Transcending borders: The sea as realm of memory

Abstract

In this joint paper, 'Transcending Borders: The Sea as Realm of Memory', we shall discuss issues of regional integration by applying the concept of realm of memory to maritime border regions in the Baltic Sea and the South China Sea. Since the material or immaterial realms of memory constitute symbolic intersections between cultures, spaces and times, they simultaneously affect not only the neighbouring countries and the national cultures of memory, but also societies and ethnic or religious groups. The Sea and adjacent regions provide an excellent example and object of study for this category of shared realms of memory. In this paper we are studying two straits regions in comparison-the Danish Sound (Øresund) and the Strait of Malacca-and try to reconstruct their different, shifting roles across history. Since the collective memory shapes how we perceive things and spaces across time, it affects contemporary policy making and thus (regional) integration in maritime border regions. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.