The division of Germany and its legacies, visible in economic structures, availability of social amenities such as preschools, and in political attitudes and religious beliefs, are still a frequent topic of debate, even though – or perhaps because – 30 years have passed since the Berlin Wall came down. A similar phenomenon can be observed in Eastern Europe, where – over the past 150 years – borders and territorial configurations have frequently changed and new states have evolved out of old countries and empires. Based on the ‘phantom borders’ concept (Hirschhausen et al. 2014), the meanings of diverse traces of the past, as expressed in the use and development of space, norms and institutions, cultural representations, and social and political behaviour, are analysed within the project framework and explained in terms of spatial and social theory. As regards its methodology, the project critically examines some common historical and territorial determinisms and seeks to explain them not only with reference to current events, social developments and historical configurations, but also to the expectations for the future that underpin them.

• Study of the relevant literature
• Qualitative interviews
• Non-participant observation

• How can contemporary socio-spatial phenomena that reveal a relationship to past territorial and social systems be analysed and explained?
• What meanings are attached by state and society to the socio-spatial and political systems that existed in the past?
• For what reason and purpose, and by whom, is the past consciously and/or subconsciously evoked and/or revitalised in the present?
• What expectations for the future are associated with attempts to evoke previous political orders and societal structures?