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Bioterrorism is a multi-faceted phenomenon and dynamic, occurring in various forms. It is difficult now to define a uniform definition of terrorism that is changing under the influence of the development of civilization, and especially the rapid scientific progress. The terrorists perfectly use the latest achievements of biological sciences in their terrorist attacks. The purpose of this article is to bring the phenomenon of bioterrorism.

The article explains the mechanisms leading to achieving the Russian Federation's dominance in the regional and global security environment. To solve the research problems, a systemic approach was applied and methods of literary analysis and critique, non-participant observation, and uncategorized interviews were used. In the research process, it was established that the dominance of the Russian Federation in the international arena is based on force. The key factors enabling its achievement are displayed by the quantitative and qualitative superiority of the armed forces, expressed by force correlation coefficients, strategic forecasting, and operational prediction as well as the modern forms and methods of using armed forces. The Russian Federation balances the existing international disparities with the use of adaptive strategy, blackmail of conflict escalation with the use of nuclear weapons, modern and technologically advanced operational capabilities, and offensive asymmetric activities.

Na początku XXI wieku zachodzą istotne przemiany w relacjach pracy i czasu wolnego. Dostrzega się też rozwój gospodarki kreatywnej wraz z wyłanianiem się nowej stratyfikacji społecznej i zmianą czynników rozwojowych. Coraz większe znaczenie w przemianach społeczno-gospodarczych ma sektor kultury oraz działania na rzecz kształtowania przemysłów kultury i kreatywnych, wraz z ich powiązaniami z sektorami zależnymi jak np. turystyka, architektura i wzornictwo przemysłowe. Celem artykułu jest odniesienie tych procesów i zjawisk do warunków województwa podlaskiego oraz przybliżenie głównych przesłanek powołania Regionalnego Obserwatorium Kultury. Artykuł wskazuje na potrzebę i potencjalne korzyści z zarządzania wiedzą na temat kultury na poziomie regionalnym poprzez prowadzenie prac teoretycznych i metodologicznych w ramach obserwatorium. Opracowanie na podstawie analizy danych zastanych i wyników badań własnych zwraca uwagę na główne cechy regionu, potrzeby informacyjne instytucji kulturalnych i artystycznych, możliwe modele obserwatorium kultury, potencjalne obszary działalności obserwatorium i korzyści z niej wynikające.

The subject of the analysis in the article is the participation of the local government administration in running a cultural institution. The situation in the Podlaskie voivodship has been analyzed on a nationwide basis. The main problems focus on the principles and methods of financing cultural institutions by regional self-government and various ways of obtaining additional, extra-budgetary funding for their activities, especially from Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the European Union. The author points to spatial, social, and financial diversification related to the access to cultural events and participation in them using the example of Podlaskie voivodship. He propounds greater professionalisation related to running cultural institutions at the level of the voivodship as well as conducting pro-development cultural policy by local government units. He also stresses the need for activating local and regional communities in connection with cultural events and participation in organizing them. Participation in culture at the local and regional level and prudent government policy in this area are the foundation for building a strong social and regional identity.

The next phase of Russian aggression against Ukraine demonstrated that despite lacking a large military, territorial, population, or raw material potential, Belarus could play a significant role in the project to construct a new regional, continental, and even global security architecture. The purpose of this article is to discuss the problem of repositioning Belarus, which was affected not only by the multidimensional change in Belarusian-Ukrainian relations as a result of the war but also by long-term efforts to elevate Belarusian-EU relations. In this area, the fundamental research question is whether the war in Ukraine, the breach of the so-called Budapest Memorandum and the deepening of the multifaceted Russian-Belarusian integration within the Union State (including the militarisation of Belarus and the allocation of tactical nuclear weapons) will cause the projects for the redefinition of Belarus-EU relations (which are instrumental in reducing the intensity of political turbulence in the region) to disappear from the EU diplomatic agenda for a long time, with a direct negative impact on the future of European security. The article verifies the hypothesis that due to the specificity of the Belarusian authoritarian model, despite the systematically deepening Russian-Belarusian integration and the ever-expanding sanctions policy towards Belarus, (2) due to the shape of Belarusian-Ukrainian relations after 2014 and the periodically satisfactory Belarusian-EU relations, (1) there are still prospects for Belarus to pursue foreign policy diversification and repositioning of the European vector in it.

The South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) was launched in 1996, however, its functioning is an ongoing research phenomenon. This regional cooperation format includes all 13 states of South-East Europe. It was established as a forum of political dialogue and consultation, where regional issues could be addressed at the highest level. One of the objectives of the SEECP was security cooperation. The aim of this article is to analyse the role of the SEECP in maintaining security in the region of the Western Balkans. This article argues that since 1996, the SEECP has been evolving and is becoming an important format of regional cooperation in South East Europe, however, it plays a limited role in maintaining the military security of the post-conflict states of the Western Balkans. From the point of view of the members of the SEECP, military security and peace could be obtained through the integration of the participants of the SEECP, in particular those located in the Western Balkans, with the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The article also shows that establishing the SEECP did not eliminate tensions and riots based on ethnicity in some states of the Western Balkans and so, the SEECP still has a lot to do in the matters of reconciliation and good-neighbourliness. The article is based on primary and secondary source analysis, case study method comparative analysis, and the historical method.

Local border traffic has a legal basis in the Schengen acquis and is related to the EU's free movement of persons, which, subject to certain conditions, is also available to third-country nationals. The subject of the article is the legal analysis of the Schengen regime in the context of cross-border cooperation with selected third countries on the external eastern border. The research thesis is proving that local border traffic is an exception to the Schengen regime and at the same time defines the regional dimension of the Schengen area. These analyses will be based on the practical context, which is the operation of the local border traffic on the example of the external eastern border of the European Union, particularly the EU-Ukraine border, which is also the external border of the EU and the Schengen area. In this context, the impact of the liberalized Schengen regime on the movement of people across the EU-Ukraine external border will be examined, which will indicate its phased nature with particular emphasis on the role of local border traffic as a transition phase between visa and visa-free traffic. The article uses comparative statistical data on both forms of liberalization of the Schengen legal regime on the border with Ukraine. At the same time, considering the local border traffic on the EU-Ukraine border, it is worth putting forward a thesis that the local border traffic is increasingly being replaced by visa-free travel. In addition, the LBT became the first step to introduce a visa-free regime, which is further liberalization of the Schengen regime.

The main goal of the EU regional policy is obtaining cohesion. However, development strategies differ in terms of investment concentration. The paper presents the theoretical models of the regional policy, illustrated with a case study of Polish strategies. Using the spatial interactions model, the range of the diffusion of economic incentives was estimated. A dynamic analysis of 1996-2017 NUTS4 panel data enabled the assessment of the results of development strategies. The outcome was confirmed with the L-moments analysis of entrepreneurship distribution over time. The method covered the period of the highest efficiency of the cohesion policy. The author also made an attempt to mark out factors responsible for the failure of the smart policy in Poland.

The article is an attempt to trace the changes taking place in vocational education in Poland, paying special attention to the possibilities of local and regional activities supporting vocational education. The conclusions presented in the text result from the author's expert experience related to the implementation of projects to support vocational education. The presented model of support for vocational education is currently carried out by the Bialystok Human Resources Training Foundation in the city of Białystok and Białystok Poviat as the Competence Centre of the Białystok Functional Area. The experience in the implementation of the project and its effectiveness is so universal that the project will be implemented throughout the Podlasie Voivodeship. It can also be a model for local government units running vocational schools.