Zanikanie starych granic a powstawanie nowych. Pogranicze jako sytuacja wykluczenia
The Disappearance of Old Borders and the Emergence of New Ones. Borderland as a Situation of Exclusion

Summary/Abstract: The author draws attention to certain subsidiary processes connected with the ‘‘opening’’ of borders, mainly as part of a larger process of European integration. The opening of borders met with criticism as in several cases it paradoxically led to exclusion. Firstly, a regularity was noticed that the smaller the border restrictions inside a given area (here: the European Union), the stricter the border regime on its outskirts. At a certain point, division into the centre and peripheries contributed to an evaluative approach to countries and societies by creating an elite club for members (of the European Union) and all the other states that aspired to membership. Another aspect concerns migration movements, but also small-scale cross-border traffic or the traffic of national minorities. For the above mentioned categories of people, tightening up borders has led to problems with entering the territory of the European Union. Especially immigrants from outside Europe must take into account serious obstacles in the form of a system of physical barriers and blockades. The third aspect concerns a civilization criterion which is becoming clearly visible in the course of demarcation of the new borders of Europe. Despite a declared promotion of multiculturalism, the limes of Europe have more or less consciously been drawn along the borderline of Christian Europe. Controversy surrounding Turkey’s candidacy can be seen as a litmus test in the debate on European identity built on the basis of civilizational affiliation. According to the author, new aspects of exclusion by borders and borderlands (which turned out not to be open as wide as initially declared) were insufficiently represented in the discussion on the effects of European integration.

• Details
• Contents