The interview with Dr. Anita Zarzycka was conducted by a Video Games Management Student Marcin Kurach from Students in Action group.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Institute of US Economy and Transatlantic Relationships of the Łazarski University!

On January 15, we held an online debate on the migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border. We tried to answer the questions about the causes and development of the crisis. When asked why such a large number of migrants suddenly arrived at the Polish border and why right now, the responses of the participants pointed to the culprit, the Belarusian leader Lukashenka, whose deliberate actions resulted in the arrival of a huge crowd of people attracted by the promises of a better life in Western Europe. The motivation for such actions was to be revenge against the countries of Western Europe (including Poland) that did not accept the manipulated and undemocratic results of the presidential elections in Belarus and openly criticized the dictatorial style of ruling on Belarus. So, how should Polish authorities react and are the government actions supported by the public? The statements indicated public support for the protection of the Polish state's borders in compliance with EU migration law, but the actions of state services in the humanitarian aspect were criticized. The lack of sufficient concern for the fate of migrants and the controversial practice of "pushback" in relation to all people trying to cross the border were pointed out, as well as the cost of human victims as a result of such actions. The moral aspect of the crisis was severely criticized both in relation to the actions of the Belarusian and Polish authorities.

On 29 November and 1 December students’ debates concerning the burning issue of immigrants camping at the Polish-Belarussian border were held.

Late December, a research monography by Jarosław Jura (Faculty of Economics and Management) entitled "The specificity of Chinese soft power in Africa on the example of Zambia and Angola. Operationalisation of the concept and empirical analysis based on the study of media content and internauts' statements" was published by Lazarski University Press.