Integration around regional development goals. Discourse concerning the European Social Fund utilisation in Opolskie region

The article presents an analysis of the discourse of the European Social Found (ESF) component in Regional Operating Programme of Opolskie Voivodeship present in regional media. The paper shows multilevel institutional conditions for the regional ESF discourse that concerns the integration around regional development goals. Next, it includes an analysis of the EFS discourse in regional media. The comparison of regulations and regional media discourse shows important discrepancies between them, which becomes an argument for considering regional media discourse on ESF as somewhat independent from institutional regulations. The article also shows that the integration around regional development goals is not the main focal point in it and is not realised precisely in according to the external regulations.

Locality in the era of globalization. Carriers of the memory of historical landscapes – studies on the Evangelical cemeteries of the Masuria region (Poland)

The main purpose of this article was to present contemporary narratives (social and scientific discourse) about the Evangelical cemeteries of Masuria, based on the examples of the activities under two projects, whose common denominator are the restoration of memory and the protection of cultural heritage. The present elaboration concerns selected issues of the functioning of the tangible cultural heritage in the Masuria region (in Pasym and one of the deserted villages). This piece of writing also describes how the spaces of Protestant cemeteries can be interpreted anew, especially as a result of documentative works.

NSZZ “Solidarity’s” notions for the state’s role in social life. Their social and political roots and status in 3rd Republic of Poland

The paper portrays the origins and ideological foundations of NSZZ “Solidarity” (Independent Self-governing Trade Union “Solidarity”) and their meaning in social life at the time of the communist regime in PRL (Polish People’s Republic). There are references to strikes (June ‘56 in Poznan, polish March ’68, June ’76, July ’80 in Lublin and Swidnica and August ’80) and, in 1980, the creation of Inter-Enterprise Strike Committee, which developed and published 21 demands aimed at the authorities. In the study, it is acknowledged that those demands are the ideological sources of Solidarity. The author of the text thinks that John Paul II sermons and encyclicals as well as Fr. Józef Tischner’s texts (published in the book Etyka solidarności oraz Homo sovieticus – Solidarity’s ethics and homo soviecticus) also had an influence on the formation of these ideas, which could bring back moral order, the rule of law, dignity and freedom for the society enslaved by Soviets. “Solidarity” also desired to improve the economic status of the country, particularly by ending the crisis. Those thoughts were, and are, beautiful; unfortunately, nowadays many of them exist only in the sphere of ideas or demands written in NSZZ Solidarity’s statute. Therefore, the article contains a sad conclusion, that in the 3rd Republic of Poland’s reality, “Solidarity’s” ideas are not attractive anymore. It happened because modern society is guided by consumerism and has become banausic. Trade union membership is not beneficial anymore, sometimes even being bothersome and seen as exceptional. That is why people, for the sake of keeping their jobs or other benefits, are leaving NSZZ “Solidarity”. Considering the ideas behind trade unions (especially the protection of worker’s affairs) – it is a peculiar paradox.

A historical and politico-geographical analysis of Hungarian-Polish border before 1939 in the Hungarian historical geography

The historical development of the common borders took place in many respects simultaneously since the epoch of the two states’ establishment. The territories and borders of both states have greatly changed ever since, yet during the periods of joined kingdom the common borders always showed a high degree of stability. The first description of the common state borders can be found in the Anonymous Latin Gesta by around 1200 AD. From the 15th century on, the Hungarian Parliament on several occasions appointed and sent different committees by legal acts to the borders of neighbouring countries, including Poland, in order to delimit or adjust its state borders. Due to the threefold dissolution of the Polish State, the former common border fundamentally changed. After the First World War, the common state border between the reborn Poland and the historical Hungary completely vanished after the latter lost some two-thirds of its territory. During the Second World War the common borders were restored for a short time through which thousands of Polish escaped to Hungary. Thus, the partially shared state history and the changing (disappearing and reappearing) common state border represent an international singularity in many respects.

The State – a necessity or an enemy?

