STABILITY AND CHANGEABILITY OF BORDERS IN EUROPE

Political borders in Europe used to be treated as linear systems from the 17th century onward but this approach became widespread only in the 19th century. Controversy surrounding the linear character of borders, not just political but regional ones as well (concerning e.g. socio-economic links or cultural phenomena) was also present in the domain of geography, giving rise to the problem of delimitation of borders on the land (e.g. political borders) and on the map. The paper analyzes some geographical accounts of the problem of borders and describes some mechanisms that affect the stability or changeability of political borders in Europe. Finally, attention is drawn to the issue of particular countries' access to sea coasts and to the subject of their territorial integrity.