ENThis article examines the mechanism of local border traffic (LBT) at external borders of the European Union (EU) and Schengen Area in the Baltic Sea region (BSR) from the point of view of the paradigm of constructivism. The LBT mechanism is an example of the practical application of constructivism: the goal of LBT is to stimulate cross-border cooperation (CBC) in its various dimensions. As a result, new interests and new identities may develop in border areas. This study proved that the greatest opportunities for shaping relations between societies and states in BSR are in the Polish– Russian, Norwegian–Russian, and Lithuanian–Belarusian borderlands. [From the publication]