The article discusses the electoral system in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elections are the process of citizens electing their representatives for specific positions. In this context, the method and principles of conducting the election are important, so that its fundamental rule - universality - is preserved. Although more than a dozen electoral regulations were in force since 1989 and the traditional model of voting at a polling station was still in place, the Polish legislator also provided for postal and proxy voting. Due to the risk related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would seem that changes to the Polish Electoral Code will be necessary. The adaptation of the new provisions to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997, however, turned out to be too ambitious a task for the domestic legislator. Therefore, the Act of April 6, 2020 on the special rules for holding general elections for the President of the Republic of Poland, ordered in 2020, did not enter into force finally, because the functioning of a democratic state ruled by law requires that fundamental rights and civil liberties, including electoral ones be guaranteed. This study is empirical in nature - it is a case study of a specific legislative action shown in a comparative approach on the example of Poland and the United States of America.
Ukraine has played an extremely important role in ensuring the energy security of Central European countries over the years, mainly due to its position as a transit state. Past energy crises (2006, 2009) have affected the perception of the country in Europe and led to Russian-German energy projects that reduce the level of regional security (e.g., Nord Stream 1, Nord Stream 2). In Poland, various political parties (Law and Justice, Civic Platform, the Left Party, Polish People's Party) have referred differently to regional cooperation and the function Ukraine might offer in this type of process. In this context, the aim of the article was to analyse the political thought of selected Polish parliamentary parties regarding the importance of Ukraine in ensuring the energy security of Central European countries during Russia's armed attack on Ukraine in 2022. The starting point of the analyses was the general thesis that political parties in Poland treated Ukraine as a key state in efforts to limit the negatively perceived energy policy of the Russian Federation in the region.
Autor przeanalizował pod kątem obronności i polityki bezpieczeństwa programy wyborcze największych niemieckich partii, opublikowane przed wyborami do Parlamentu Europejskiego (26.05.2019). Uwzględnione zostały programy partii, które w ostatnich wyborach do Bundestagu (2017 r.) uzyskały ponad 5% głosów, a więc: CDU/CSU, Sojuszu 90/Zielonych, SPD, AfD, Die Linke i FDP. W swojej analizie autor skupił się na podejściu niemieckich partii do takich zagadnień jak: wspólna polityka bezpieczeństwa i obrony UE (uwzględniono m.in. podjętą w 2017 r. Stałą Współpracę Strukturalną – PESCO), rozwijanie europejskich struktur obronnych, stosunek do NATO, współpraca przemysłów obronnych, eksport broni i relacje z Rosją. Analiza programów wykazała, że postulaty CDU/CSU, SPD, Zielonych i FDP są w wielu punktach zgodne z najważniejszymi niemieckimi dokumentami strategicznymi (Biała Księga 2016, umowa koalicyjna z 2018 r.). AfD odrzuca rozwijanie europejskich struktur obronnych, a w zamian proponuje rozwijanie komponentu narodowego (Bundeswehra) i wzmocnienie zaangażowania Niemiec w NATO. Z kolei w programie Die Linke dominują tendencje pacyfistyczne. ; The author analyzed the electoral programs of the largest German parties published before the European Parliament election (26 May 2019) in terms of defense and security policy. The parties' programs were included, which in the last federal election (2017) gained over 5% of votes, thus: CDU / CSU, Alliance 90 / The Greens, SPD, AfD, Die Linke and FDP. In his analysis, the author focused on the approach of German parties to such issues as: Common Security and Defence Policy (including, inter alia, taken in 2017 permanent structured cooperation – PESCO), development of European defense structures, attitude to NATO, cooperation of defense industries, arms exports and relations with Russia. The analysis of the programs has shown that the postulates of the CDU / CSU, SPD, The Greens' and FDP are in many respects consistent with the most important German strategic documents (White Paper 2016, coalition agreement of 2018). AfD rejects the development of European defense structures, and instead proposes to develop a national army (Bundeswehra) and strengthen Germany's involvement in NATO. In Die Linke's program dominates pacifism. ; Der Autor analysierte die vor den Wahlen zum Europäischen Parlament (26. Mai 2019) veröffentlichten Wahlprogramme der größten deutschen Parteien in Bezug auf Verteidigungs- und Sicherheitspolitik. Eingeschlossen waren die Wahlprogramme der Parteien, die bei der letzten Bundestagswahl (2017) über 5% der Stimmen erhielten: CDU/CSU, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, SPD, AfD, Die Linke und FDP. In seiner Analyse konzentrierte sich der Autor auf die Herangehensweise deutscher Parteien zu folgenden Themen: Gemeinsame Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik (einschließlich der 2017 eingegangenen permanenten strukturierten Zusammenarbeit – PESCO), Entwicklung europäischer Verteidigungsstrukturen, Einstellung zur NATO, Zusammenarbeit der Rüstungsindustrie, Waffenexporte und die Beziehungen zu Russland. Die Analyse der Programme hat ergeben, dass die Postulate von CDU/CSU, SPD, Grünen und FDP in vielerlei Hinsicht mit den wichtigsten deutschen Strategiepapieren übereinstimmen (Weißbuch 2016, Koalitionsvertrag von 2018). Die AfD lehnt den Aufbau europäischer Verteidigungsstrukturen ab und schlägt stattdessen vor, eine Bundeswehr aufzubauen und das deutsche Engagement in der NATO zu stärken. In Die Linkes Programm dominiert der Pazifismus. ; Автор проанализировал вопросы обороны и политики безопасности, присутству- ющие в избирательных программах крупнейших немецких партий, опублико- ванных перед выборами в Европейский парламент (26 мая 2019 г.). В статье рас- смотрены программы партий, которые на выборах получили более 5% голосов: ХДС/ХСС, Союз 90/Зеленые, СДПГ, АдГ, Левая партия и СвДП. В своем анализе автор сосредоточился на подходе немецких партий к решению таких вопросов, как: общая политика безопасности и обороны ЕС (в частности, принятая в 2017 г. программа «Постоянное структурированное сотрудничество по вопросам безопасности и обо- роны» – PESCO), развитие европейских оборонных структур, отношение к НАТО, со- трудничество оборонных секторов экономик разных стран, экспорт оружия, отно- шение к России. Анализ программ показал, что постулаты ХДС/ХСС, СДПГ, Зеленых и СвДП во многом соответствуют основным немецким стратегическим документам (Белая Книга 2016, коалиционное соглашение с 2018 г.). АдГ отвергает развитие ев- ропейских оборонных структур, а взамен предлагает развивать национальную со- ставляющую – Бундесвер и усилить участие Германии в НАТО. В программе Левой партии преобладают пацифистские тенденции.
The article focuses on the issue of the influence of the historical conditions on the Polish-Russian relations at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. The history of these two countries is linked by a long-lasting and difficult past, and thus numerous unresolved disputes, burdens, and myths arose that have been felt to this day. In 1989, after the fall of the Communist system in our country, new political elites managing the process of democratic changes in the Third Polish Republic made efforts that aimed at settling disputed threads from the common Polish-Russian history. On the way to making up for the past, the period between 1989 and 2007 was marked by a number of important events that could be seen as the symbol of the common reconciliation. Unfortunately, there were also moments of regression and deep crisis that negatively affected the cooperation of both countries in the matter of dealing with difficult cards of the common history. This was influenced by a different approach to the past that is understood differently in Poland and in Russia and that contributed to the emergence of numerous misunderstandings, as well as to the mutual accusations in this field.
The article presents issues related to the occurrence of political risk in local government in Poland. It will attempt to identify the symptoms to demonstrate the possibility of a political budget cycle in local government units. On the basis of budgetary data an empirical analysis of local governments will be carried out, with a particular emphasis on debt levels, capital expenditures, and a result of the budget in the years of local elections and pre-election periods. The presented research results cover all categories of local government units, i.e., municipalities, cities with poviat rights, poviats, and voivodships. The time range of the analysis is 2003-2019. The empirical part is preceded by a literature review, both in terms of the election cycle and the risk related to local debt management. The adopted structure of the article allows obtaining an answer to the question of whether there is a political risk in the surveyed entities.
Currently, immigration issues occupy an important place in the debate on the future of Europe. One of the central themes of this debate is the issue of security. In spite of the functioning of supranational integration structures, individual states still remain a fundamental factor in shaping migration. In many cases, the issue of immigration is subjected to the process of securitization, framing immigration as a threat. It is the speech act that is important in this respect, being a kind of securitizing tool. Since 2015, one can notice elements indicating that the process of securitization of immigration has been present in Poland, too, which, among other things, is a consequence of the change of the ruling party, the immigration crisis that has taken place in Europe, and the migration situation on Poland's eastern border. The article presents the factors that influence the process of immigration securitization. Additionally, it includes numerous statements from Polish politicians securitizing the problem of immigrants as well as the results of social surveys on attitudes towards immigration. The analysis of the collected material leads to the conclusion that the securitisation of immigration in Poland is not a completed process and that this process concerns a geographically defined group of immigrants.
