Suchergebnisse

The Joint Committee of Government and Local Self-Government has been operating for over 25 years. It is an institution that was conceived as having an advisory capacity, as a unique instrument of dialogue between the government authority and local self-government. However, experience over the last four years has shown that the central authority has marginalized the role of the Joint Committee, ignoring it completely in the legislative process – the vast majority of changes in the powers of the self-government authorities were introduced through member bills, which do not require an opinion from the Joint Committee. In this article, the authors propose extensive reforms to empower local self-government through the empowerment of the Joint Committee. Its fundamental recommendations are to furnish the Joint Committee with the right of legislative initiative, the right to file a motion with the Constitutional Tribunal, and the introduction of a group legislative initiative to the governing authorities of local self-government units. ; Komisja Wspólna Rządu i Samorządu Terytorialnego funkcjonuje już od ponad 25 lat. Jest to instytucja, która z założenia miała mieć charakter opiniodawczo-doradczy, stanowiąc swoisty instrument dialogu między władzą rządową a samorządem terytorialnym. Praktyka ostatnich czterech lat pokazuje jednak, że władza centralna zmarginalizowała rolę Komisji Wspólnej, pomijając ją zupełnie w procesie legislacyjnym – zdecydowana większość zmian dotyczących kompetencji władz samorządowych była wprowadzano poprzez projekty poselskie, które nie wymagają opinii Komisji Wspólnej. W prezentowanym artykule autorzy proponują szeroko zakrojoną reformę mającą na celu upodmiotowienie samorządu terytorialnego poprzez upodmiotowienie Komisji Wspólnej. Podstawowymi jej postulatami są: wyposażenie Komisji Wspólnej w prawo inicjatywy ustawodawczej, prawo do występowania z wnioskiem do Trybunału Konstytucyjnego oraz wprowadzenie grupowej inicjatywy ustawodawczej dla organów stanowiących jednostek samorządu terytorialnego.

The conception of a local self-government, which has been pursued in Poland since 1990, entails the empowerment of local communities. It is founded on the conviction about a significant role of citizens' activity in the fulillment of statutory tasks by institutions. With this empowerment, a local community is close in its concept to civic society, which has been Poland's goal since the transformation initiated in 1989. However, for this idea to be put into practice, legal framework granting citizens the right to act is not sufficient enough. It is vital that suitable attitudes be worked out together with awareness essential for subjective, rational and active participation in local life, the foundation of which is efficient communication, understood as a bilateral process rather than passing on information from the authorities to citizens. The communication processes, which are extremely important in developing the participatory conception of self-government, are the subject of this study.

The Polish conception of the local government entails the empowerment of local communities. While this empowerment is usually understood only in terms of legal personality, it is crucial for the unimpeded operation of the local government, even in this extremely narrow understanding of subjectivity, that there exist open channels of communication between the representatives of the local authorities and civil servants and the local communities. Regrettably, the communication duties of the local governments have been codified by the legislature in a rather narrow way, and most of them can be only implicitly derived from the tasks of particular institutions and contemporary requirements for the development of a civil society and democracy as such. The article, then, constitutes an attempt at pinpointing the sources of communication responsibilities of local government bodies, from which derive particular tasks which need to be addressed by the communication policies of particular institutions. Moreover, the article briefly characterizes the state of contemporary local communications in Poland as well as provides advice for further development of local authorities in that regard.

The article is an attempt to show the processes of metropolisation of the Upper-Silesian Conurbation. Its aim is to highlight the determinants of forming of "metropolis", through showing the institutional base of metropolitan level in the Upper-Silesian conurbation, aspirating to "Silesia" metropolis. The article is composed of two parts. In the first one, theoretical and metodical assumptions were presented, basic concepts were explained, as well as the area of research, juxtaposed to other metropolitan areas in Poland, was characterised. In the second part, the first attempts of empowerment of metropolitan institutions of the municipal union character in the Upper-Silesian Conurbation, and the institutional base of metropolitan level, were analysed. In the Upper-Silesian Conurbation, the institutional base is still poorly developed, in relation to the developmental possibilities. The metropolitan processes in this area are only developing. The institutions of metropolitan level are dispersed in many towns, which results from the policentricity of the colonisation system of conurbation genesis, as well as from the early phase of metropolisation in this area. The metropolitan institutional base is developed best in Katowice. In the remaining towns, it is weakly marked.

