Suchergebnisse

The national and religious borderland in Podlasie is a zone with many transitory areas where different national, religious, linguistic and cultural groups overlap. There are hardly any clear dividing lines separating particular national and religious groups. In Podlasie various communities, in many cases closely related to each other, coexist side by side. The research has confirmed that the national and religious spatial diversification of Podlasie population with two totally different parts: western and eastern, remained basically unchanged for centuries. A new tendency, increasingly noticeable especially after WW II, is national borderland shifting eastward faster than the religious one, which results in growing unconformity of the two borderlands. It is explicable in terms of progressing Polonization (in some cases leading to acculturation) of many Orthodox, who, however, preserve their faith. In consequence these days a large part of Polish population in Podlasie declares Orthodox religion. It follows that the predominantly Polish area is more extensive than the area of Catholic domination, which causes divergences between national and religious borderland.Although the two borderlands are not in line, the analysed part of Podlasie region is evidently divided, both ethnically and religiously, into two parts: the western part dominated by Polish Catholic population and the eastern part dominated by adherents of the Orthodox Church more diversified as to their nationality. The central part is predominantly inhabited by Polish Orthodox population, while in the north-eastern part none of the groups has absolute domination but the communities of 'tutejsi' and Belorussians are most numerous

The geopolitical transformations in Europe caused not only far-reaching changes in the political, territorial, economic and social aspects of the continent but also heavily influenced defence doctrines and military potential in all countries concerned. The analyses of contemporary geopolitical and geostrategic situation in Central Europe shows that Poland does not match some of its neighbours as regards the military potential and basic arsenal. It seems that the reductions in Polish army are steps in a right direction but it must be coupled with increase in quality and quantity of modern armaments. Contemporary armed conflicts show that the technical equipment and troops' training are main factors of military power rather than the number of troops. The NATO membership is a warrant of state's security. Accession of new members is in Poland's interest. It would not balance the military potentials of Central-European countries, nevertheless it would improve geopolitical situation of both the NATO and Poland. Notwithstanding several positive consequences, the accession of central and eastern-European countries to the NATO and the European Union will not solve by itself geopolitical problems in this part of the world.

The investigation has shown a strong sense of cultural, linguistic and national identity among Lemkos inhabiting the nowadays Lemko Region. Today, like it was on the turn of the 19th century and between the two World Wars, the majority of Lemkos endeavour to preserve their specific consciousness and the distinct character of their community in relation to both Ukrainians and Poles. Nevertheless, one must keep in mind the existence of a group of Lemkos who identify themselves with the Ukrainian nation. There is no reason to call in question the Ukrainian nationality of these people likewise there is no reason to contest the Lemko nationality of those who label themselves as members of the Lemko nation. The question of nationality should be subject to free choice of people. The political changes in Poland in the last few years contributed to the cultural, social and political activization of Lemkos. In all likelihood this process will continue and it will support the preservation of Lemkos specific culture and national identity. However, it depends mainly on Lemkos themselves.

Polish-Belorussian borderland is the most diversified region in Poland in respect of nationality, culture and religion. It forms both an interstate borderland between Poland and Belarus and an internal ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic borderland. Prevailing nations are Poles and Belorussians but the presence of Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Tatars, Romanies, Armenians, Russians, and Karaites makes of the region a maze of nations. The investigation carried out in the town of Hajnówka and in rural areas of the Hajnówka District supplied data on the ethnic, linguistic and religious structure of inhabitants of the region concerned. The survey was made in July 1999 and covered the town of Hajnówka and five communes in the Hajnówka District: Czeremcha, Czyże, Dubicze Cerkiewne, Hajnówka and Kleszczele. Among 592 respondents there were 241 inhabitants of the town of Hajnówka and 351 rural residents. The sample closely represented the total population of the area.

Lemkos` displacement damaged the specific ethnic and cultural appearance of the region irreversibly. A complete change in ethnic composition which in this region had been practically unaltered from the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, followed. As the result of the displacement, people who had been living in the area 140 kilometres long and under 20-30 kilometres wide for a few centuries, got divided between two countries stretching from the Dnepr to the Oder. The displacements have changed ethnic and religious structure both in the Carpathians and in western and northern Poland. Nevertheless, the assimilation of Ukrainian and Lemko population which was main political goal of Polish communist authorities has never been achieved. In spite of circumstances favouring assimilation such as: spatial dispersion, education in Polish schools, intermarriages, over 40-years-long political pressure, difficult contacts with native culture, the Lemkos are neither socially nor culturally assimilated. The questionnaire survey has confirmed that the Lemkos keep very strongly their national identity, religious, linguistic and cultural distinctness