This paper seeks to show the State in its historical and analytical approaches. In view of history, we find two principal solutions. In this text they are called metaphysical and contractual. The metaphysical solution is characteristic of the pre-modern era with its Aristotelian claim that we carry the social principle in our human nature; the principle is the spawning ground for the State. Now, the contractual, i.e. the modern, approach defines the State as a result of human negotiation. Historically speaking, there have been many proposals along the spectrum from an overgrown institution to its, much atrophied, form. The author proposes a modest approach to our understanding of the State: it is needed from the well-being of social community. The condition, however, of this well-being is that the State be limited, allowing much space for its society to grow and form indispensable interrelations.

Poles and Finns under Russian rule

An attempt to compare Russian Tsar Alexander I was the head of the Grand Duchy of Finland, which the Russian army captured in 1809 as a result of the Russo-Swedish war. The final act of the Congress of Vienna of June 1815 decided to establish the Kingdom of Poland. Beside the title of Grand Duke of Finland tsar, Alexander I was awarded the title of the King of Poland. From that moment on, for over one hundred years, the fate of the Grand Duchy of Finland and the Kingdom of Poland was intertwined during the rule of five Russian tsars. The aim of this paper is to answer the question whether two different ways on the road to independence – romantic Polish way with national uprisings, and pragmatic Finnish, relative loyal to the Russian tsars – had an impact on their policy towards both nations. The Kingdom of Poland and the Duchy of Finland were autonomous, were in a personal union with Russian tsars, had their own constitutions, parliaments, armies, monetary systems and educational structures, and official activities were held in Polish (Polish Kingdom) and Swedish (in the Grand Duchy of Finland). Both countries also had their own universities. The first national uprising in the Kingdom of Poland, which broke out in November 1830, resulted in a wave of repression. The Constitution was replaced by the so-called The Organic Statute, the Sejm (the Parliament) and the independent army were liquidated. The Kingdom was occupied by the mighty Russian army, and in 1833 martial law was introduced. The second national uprising of January 1863 led to another wave of repression and intensive Russification of Polish territories. In 1867, the autonomy of the Kingdom of Poland, its name and budget were abolished. From 1872 the Polish language was only an optional choice. After 1863, the policy of the Russian authorities changed towards the Grand Duchy. A session of the Finnish parliament (Eduskunta) was convened for the first time since 1809, the new parliamentary law allowed the dissemination of the Finnish language. After the deadly assault on Alexander II in 1881, his son Alexander III made attempts to limit also Finland’s autonomy. The years 1899–1904 were called the first period of Russification in Finland (“the first period of oppression”). The Manifesto of June 1900 introduced obligatory Russian language in correspondence of officials with Russia. In 1901, the national Finnish army was liquidated. In Russia this was the beginning of the process of the empire’s unification into one cultural, political and economic system. After a short thaw as a result of the 1905 revolution in Russia, the Grand Duchy of Finland, the so-called “second period of oppression” and anti-Finnish politics took place. During the great war of 1914–1918, the Grand Duchy was on the side of Russia. The territories of the former Kingdom of Poland were under German rule since 1915. After the outbreak of the revolution in Russia, the Eduskunta (on 6 December 1917) passed a Declaration of Independence. After a short period of regency, on 19 July 1919, the Finns adopted the republican system with a parliamentary form of government. On 11 November 1918 Germany surrendered on the Western Front. On that day, the Regency Council in Warsaw handed over military authority to the Polish Legion commander Józef Piłsudski. Although Poland still had to fight for the final shape of the state, the 11th of November 1918 is considered the first day of recovered Polish independence.

