Conflict and compromise among borderland identities in northern Italy

Borderlands are dominated by the interplay, overlap and competition of larger national identities. This paper examines the interaction of separate national, regional and local identities in two borderland regions of Northern Italy: the Alto‐Adige/Suüdtirol region and the Julian region (which includes the city of Trieste). The main argument is that the histories of these two borderland regions have rendered a mixture of incompatible identities. While these identities continue to rival one another, there is a possibility that changes in ethnic attitudes and macro‐developments, including the strengthening of the European Union, may allow for the creation of a distinct borderland identity. This identity would exist in conjunction with the identities that exist at larger and smaller spatial scales.