games

While Arstotzka has a eastern bloc aesthetic, I think the game is more of a commentary on post-9/11 US security theater. The invasive strip searches/gender checks is a direct reference to similar abuses in US airports, and the general treatment of the people crossing the border mirrors the abuse of migrants. The treatment of terrorism is similar. You have basically no ability to stop attacks before they happen. Each new rule that is introduced just makes things harder for you and the people trying to cross the border, and does little to keep people safe. Likewise, you have the ability to treat every violator as a potential terrorist, no matter how minor. You can have people extra-judicially detained for typos. Again, this is another part of the US security theater.

Another reason why I don't think the game is really commenting on eastern bloc governments is the fact that you are processing immigrants and refugees, people trying to come into the country. Anti-communist tropes/propaganda have always positioned socialist states as someplace people are trying to flee, whether that be East Berlin, Cuba, or Venezuela. It's the US and capitalist Europe that have the practice of trying to stop people from entering the country. I don't think the game/creator has a positive view of communism, but the point being made is that it's comparing the current practices of western "democracies" to the perceived corruption/heavy-handedness of socialist "autocracies."