State borders and border zones are a subject of study in many disciplines. Where geography is concerned, the political, economic and social aspects of border regions are especially interesting, with these regions being treated as examples of a particular socioeconomic type, given that their location most often ensures a trajectory to development different from those noted in other parts of a country. The aim of this article is to present the peripherality of the Polish border region in Lubelskie Voivodeship in relation to the rest of the country, and specifically to consider what it is that ensures that this area – with a border location that ought to offer it considerable development opportunities – is still not well-prepared to play the role of motor for cross-border co-operation on a large scale, and is not serving as a nucleus from which development impulses of a transboundary nature can radiate out either.