Challenges to the state policy towards migration processes in Poland

In quantitative dimension, Poland is a significant émigré country in which the scale of external outflow has been maintained at the level of about 2 million people for many years. In the light of (Central Statistical Office) data in 2016, 2 million 515 thousand Poles were abroad temporarily for a period of more than 3 months. An important task of migration policy is therefore to minimise the negative effects of mass emigration and to maximise the benefits resulting from this process. At the same time, in the decade after 2010, the volume of foreigners coming to Poland increased significantly and it should be expected that, as the socio-economic attractiveness of the country has grown, this group would be increasing as well. According to the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy (Ministerstwo Rodziny, Pracy i Polityki Społecznej) data, 235 626 work permits were issued in 2017, including 192 547 to Ukrainian citizens (ca. 82%). To compare, in the same year, the district employment offices (Powiatowy Urząd Pracy) registered 1 824 464 declarations of intention to work to foreigners, including 1 714 891 towards the citizens of Ukraine (94%). The discussion on the nature of immigration policy is therefore unavoidable. The growing inflow of foreigners is gaining a special demographic, social and political significance in the context of unfavourable forecast of population changes in Poland. It also has an important regional dimension. From this perspective, foreigners will be needed on the Polish labour market to alleviate already existing and projected shortages of labour resources. An important challenge is to develop a strategy for the integration of social, economic and cultural foreigners into the Polish society. Consequently, the persistent mass emigration, growing immigration, unflagging migration potential and, more expected than real, the return of Poles from emigration are a great challenge for the Polish economy and society as well as for regions. This multidimensional nature of foreign migration in Poland makes the emergence of migration policy system, corresponding to internal and external conditions, a necessity. The postulate of the formulation of the foundations of a migration policy appeared in Poland at the beginning of the 1990s, but until now a coherent system of this policy has failed to develop as a complementary element of the socio-economic policy of the country.

The Baltic Sea as the mediterranean of the North. The Baltic Region and Poland in the periodical “Geopolitica” (1939–1942)

In January 1939, the first issue of the Italian magazine “Geopolitica” came out: it would go on monthly until 1942. Founded in the scientific circles of Trieste by two geographers, Giorgio Roletto (1885–1967) and Ernesto Massi (1909–1997), who went on to become editor and co-editor-in-chief, respectively, the magazine was inspired by the German periodical “Zeitschrift für Geopolitik” by Karl Haushofer. However, its approach to geopolitical issues used autonomous conceptional bases quite different from those of the German school. In the intentions of its founders, “Geopolitica” should have contributed to a re-evaluation of didactics of geography and to support the imperialistic politics of Mussolini’s regime, even though it never got to have a substantial role in Italy’s governing policies. It never even obtained full recognition by the academic geographical establishment that in fact denied geopolitics its own scientific autonomy. Frequent issues discussed in the magazine were the Mediterranean basin, the Balkans and Africa, close to the Italian geostrategic interests; but there was also cautious interest towards Poland, considered to be fully integrated into the German Lebensraum. Therefore, we could say there was some reticence in approaching this theme, along with a sort of reverence towards the German ally who was also “competition”, despite the fact that its territory saw strategic and political events of utmost importance during the entire four years of the magazine’s life. On the other hand, the attention towards the Baltic region was free of any conditioning. It was perceived as a sort of a “Nordic Mediterranean”, wanted both by Germans and Soviets, and an object of desire also of the states who wanted to defend their difficult neutrality in the war that was raging throughout Europe.

The Sikhs – religion and nation. Chosen political and social determinants of functioning

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.

Syria’s ordeal: A modern state’s disintegration in an age of fake news and superpower regional rivalry

The negative impact of globalization is readily observed in today’s Syria. Ravished by seven years of internal conflict stimulated initially by Tunisia’s Arab awakening, this once proud state has become a magnet for religious fanatics and their wealthy sponsors in conservative Saudi Arabia and other countries far and near seeking geopolitical advantage. Not least Syria has experienced the seemingly futile endeavors by those in the United Nations and elsewhere seeking a solution to this country’s enduring turmoil. Military intervention by Iran and Russia has changed the configuration of the conflict at the critical point in time when Israeli and American intervention provides a dangerous environment for superpower conflict. All the while, Syrians remaining in the country suffer, and those seeking safety elsewhere are threatening to destabilize Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan and, farther afield, the cohesion of the European Community.