Suchergebnisse

THE POLITICAL CRISIS WHICH ERUPTED IN POLAND IN 1980 WAS widely attributed to the economic problems which beset the country then and subsequently. Economic conditions undoubtedly contributed to the crisis — but survey evidence suggests that gradual cultural changes were a less obvious but at least equally important factor. Historically, the Polish people have characteristically placed relatively great emphasis on self-determination and political freedoms. This traditional heritage has not grown weaker in recent years. Quite the contrary, it seems to have been reinforced by a gradual shift toward postmaterialist values among the Polish public.An intergenerational shift from materialist toward postmaterialist priorities, already shown to be taking place in more than a score of Western countries, also seems to be occurring in Poland.

It is argued that a gradual shift toward postmaterialist values was as important as economic conditions in explaining the 1980 crisis in Poland. Data from a survey (N = 1,975) conducted before the emergence of Solidarity are compared with data collected in 8 Western countries in the mid-1970s. A shift toward priorities that emphasize self-expression & broader participation in political decision making is indicated in the Polish data. Better educated urban residents & nonreligious respondents scored more dissatisfaction than others. It is argued that Poland's success in raising economic security levels led to a shift toward postmaterialist values. 4 Tables. A. Waters

This article aims at an assessment of the role played by the local leaders in Poland, the characteristic feature of the Polish politico-economic systems having a high degree of centralization. According to the basic principles of the system, the interests of the local communities and of particular local organizations are supposed to be subordinated to the national interests. On the basis of an empirical study in six medium-sized towns, it is shown that local leaders are partially able to overcome the limitation with which they are confronted. The system of vertical subordination is counterbalanced by a network of mutual contacts between the leaders in the community. This horizontal integration helps to pool the resources of the various organizations of the community and enables the leaders to pursue local interests and autonomously work out local policies.

This paper analyzes the values of local leaders in Poland and the United States. A matched subset of cities is used. Interview data were collected in the 1983-84 period. The focus is on elite views about political conflict. Striking differences were found in the types of problems seen as serious in their communities. Yet, similar proportions perceived and tolerated conflicts today as in 1966. Individual level data on leadership position, party affiliation or status, length of tenure and age revealed differences. And in both countries community differences were considerable.

Are there politically relevant differences between female and male local government officials in postcommunist Poland? In structured interviews with 485 local officials in two provinces, the authors explored differences in terms of ethical reasoning and attitudes toward anomalous groups. Women more strongly favored a model of ethical reasoning characterized by a concern for abstract principles of social cooperation than did their male counterparts. On attitudes toward anomalous groups, women were more temperate than men on the issues of participation by former communists in contemporary government and men had a less favorable view than women on participation of women in politics generally. Based on this study, gender may make a difference in the practice of government in contemporary Poland.