Lemkos are the group of Ruthenian population that reach furthest to the west and that stand apart from the Polish and the Slovak populations as far as their culture, religion and language are concerned. From the 14th century until 1944, they had been densly inhabiting the territory that spread in a form of an elongated wedge on both, the Polish and the Slovakian sides of the Carpathians from the Solinka and the Laborec rivers in the east, up to the Poprad river in the west. Ethnically, it was a homogeneous Lemko region. The Polish and the Slovak populations occupied only a few towns. The territory on the Polish side of the Carpathians inhabited by the Lemkos is called the Lemkos lands (Łemkowszczyzna). It covers the eastern part of the Sądecki Beskid, the Lower Beskid and the western edge of the Bieszczady Mountains

The article attempts to estimate the influence of the geographical and political conditions on the transformation of a Sikhs community after the decolonisation of India in 1947. The authors have used, among other things, the results of their own field research, statistical analysis and scientific works. The main aim of the paper is to explain the specificity of the functioning of Sikhs who despite extremely unfavourable geopolitical conditions and relatively small number have been able to maintain their own identity and achieve a level of social and economic development higher than average for India and Pakistan. Contemporary Sikhs are often perceived as both – a religious and national community. In general, their main characteristics are sharp cultural and moral distinction and very strong awareness of their identity. They manifestate strong bond to their region. Sikhs play crucial roles in social, political, and especially economic and military functioning of the state. Due to their concentration on the India-Pakistan borderland, strong militarisation and separatistic tendencies, Sikhs play crucial role in the domestic and foreign policy of India. ; W artykule podjęto próbę oszacowania wpływu warunków geograficznych i politycznych na transformację społeczności Sikhów po dekolonizacji Indii w 1947 roku. Autorzy wykorzystali, między innymi, wyniki własnych badań terenowych, analiz statystycznych i opracowań naukowych. Głównym celem artykułu jest wyjaśnienie specyfiki funkcjonowania Sikhów, którzy pomimo wyjątkowo niesprzyjających warunków geopolitycznych i stosunkowo niewielkiej populacji byli w stanie utrzymać własną tożsamość i osiągnąć poziom rozwoju społeczno-gospodarczego wyższy niż średnia dla Indii i Pakistanu. Współcześni Sikhowie są często postrzegani zarówno jako wspólnota religijna, jak i narodowa. Zasadniczo ich głównymi cechami są wyraźne różnice kulturowe i moralne oraz bardzo silna świadomość ich tożsamości. Przejawiają silną więź ze swoim regionem. Sikhowie odgrywają kluczową rolę w społecznym, politycznym, a zwłaszcza gospodarczym i wojskowym funkcjonowaniu państwa. Z powodu koncentracji na pograniczu indyjsko-pakistańskim, silnej militaryzacji i tendencji separatystycznych Sikhowie odgrywają kluczową rolę w polityce wewnętrznej i zagranicznej Indii.

The article attempts to estimate the influence of the geographical and political conditions on the transformation of a Sikhs community after the decolonisation of India in 1947. The authors have used, among other things, the results of their own field research, statistical analysis and scientific works. The main aim of the paper is to explain the specificity of the functioning of Sikhs who despite extremely unfavourable geopolitical conditions and relatively small number have been able to maintain their own identity and achieve a level of social and economic development higher than average for India and Pakistan. Contemporary Sikhs are often perceived as both – a religious and national community. In general, their main characteristics are sharp cultural and moral distinction and very strong awareness of their identity. They manifestate strong bond to their region. Sikhs play crucial roles in social, political, and especially economic and military functioning of the state. Due to their concentration on the India-Pakistan borderland, strong militarisation and separatistic tendencies, Sikhs play crucial role in the domestic and foreign policy of India. ; W artykule podjęto próbę oszacowania wpływu warunków geograficznych i politycznych na transformację społeczności Sikhów po dekolonizacji Indii w 1947 roku. Autorzy wykorzystali, między innymi, wyniki własnych badań terenowych, analiz statystycznych i opracowań naukowych.Głównym celem artykułu jest wyjaśnienie specyfiki funkcjonowania Sikhów, którzy pomimo wyjątkowo niesprzyjających warunków geopolitycznych i stosunkowo niewielkiej populacji byli w stanie utrzymać własną tożsamość i osiągnąć poziom rozwoju społeczno-gospodarczego wyższy niż średnia dla Indii i Pakistanu. Współcześni Sikhowie są często postrzegani zarówno jako wspólnota religijna, jak i narodowa. Zasadniczo ich głównymi cechami są wyraźne różnice kulturowe i moralne oraz bardzo silna świadomość ich tożsamości. Przejawiają silną więź ze swoim regionem. Sikhowie odgrywają kluczową rolę w społecznym, politycznym, a zwłaszcza gospodarczym i wojskowym funkcjonowaniu państwa. Z powodu koncentracji na pograniczu indyjsko-pakistańskim, silnej militaryzacji i tendencji separatystycznych Sikhowie odgrywają kluczową rolę w polityce wewnętrznej i zagranicznej Indii.

