COVID-19’S RE-BORDERING IMPACT ON THE IDENTITY OF THE POLISH–GERMAN BORDERLAND FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF POLISH RESIDENTS: THE CASE OF THE TWIN CITIES OF SŁUBICE AND GUBIN
COVID-19’S RE-BORDERING IMPACT ON THE IDENTITY OF THE POLISH–GERMAN BORDERLAND FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF POLISH RESIDENTS: THE CASE OF THE TWIN CITIES OF SŁUBICE AND GUBIN

Summary/Abstract: One of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic was the temporary closure of many state border sand the reintroduction of border controls. This included countries in the Schengen Area, and thusthe Polish-German border. These events can be seen as an example of rebordering processes. Theysignificantly impacted the life of Polish-German twin cities, whose functioning is based mainly oncross-border flows, mobility, and exchange. The paper aims to determine how the temporary bor-der closure affected the Polish-German borderland identity. This is based on qualitative empiricalresearch. The research is comparative in nature and juxtaposes statements collected before (in-depth interviews) and during (phone interviews) the pandemic. On this basis, the identity of theborderland is described in four dimensions: othering, sense of belonging, cultural landscape, andborder practices and routines. This made it possible to characterize the impact of the border clo-sure on the local community more comprehensively. Negating the border as a place of exchange,and associating it with a threat, resulted in economic decline and a sense of uprooting. Thisconclusion should translate into more significant consideration of the identity aspect in publicpolicies designed to address border closures in the EU following the pandemic.

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