Między zamkniętością a otwartością. Trzy zmiany statusu i funkcji kontrolnych polskich granic
Closeness versus openness. Tree major changes of the political status and the control function of the polish border

Summary/Abstract: The paper presents transformations that the Polish border have passed, from the period after World War II, when the pre-war location and extent of the Polish state have changed as a result of arbitrary decision of the leaders of the Soviet Union, Britain, and the United States, until today, when the status and the functions of the border of the Third Republic were changed as a result of Polish membership in the EU and the Schengen area. The emphasis is put on three modifications of the political status and the control function of borders. The first one is related to establishing very restrictive rules of border protection and border crossing (typical for communist countries) not only by third country nationals (TCNs) but also by Polish citizens. The second one is an effect of a radical change of rules of border protection and control as a part of systemic and economic transformation in Poland in the early 1990s. Then the Polish border was open for liberal movement of people and goods. The third change of the Polish border is a result of the process of integration of Poland with the EU and the Schengen area. Generally speaking, the change meant the transformation of the Polish border in internal and external borders of the EU, what fundamentally transformed its control function and political status. All these changes of the Polish state border highlight the changeable nature of Polish state and its sovereignty.

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