A Case for the Coexistence of Security and ‘Open’ Borders on the Polish-Russian Borderland
A Case for the Coexistence of Security and ‘Open’ Borders on the Polish-Russian Borderland

Summary/Abstract: Since the fall of communism in 1989 and the opening up of bordersafterwards, the EU has had a number of anomalous and specific border cases. Each of thesemust be treated differently based on historical and geographic considerations. It must alsobe taken into account how these borders function concerning security matters. This paperlooks at the Polish - Russian border and how it is being managed by the Republic of Poland.The paper argues that securitization and border permeability should not be thought of ascompeting forces. Instead they are part of a wider picture and should be treated asbalancing forces. The paper likewise argues that Poland is maintaining a balancing actbetween these two forces by allowing both securitizing the border as it sees fit and allowingthe legislation of the Small Border Traffic (SBT) zone to continue.

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