What role do Czech borderlands play in the democratization of the Czech Rep
ublic as well as in debates about Czech-German relations and about European
integration ? These borderlands have a twofold heritage : the German prese
nce till 1945 and four decades of Communism. By focusing attention on these
areas, the upheaval in recent years has brought up questions about the rel
ations between the center and outlying regions. Prague sees the Czech-Germa
n issue differently than the borderlands, where a population willing to ove
rlook the past views crossborder cooperation positively. As an area for pri
vileged contacts with the EU and as a region within a bigger European commu
nity, the borderlands diffuse the EU model and play a specific role in Euro
pean integration.