Central Europe Yearbook

Everything Old is New Again: Border Rituals and the Return of History in 'Green Border'

Rafael Escoto

Emory University

Keywords: Film review, Populism, Poland, Belarus, Migration, Asylum, EU, Memory politics, Durkheim

Abstract

This paper argues that Green Border (2023), directed by Agnieszka Holland, transforms the Polish-Belarusian border into a site of moral ritual, where sacred violence replaces humanitarian law. Using Durkheim’s theories, Eastern European memory studies, and analyses of populism and asylum policy, the paper interprets the film as a historical recurrence rather than a modern crisis. Drawing on scholars like Törnquist-Plewa, Exeler, and Krastev, the analysis reveals how Europe’s border politics ritualize exclusion and revive authoritarian patterns under democratic guise. Methods include close film analysis and engagement with secondary literature on EU identity, populism, and the symbolic politics of migration.