Paradigms of Border Studies and the Metacultural Approach

Reflection on the issues of paradigmatic foundations, the ontological, epistemological, and praxeological assumptions of border studies gives scholars an opportunity to identify and to overcome the limits of cognitive capabilities of this field. Contemporary individual-centric paradigm of border studies emerged as a result of the “anthropological turn” of the 20th century philosophy where the most important role was played by phenomenology, existentialism, post-positivism, and post-structuralism. However, a more profound effect on the content of the individual-centric paradigm was produced by its struggle against the nature-centric paradigm that prevailed in the study of borders before the 1960s. Post-non-classical revolution in science and philosophy, and the internal contradictions of border studies have created preconditions for the emergence of a new polycentric paradigm. The authors of this article offer the scholars and managers of borders to look at the metacultural approach, which is based on the principles of the polycentric paradigm. This approach can help solve an extremely acute problem of exhaustion of the EU integration capacities.