The borders of voivodships in Poland today are not consistent with those of historical regions. The current administrative division is largely based upon imposed boundaries, dividing initial regions. This research topic arises from the dichotomy between the toponymy applied to voivodships because of the administrative reform of 1999 – and the names of historical regions. Implementing such a toponomy, although detached from historical and cultural contexts, has contributed to establishing attachments with current administrative regions, which surpasses identification with historical units. This paper presents the results of empirical research employing a questionnaire survey of the inhabitants of 71 communes (LAU 2 units) in north-eastern Poland. The main objective was to examine the impact of recent administrative reform on territorial identity, with particular emphasis placed on the region of Podlasie. The surveyed communities are to the highest extent attached to national and local levels than to the region, which was only ranked third in the hierarchy of identification with a given area. The regional identity of the population living in north-east Poland is related primarily to the contemporary administrative borders. There are, however, explicit differences in perceptions of the region of Podlasie depending upon respondents’ place of residence, which is an indication that relict borders persist in the residents’ social consciousness.

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Abstract:The main aim of this paper is to provide a comparative analysis of regional policies dealing with peripheral rural areas in the Visegrad countries from a historical perspective. As it is demonstrated in the paper despite the common political and ideological framework the goals and means of regional policy remained rather different in these countries during state-socialism. The systemic changes demanded the re-conceptualisation of regional development policy and the reconfiguration of the institutional background. As the comparative policy analysis showed in the early 1990s there was a lack of coherent regional policy that would efficiently mitigate growing regional disparities or foster regional competitiveness. The conceptual, legal and institutional foundation of the new regional policy took place in the second half of the 1990s, with some time lag among the countries. In the formulation of strategic documents regarding regional policy the foreseen EU accession played a very important role. The preparation of national development plans were based on the EU's standardized development handbooks, therefore a considerable similarity among the new member states' regional policy documents can be observed. One can say that earlier differences in regional development priorities were gradually eliminated by the European integration among the new member states. However, rural areas were considered in regional economic development policies only in the context of agriculture and tourism development. In addition to local infrastructural development, preservation of natural and cultural heritage, job creation only agriculture and tourism were defined for EU and national subsidies.

Sprawne funkcjonowanie społeczności lokalnych w ramach danego obszaru jest w dużej mierze uzależnione od potencjału oraz możliwości wykorzystania miejscowych zasobów. Jednym z ważniejszych zasobów i czynników kształtujących rozwój lokalny jest kapitał ludzki tkwiący w danej społeczności, a w szczególności w lokalnych władzach samorządowych. Celem artykułu jest identyfikacja charakterystycznych cech struktury władz samorządowych na obszarach wiejskich Polski. Pod uwagę wzięto zarówno przestrzenną, czasową, jak i funkcjonalną zmienność tej struktury. Opis przestrzeni zaprezentowano w aspekcie międzyregionalnym, zróżnicowania między regionami historycznymi oraz wewnątrzregionalnym w zależności od odległości od większych ośrodków miejskich. Podstawę analizy zróżnicowania w aspekcie funkcjonalnym stanowiła typologia funkcjonalna gmin z 2010 r., pozwalająca wyróżnić 8 podstawowych typów struktury gospodarki lokalnej. Zakres czasowy stanowią kadencje wójtów i burmistrzów w okresie 2002–2018. Zakres przedmiotowy opracowania obejmuje wiek, płeć i wykształcenie oraz miejsce zamieszkania i stabilność władzy. Uzyskane wyniki pozwoliły wskazać szereg prawidłowości dotyczących zróżnicowania każdej z pięciu wymienionych cech władz lokalnych. Prawidłowości te są jednak mniej wyraźne niż w przypadku zróżnicowania zachowań wyborczych mieszkańców.

The essence of the research problem stems from the observed dichotomy between names given to voivodships (provinces) as a result of administrative reform of 1999 and traditional names of historical regions. The paper examines the issue of territorial uncertainty of Podlasie, a historical and cultural region situated in eastern Poland. Such uncertainty has been observed in terms of inhabitants' territorial identity expressed via names given to regional companies, institutions and media confronted with historical borders of the region. The recent Poland's administrative reform of 1999 has contributed to discrepancy in perceiving the region of Podlasie and has resulted in its pronounced identification with the Podlaskie Voivodship. Spatial analysis concerning distribution of companies and institutions, whose names refer to this region conducted for the years 1983-2013 has proven that Podlasie is increasingly identified with contemporary Podlaskie Voivodship. On the other hand, names of regional media reveal stronger regional identification with Podlasie within its historical borders rather than contemporary Podlaskie Voivodship. Current administrative division contributes to developing new territorial identity or changing the spatial range of territory inhabitants identify themselves. Moreover, this process also potentially leads to the deepening of territorial uncertainty within society and may result in weakening people's attachment to the place of living and community's social bonds.