Borderland as a space fostering the contracting of mixed marriages - the truth and myths

Abstract

Globalization phenomena not only enhance cultural cognition but also foster establishing close relationships, which might be also legally confirmed. Today, many borders – like the Polish-Czech one – are “dematerialized” and exist more in the memory and awareness of people than in the physical sense. For the needs of the analyses, the category of borderland in its territorial sense was applied. Living in the borderland provides chances for establishing close interpersonal relations. What enhances the establishing of such relations in the case of the Polish-Czech borderland are the similarity of languages, common history and cultural closeness. This also fosters contracting mixed marriages. However, do close neighbourhood and similar social environments really make people seek contacts with neighbours? Does this enhance shaping a positive attitude to cultural diversity. The conducted analyses were aimed at familiarizing with the declarations of the examined university students from Poland and the Czech Republic concerning the way in which mixed marriages are perceived in their environment.