Finland and Estonia, the two peripheral states of the European Union’s north-eastern corner have steadily converged since the fall of the Soviet Union, both bilaterally and in a multilateral European context. The co-operation is significant and covers multiple sectors of society. Now the two countries have set out on a project to join their two capitals by building a fixed link under the Gulf of Finland forming the symbolic twin-capital of Talsinki. This case-study sets out to analyse what motivations there are in creation of the twin-capital, and what relevance does the fixed link have on the regionalization process.The qualitative analysis of policy and spatial-economic documentation triangulated with media sources shows that the incentives are mainly economic, and the process is mainly driven by state- and regional level politicians motivated by regional development. The study also indicates that the rising influence of China and other global actors has an effect on the regional politics of peripheral Europe.

In this era of globalisation and rapid urbanisation, can city-to-city partnerships provide a unique approach towards contributing to the development needs of South African cities? There is a growing literature dedicated to North-South and South-South municipal international cooperation, exploring impacts on local governance and development, for either or both of the cities. However, there is a paucity of knowledge on this topic in South Africa. This project hopes to address this critical occlusion by examining Johannesburg’s experience of city-to-city cooperation partnerships. These partnerships will be examined with reference to how they are organised and their implementation. Has cooperation provided social and economic development in Johannesburg as agreements often state? To answer the research questions, an in-depth understanding of city-to-city partnerships in South Africa is required; therefore a qualitative data collection approach was adopted. City-to-city cooperation crosses geographical borders, and this study investigates how it also extends across theories, government spheres and topics. The research traces policy and practice of international city-to-city cooperation relationships, identifying the salient aspects of these city-level engagements and incorporates a critical view of policy documents that frame municipal international relations in South Africa, specifically in Johannesburg. The research shows that international city-to-city cooperation agreements should be greeted with a degree of scepticism in terms of the disparity between the agreement’s objectives, and the practical experience of implementation. Municipal international relations are an interesting exercise in city autonomy in the global economy, yet they are often conscribed by provincial and national government requirements.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Europe in the beginning of 2020, a majority of countries reacted by closing their state borders. By drawing on concepts of border studies and border regional resilience, this thesis aims to examine the impact of the (im)mobility shock caused by the pandemic on two border twin cities in Europe. Through a qualitative approach, conducting semi-structured expert interviews and content analyses, the thesis attempts to identify (1) Which factors facilitated/obstructed the coping/adapting strategies to the problems caused by the pandemic induced state border closures; and (2) Which long-term effects the COVID-19 crisis will have on the future development of the border twin cities and whether their development path will transform into a more resilient one. The main finding of this thesis is that the crisis management on the local level was considerably limited by the restrictions enacted at the national level. To be better prepared for similar shocks, the border twin cities have already made plans based on their experience. However, it remains to be seen whether these strategies can contribute to the resilience of the cities. Nevertheless, coordination between the local, regional and national level is essential to plan and establish resilient border twin cities.