Presentation at the ABS 2021 Annual Conference

During the ABS 2021 Annual Conference (April 17-19, 2021), dr Justyna Kajta and dr hab. prof. UWr Elżbieta Opiłowska presented their paper: Re-bordering and Pandemic. The Imaginaries and Discourse of Borders in Central European Twin Towns.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought numerous social and political consequences, especially for border regions as many European states have decided to close temporarily the borders in March 2020.  This decision had major consequences for residents in border regions, for whom border crossing is an everyday practice, causing an abrupt change in lifestyle they had not previously expected. Hence, it prompted different kinds of reactions: e.g. protests, petitions and appeals, or performative initiatives expressed a longing for a neighbour. 

The aim of this presentation is to discuss the main discourses on the rebordering experience as constructed by local authorities and residents of two twin cities in Central Europe, one on the Polish-Czech (Cieszyn-Český Těšín) and one on the Polish-German (Słubice-Frankfurt/Oder) border. Based on the discourse analysis of selected appeals, comments on Facebook city profiles, local media articles, and statements of local elites, two main discursive strands were distinguished – (dominant) anti-rebordering and pro-rebordering – which deployed opposing imaginaries. Whereas the former referred to the idea of a Europe without borders and cross-border towns, the latter one built on an imaginary of the safely bounded nation-state. Accordingly, borders in the first case were seen as obstacles to carrying on with cross-border life and breaking “the normalcy”, while, in the second, they were regarded as separating lines that provide security.