Transformations of forms of state political systems go beyond the established division of states into unitary and federal because it does not fully reflect the complexity of issues related to decentralizing reforms. According to the authors, there exist major differences regarding the classification of states at regional and local level, which do not fall into the fixed diversification between a unitary and federal state. The article proposes an extended classification of the recognized political systems, broadened by a regional and local level, which allows us to distinguish a sub-central system. The authors argue that the main criterion of topology is the relations (competences) between the central (state) government and regional and local governments. The observable vertical distribution of power relates to three levels: local self-government, territorial autonomy and subdividions of a federal state. They are not mutually exclusive; rather, they complement one another.
The aim of the article is to present the issues of the Russian revolutions, their course and effects in the Polish press published under the partitions, representing various ideological and political trends. Foreign dailies remained the source of information about the revolution. A review of press publications allowed us to determine what information reached the readers of the Polish press. The creators of the Polish press assumed the attitude of observers of political and social life. The influence of revolutionary events on the development of the situation in Poland was discussed. A review of press publications allowed us to determine what information reached the readers of the Polish press. The press content analysis method and qualitative analysis of the presented content were used.
The following article includes an overview of the past experiences of the local governments' administration units in regard to direct democracy. It takes into account the evolution of this phenomenon in the past 25 years and its systematic. It considers mandatory and optional referendums, public consultations, meetings of residents, civic initiatives and other forms of local participatory democracy. The author examines the issues presented in the title of this article while also evaluating possible systemic and political solutions to those issues. ; Artykuł zawiera przegląd dotychczasowych doświadczeń administracji jednostek samorządu lokalnego w zakresie funkcjonowania demokracji bezpośredniej. Uwzględnia ewolucję tego zjawiska na przestrzeni 25 lat oraz jego systematykę. Obejmuje referenda obligatoryjne i fakultatywne, konsultacje społeczne, zebrania mieszkańców, inicjatywy obywatelskie oraz inne formy lokalnej demokracji bezpośredniej. Autor poddaje tytułowe zagadnienie naukowemu wartościowaniu, przedstawiając również możliwe rozwiązania ustrojowo polityczne.
The purpose of this article is to present the topics raised in relation to Polish-American relations during the parliamentary debate after the exposés of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and to compare it with the content of the election programs of Polish political parties. The basic research method used for the purposes of this article is content analysis and framing analysis. These included the exposés of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and programs of Polish political parties in relation to Polish-American relations. It aims to compare and confront the content and topics raised in the parties' programs with the content and topics raised by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government's information. ; Celem tego artykułu jest przedstawienie tematów poruszanych w odniesieniu do relacji polsko-amerykańskich podczas debaty parlamentarnej odbywającej się po exposé ministrów spraw zagranicznych oraz porównanie jej do treści zawartych w programach wyborczych polskich partii politycznych. Podstawową metodą badawczą użytą na potrzeby tego artykułu jest analiza zawartości oraz ramowanie (framing analysis). Objęto nimi exposé ministrów spraw zagranicznych oraz programy polskich partii politycznych w odniesieniu do relacji polsko-amerykańskich. Ma ona na celu porównanie i skonfrontowanie treści i tematów poruszanych w programach partii z treścią i tematami poruszanymi przez ministra spraw zagranicznych w corocznej informacji rządu.
The purpose of this article is to present the topics raised in relation to Polish-American relations during the parliamentary debate after the exposés of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and to compare it with the content of the election programs of Polish political parties. The basic research method used for the purposes of this article is content analysis and framing analysis. These included the exposés of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and programs of Polish political parties in relation to Polish-American relations. It aims to compare and confront the content and topics raised in the parties' programs with the content and topics raised by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government's information. ; Celem tego artykułu jest przedstawienie tematów poruszanych w odniesieniu do relacji polsko-amerykańskich podczas debaty parlamentarnej odbywającej się po exposé ministrów spraw zagranicznych oraz porównanie jej do treści zawartych w programach wyborczych polskich partii politycznych. Podstawową metodą badawczą użytą na potrzeby tego artykułu jest analiza zawartości oraz ramowanie (framing analysis). Objęto nimi exposé ministrów spraw zagranicznych oraz programy polskich partii politycznych w odniesieniu do relacji polsko-amerykańskich. Ma ona na celu porównanie i skonfrontowanie treści i tematów poruszanych w programach partii z treścią i tematami poruszanymi przez ministra spraw zagranicznych w corocznej informacji rządu.
