ones. We are not considering natural, physical barriers. 12 CENTRAL EUROPE AS SEMI-BORDER AND SEMI-URBAN REGION constitutes a new challenge for Central European sub-regions as their future development will be based not only on their spatial competitiveness but on their ability to co-operate as well as to learn6. The Urban Dimension of Central Europe Towns and cities always constitute rather peculiar space. Intense and complex social, economic, cultural and other factors and relations are concentrated over a very small territory. Activities of urban populations usually form a considerably expressive cultural environment. In comparison with less densely populated territories and the countryside, cities and towns embody distinctive places of memory and tradition, as well as of dialogue and confl ict. Both co-operative and competitive relations have traditionally shaped not only the urban development but also the atmosphere and spirit of particular places. In comparison with other existing territorial structures and the settlement system in general, the city represents one of the highest ranks of developmental structures. At the same time, the area of a city is not usually so very great. We are entitled to consider cities as ‘created environment’. In a nutshell, cities and towns form the nodes that express social, economic, cultural and historical characteristics of wider areas on a relatively small spot. This applies to the cities of Central Europe. Moreover, they represent a major part of Central European heritage and charisma. It is not necessary to underline the importance of cities for Central Europe. Central European urbanisation had several specifi c features7: • Slower, but steady pace of the concentration of people into urban seats in comparison with other territories, 5 Since administrative borders represent the results of human activity, they should be perceived as an artifi cial product that brakes the spatial interactions and communication. Bigger transaction and transportation costs refl ect these unfavourable circumstances. 6 Disappearance of the borders certainly forms new room for endogenous development of Central European sub-regions. At the same time, it is necessary to underline that only, if particular Central European sub-regions are developed more or less proportionally, the whole project ‘Central Europe’ can work. If there exists functional cohesion and interconnectedness of particular sub-regions, stability of Central Europe can be reached. This intra-regional spatial socio-economic balance is unfortunately often omitted. 13 CENTRAL EUROPE AS SEMI-BORDER AND SEMI-URBAN REGION • Excessive number of middle-sized cities, • Very dense network of cities. Central Europe was and still is one of the most urbanised areas in the world. This is why the cities played a principal role in the history and the formation of Central European culture. It is undeniable that Central European cities were seriously hit by wars and other bigger or lesser disasters; fortunately, their physical and spiritual bases proved to be viable enough and nowadays they constitute living monuments and witnesses of the past. Marketisation of Central Europe Territorial marketing represents a relatively new concept and instrument of territorial development. This concept is based primarily on voluntary bottom- up activities in order to reach fl exibilisation and debureaucratisation of the processes that lead to the development of a region or

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