In the past two years, the European continent has become the target of mass migration of various ethnic and religious groups who, for reasons of security or economic hardship, have decided to leave their homelands and go into dangerous exile, mostly by sea. In order to reach the world perceived by them as an oasis of security and prosperity, and above all tolerance for racial, ethnic, cultural and religious differences, the arrivals are deepening the already large diversity of the Old Continent's population, where the various minorities have been living for a long time. Particularly interesting is the question of the functioning of national and religious minorities in the borderlands between countries, as well as the formation of such borderlands by different nations. Therefore, the editors propose that number 13 of Region and Regionalism addresses the issue of Borderlands of nations, nations of borderlands. The proposed subject matter met with the lively response from the authors, so much so that the number of submitted papers prompted the Editorial Board to divide them into two volumes. The first volume, collects the works discussing Minorities in the borderlands and the fringes of countries.

Contemporary Polish-Lithuanian relations are heavily burdened by radically different assessments of the situations of the national minorities in the two countries, i.e. Poles in Lithuania and Lithuanians in Poland. However, assessments are fraught with difficulties reflecting a complicated history and the different potentials of the two minorities, and also warped by a great many stereotypes. The main aim of this paper is to compare the situations of the Polish minority in Lithuania and the Lithuanian minority in Poland by reference to criteria that are objective (demographic potential, legal status, organisational activity, education) or subjective (the opinions of leaders of national organisations), as well as to attempt to determine how the different situations of the two minorities affects their relations with the authorities, the majority and the foreign homeland.

Nowadays Vilnius Region is a territory divided between Lithuania and Belarus. Many changes in political affiliation during last ten centuries caused that now it is still a region inhabited by many different nations: Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Belarusian, Jewish etc. An existence of so many nations in this area caused lot of conflicts but also some forms of cooperation. During many years Lithuania and Poland was one country and lots of mutual historical facts are evaluated totally different by both sides. In 2004 Lithuania became a member of European Union what caused that part of historical Vilnius Region came under UE law. It has changed a situation of national minorities in this territory.

1. Apart from Finnish-Russian border, Polish eastern border is one of the longest external European Union and Schengen Agreement land borders under the control of a single country. 2. For the last few years, Polish Government has significantly improved the infrastructure of Border Guard at the eastern border in order to prevent "flooding" of Europe by illegal immigrants and smuggled goods. 3. Despite this fact, Polish eastern border does not have sufficient infrastructure, especially when the number of border checkpoints and roads is taken into consideration. The abovementioned, along with difficult border crossing procedures, may lead to creating a new symbolic "wall" separating Poland from its eastern neighbors. To avoid this, it seems necessary to introduce procedures, both on regional and international levels, to encourage trans-border regions' integration. Co-operation should be dealt both in industry as well as in cultural and scientific fields 4. Border traffic at the polish eastern border has been relatively steady for the last few years and even in the case of Ukraine its intensity was increasing. Poland's accession to Schengen Agreement dramatically reduced border traffic at all three borders. Initially, it was caused by the visas for the citizens of neighboring countries and difficult access to them. As a con-sequence, the number of crossings at the eastern border by the foreigners dropped in certain places even by 50%. To improve the situation it is necessary to simplify visa procedures. Moreover, works on introducing possibilities of crossing borders within so-called small border traffic guaranteed by the EU law, should be finished as quickly as possible. Otherwise, restrictions in border traffic may weaken economic development in border regions and decrease trade exchange, both on local and regional scale.

1. The extension of the Schengen Agreement to the countries of Central Europe is the historic event, which finally ended the isolation of the communist period, entirely changing the functions and perception of the state border in this region of Europe and accelerating the integration of European states. 2. Despite the border control removal, one should not expect immediate growth of the border traffic at the Polish-Czech border. However the smuggling of goods may still intensify. 3. Despite the great importance of the Schengen Agreement, the knowledge of Polish-Czech borderland citizens about this event several months before its introduction was scarce. One should hope, that introduction of a new legislation and its practical use, will significantly change the consciousness of citizens. 4. The majority of the respondents on both sides of the border expect that the opening of the border will positively change the image of the Polish-Czech borderland. However, there is also a large group of people, especially on Czech side of the border, who think that the Schengen Agreement will not introduce any changes, although the number of pessimists foreseeing the deterioration of the situation is scarce. 5. Respondents on the Polish side of the border have larger expectations towards functioning of the Schengen Agreement, while Czechs are more skeptical about it.6. There is a strong dependence between the age of the respondents and declaration of fears connected with the accession to the Schengen Zone – the older the respondents, the higher percentage of skeptical people. 7. Expectations and hopes connected with functioning of the Schengen Agreement are related mainly to the economic development of the border-land, especially trade, services, enterprises, as well as with the improvement of living conditions and facilitations in transboundary contacts and foreign travel. Among respondents' expectations, economic benefits are the most popular. 8. The most frequently indicated fears, connected with the lack of border control, are the growth of crime rate, smuggling and deterioration of natural environment. Moreover, Polish citizens are afraid of the increase in an already high emigration rate.