The current Serbian authorities (aligned with the Serbian ProgressiveParty) have pushed Serbia towards effective reforms over the past severalyears and improved its image on the international arena through an intensifieddiplomatic offensive after 2015. This has led to a situation in which theSerbian state became a political and economic partner in both regional andintegration projects. The latter is demonstrated by the arduous but progressiveaccession process to the European Union.After 2000, international and Serbian public opinion greeting the end of theregime of Slobodan Milošević expected rapid democratisation of the statebased on statements by Serbian politicians who had declared a West Europeancourse of the state. The short-lived rule of Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić,confirmed this; however, the policy of his successors was no longer so unambiguous.For almost a decade, Serbia oscillated between populism anddeclared democratisation, without making major changes, expected by bothsociety and the European Union.When after the year 2012 the Serbian Progressive Party came to power (theparty was founded as a conservative grouping and had radical roots), itseemed that the Serbian state would be pushed towards a more conservative,anti-European and nationalist direction. However, that did not happen.Opinion about the last six years of the group's rule is varied. This paper aimsto try to answer the question whether during the party's rule, Serbia has beendemocratising and whether in this era of nationalist movements and populism,the country has a chance at real democratisation and finishing the processof accession to the EU?
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is an analysis of Witold Gombrowicz's position in reference to the archetype of Polish political culture. THE RESEARCH PROBLEMS AND METHODS: The main problem undertaken in the article is an analysis of Witold Gombrowicz's position in reference to the question of Polishness, its components, and its relationship to Latin civilization. The article is based on an analysis of Gombrowicz's Diary. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The article begins with a synthetic outline of two fundamental issues: the Latinness of European civilization and the debate surrounding the archetype of Polish political culture. This is followed by what constitutes the main body of the article: an analysis of Gombrowicz's views on Polishness. RESEARCH RESULTS: The most important result of the scientific analysis conducted here is the indication of the main theses of Gombrowicz's understanding of Polishness and of the relationship between Polishness and Latin civilization. Gombrowicz's conception is presented as an innovative approach to the problem, transcending traditional takes on Polishness as a specific type of realism. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: In his conclusions, the author indicates interpretative possibilities resulting from the perspective taken in the article, as well as areas that require further study, concerning such issues as the relationship between the Sonland and the Fatherland, and the culture of the Polish nobility during the "Saxon Era."
Global Warming and the Kyoto Protocol are issues that raise many controversies. This matter is especially visible in the countries which formed the JUSCANNZ, later renamed the Umbrella Group, which is an alliance in the climate negotiations process that consists of non-European Union developed states that – above all – oppose new greenhouse gases emissions reductions commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol itself and the aforementioned commitments were and still are the sources of conflicts on the international and country levels. On the country level these conflicts are highly noticeable in four Umbrella Group countries: United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada and they occurred on various levels in regard to the Kyoto Protocol: negotiation (case of the United States), ratification (cases of the United States and Australia), implementation (cases of the Australia and New Zealand) and a level that can be called a "withdrawal" level (case of Canada). All these conflicts were caused by differences in main political parties' positions towards the Kyoto Protocol and/or by differences in the look on that matter presented by the legislative branch and the executive branch. In this article the abovementioned issues will be examined. ; Artykuł nie zawiera abstraktu w języku polskim
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of Poland's independence, representatives of various humanistic disciplines reflect on relations between the state. This article is about the proposal to understand democracy by representatives of personalism. Among the various concepts describing the "rule of the people" there is a one aimed at the person who is the subject of action, and the goal of this action is the common good. This article presents the proposal of three philosophers: E. Mounier, J. Maritain and J. Tischner. ; Obchodząc 100-lecie odzyskania przez Polskę niepodległości przedstawiciele różnych dyscyplin humanistycznych podejmują refleksję na temat relacji łączących państwo. Artykuł ten jest głosem dotyczącym propozycji rozumienia demokracji przez przedstawicieli personalizmu. Wśród różnych koncepcji opisujących "rządy ludu" pojawia się projekt stawiający w celu osobę, która jest podmiotem działania, zaś celem tego działania jest dobro wspólne. Artykuł ten przedstawia propozycję trzech filozofów: E. Mouniera, J. Maritain oraz J. Tischnera.
