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This paper focuses on the memoryscapes of Cieszyn Silesia, Orawa and Spisz in a context of the border conflicts of the twentieth century. The regions located on the current Czech-Polish and Slovak-Polish border have lived through paralleled histories of the border demarcation after WWI, which was unprecedented there. In both cases the national minorities were left behind the border, outside of their home states. Their stories and memories are, however, not being researched together. This paper contrasts the patterns of memory production related to the border shifts in the landscape in both regions. Emphasis is placed on the memory sites, their narratives and memory activism related to the conflicting past. The results show that the main axes of both memory debates are contrasting. While the conflict over Cieszyn Silesia was most shaped by the short war in 1919, the lesser-known dispute over Orawa and Spisz was marked by numerous smaller incidents, assimilation efforts and a layer of post WWII violence. This has important consequences for the memory production. The other important differentiating factor is the scope of memory activism inside of the national minority group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After regaining independence in 1918, Poland faced many fundamental and strategic challenges. One of them was the issue of border crossings on the German-Polish border in Silesia. It was a region dominated by modern heavy industry, to which both the modern states laid claim. The course of the border was to be decided by a plebiscite, but the parties to the conflict resorted to violence and military means. In a complicated international situation and without the possibility of open military intervention, Poland effectively used the strategic tool of special operations – known more widely today as unconventional warfare. Thanks to their skillful application, the German military advantage was effectively eliminated and strategic goals were achieved. Poles effectively cut lines of communication, making it impossible to support pro-German organizations in Silesia, and successfully organized insurgent forces that achieved the goals important for Poland's development policy. This paper tells the story of a special mission unit called the Destruction Group 'Wawelberg' and its use as a tool for implementing the state policy of unconventional warfare during the Third Silesian Uprising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine Spatial Planning is labelled as 'an idea whose time has come' based on its applicability to address spatial conflicts and deliver sustainable use. Legislation such as the EU MSP Directive 2014/89/EU and the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 requires that neighbouring marine spatial plans are coherent and coordinated to address cross-border issues. However, the implementation of MSP in cross-border areas is complex due to different administrative processes, fiscal and legislative procedures. This study argues that cross-border MSP is challenging in areas that are faced with historically contested borders which limit effective delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Two contested case study regions: Germany, Poland and the island of Ireland are compared. To help understand contemporary issues, a bespoke theoretical evaluative framework, the 'Wheel of Integration and Adaptation' is used to identify the challenges of cross-border MSP. An in-depth review of planning documents, policies, legislation was undertaken alongside interviews. This demonstrated that in contested areas, cross-border MSP must contend with the following challenges: 'inter alia' geographical peripheries syndrome, schema overload, limited transparency and blue justice, diplomatic consultation processes and differences in planning philosophies. This paper concludes by presenting five interventions as steps toward advancing cross-border MSP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the issue of the state border. It emphasizes the fact that the state border is a multi-component and multifunctional phenomenon. It was proved that a legally established and internationally recognized border acquires a sign of politicality. The political boundary is a holistic and dynamic phenomenon, inherent in the internal logic of development. The issues of functioning and institutional support of state borders were generalized. The influence of state borders on the development of border territories was revealed. A scheme for the development and integration of contact border areas has been developed. The factors of contact border regions development were studied, as well as the process of various types of regional socio-economic systems formation under the condition of the predominance of state border certain functions. The importance of the functioning of state borders and the development of border regions for the formation of various types of ties, the level of stability of the border and the formation of a political environment have been clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russian disinformation carried out as part of the ongoing war in Ukraine is becoming a challenge for neighbouring countries that border the conflict region. The aim of the analysis was to identify common features between Russian disinformation in Moldova and Poland, which, as two of the countries that border Ukraine, were on a list of Russia’s main targets for disinformation in 2022. The geopolitical and historical importance of both countries increases their social polarisation. The study was therefore guided by the following research question: What common features can be distinguished between Russian disinformation in Moldova and Poland? The research took the form of an open comparison. According to the approach used, the empirical cases used for comparison were not explicitly limited a priori. In order to carry out the research, however, preliminary assumptions were adopted that ensured temporal, conceptual, and interpretative comparability of the data. Research results proved that Russian disinformation in both countries is based on the following common features: creating internal divisions, propagation of distrust towards the West, stimulating social emotions, use of social media, and popularising pro-Russian narratives. Analysing these areas may be helpful in increasing the ability of states to detect and disclose disinformation. Scientific publications describing Russian disinformation focus on the national perspective, which does not always correspond to the transnational nature of disinformation campaigns. Meanwhile, this article synthesises knowledge about disinformation mechanisms occurring in two countries bordering the conflict region and draws attention to the need for research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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According to the will of World War I's victors, a plebiscite planned for 1921 would determine the border demarcation between Germany and reborn Poland. In the conflict with Germany, Poland was the weaker side, both in political, military and economic terms, and needed to use a wide range of tools to achieve a favourable result in the planned plebiscite. The Polish side used the sports press as a soft power tool which played a special role in the plebiscite's campaign. The sports press presented Poland as a modern country that promoted democratic sports disciplines and having excellent contacts with European sports which were in opposition to Germany, the war loser excluded from the Olympic family and now unattractive in sports terms. In the soft power context, the sports press contributed to building a local community and to sports and hygienic education by using non-material energy resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1918, the Republic of Poland, recovering from a century and a half of servitude, was in conflict not only with the former partitioning powers, but also with new nation states that were forming on their ruins. Lithuanians, creating their own state, rejected the proposal to return to the idea of a Polish-Lithuanian union. They chose the road to state independence, although, to do so, they often had to seek agreements with Germany and Soviet Russia. With the use of Polish literature on the subject, the article outlines the military aspects of the dispute between Poland and Lithuania over the Vilnius and Suwałki regions in the period when the foundations of the independence of both countries were being shaped, focusing on the period 1919–1920. The source base for the study consists mainly of documents of military provenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, real estate located in rural areas neighboring cities are under pressure to become a location for the realization of urban and metropolitan projects. Thus, spatial conflicts are an inherent characteristic of modern urban development. Such conflicts vary in terms of the scope, intensity and course they take. An interesting case illustrating the given issue can be the conflict over real estate owned by the State Treasury (central authority) and localized within the power of local authorities (gminas). Such a situation requires mediating and producing an outcome that satisfies the goals of both sides. The authors based the deliberations on the topic of spatial conflicts on the example of the relation between the Agricultural Property Agency division in Olsztyn (APA Olsztyn) and the smallest local administration units (gminas) located within the borders of the Warmia-Masuria (Województwo Warmińsko-Mazurskie) and Podlasie (Województwo Podlaskie) Provinces. The aim of the research was to describe the background for potential conflict and to study its proceedings. The aim was achieved through studies of relevant literature and data analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]