(De-)Bordering Through Discursive Practices: Ambivalent Narratives on the EU External Border Crises

This article examines the narratives surrounding the border crises on the EU’s external border as constructed by the governing political actors in Poland in the period 2021–2023. Drawing on the discourse-historical approach and building on the social construction of a border, it examines the frames, contexts, standpoints, and narrative strategies that have been used to justify (in)hospitable policies toward migrants on both the Polish–Belarusian and Polish–Ukrainian borders. By analyzing the official statements of Polish politicians, ambivalent narratives justifying the securitized border regime and the humanitarian open border were identified. However, both bordering and de-bordering discursive practices were realized through polarization strategies and racialization of people on the move at both borders, portraying them as dehumanized “others” or individualized “our Slavic neighbors.” As such, this article contributes to borderlands studies from the perspective of discursive practices and identifies narrative strategies that can be applied within broader discourse and research on migration and borders in Europe.