Bringing borders back into cross-border regional innovation systems: Functions and dynamics.

nternational boundaries have been mainly considered as barriers in literature on the ‘cross-bor der regional innovation system’ (CBRIS), in line with their traditional understanding. In this paper,we underline that such a perspective presents limits, and argue in favour of an understanding ofmultidimensional borders that are subject to dynamic change over time. By mobilizing conceptua lizations from the field of border studies, we examine the various functions of borders to explainthe innovation-led development potential in cross-border regions. In this view, international bor ders can function as an interface, a marker of difference or a symbol, rather than a mere barrierthat separates regions. Further, we suggest that these border functions are key factors in explain ing the ‘fluctuating’ integration dynamics of regional innovation systems across the border.Mobilizing evidence from two case studies in European and North American contexts, thepaper sheds light on the border as a potential resource for innovation and discusses implicationsfor future research.