The aim of the article is to present the place and status of the African continent on the agenda of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) and the thesis states, that Africa's security problems after 2015 became a priority during the MSC. The conference, organized by Wolfgang Ischinger, enabled politicians from Africa and other continents to meet and exchange experiences. Analyzed sources included speeches of politicians and websites of institutions such as the African Union or the Tana Forum. In articulating the conclusions following theories were taken into consideration: the theory of integration, regional security complex theory, empowerment theory and feminist theory in international relations. ; Celem artykułu było wskazanie roli i miejsca Czarnego Kontynentu podczas Monachijskiej Konferencji Bezpieczeństwa (Munich Scecurity Conference, MSC), a tezą stwierdzenie, że problemy bezpieczeństwa Afryki po 2015 r. stały się ważne w agendzie MSC. Organizowana przez Wolfganga Ischingera konferencja umożliwiła kontaktowanie się i wymienianie doświadczeń politykom z Afryki i innych kontynentów. Wśród analizowanych źródeł uwzględnione zostały przemówienia polityków i strony internetowe instytucji, m.in. Unii Afrykańskiej i Forum Tana. Aby sformułować wnioski i oceny uwzględniono wiedzę o teorii: integracji, regionalnych konfliktów bezpieczeństwa, upodmiotowienia i feministycznej teorii stosunków międzynarodowych.

The article discusses the findings of the multilevel government school (MLG) which has been advancing since the beginning of the 21st century, studying regional elections. The concept defining regional elections as second-order elections has been recognized as critical, although it is reformulated by the MLG school to respond to changes in modern regional politics in Europe. Important recent political developments include the entrenchment of regional governments, the increase in the number of electoral appointments, expanded competencies of voters, the rise of non-state-wide parties and the empowerment of sub-national organizational levels of parties. Current MLG research focuses on identifying and explaining the cases where second-order election predictions do not appear to hold for regional elections, identifying states where it is still the case and, finally, identifying factors that increase or decrease this effect. An interesting theoretical development regarding regional elections as second-order elections is that this concept is supplemented and enriched by the theories of regional authority and territorial cleavages. The final part of the article reviews studies on regional elections and the applicability of the second-order concept to Central and Eastern European countries.

The reinstatement of local government at the level of the district in Poland in 1990 has resulted in the actual empowerment of local communities, while the local governments have become able to define the goals of local policy that are in line with the expectations of local communities. The local government of Kalisz has taken advantage of the new opportunities to improve the living conditions and standard of living of its citizens since it was instituted. Over the years, due to changes in the political system, related to the establishment of counties, the local government of Kalisz has received new operating opportunities, implementing projects at the level of both districts and counties. The political transformation was complemented by the changes in the election principles of the executive, which has significantly improved the efficiency and effectiveness of the President of Kalisz. The activities of local government have been concentrated on the increasing of social integration by means of taking maximum advantage of local assets and potential. In order to achieve these goals promotional instruments have been employed to encourage foreign investors to investment in Kalisz. A significant part of the local government's activities concern its longstanding international cooperation with towns in Western, as well as Central and Eastern Europe.

The reinstatement of local government at the level of the district in Poland in 1990 has resulted in the actual empowerment of local communities, while the local governments have become able to define the goals of local policy that are in line with the expectations of local communities. The local government of Kalisz has taken advantage of the new opportunities to improve the living conditions and standard of living of its citizens since it was instituted. Over the years, due to changes in the political system, related to the establishment of counties, the local government of Kalisz has received new operating opportunities, implementing projects at the level of both districts and counties. The political transformation was complemented by the changes in the election principles of the executive, which has significantly improved the efficiency and effectiveness of the President of Kalisz. The activities of local government have been concentrated on the increasing of social integration by means of taking maximum advantage of local assets and potential. In order to achieve these goals promotional instruments have been employed to encourage foreign investors to investment in Kalisz. A significant part of the local government's activities concern its longstanding international cooperation with towns in Western, as well as Central and Eastern Europe.

The author makes an attempt at explaining the process of shaping of political identity of metropolitan areas that are regarded as a sign of "new territorialities", emerging due to globalization as well as metropolization of modern states. Also, the author emphasizes that following by democratic institutions (and thus political identity and subjectivity) the reforms of territorial structure sanctioning new areas of shaping social reality plays an important role in proper functioning of the democratic country. Modern France, as well as territorial reforms undertaken in 2010—2014, constitutes the area of analyses and inquiries. Using a constructivist concept of political identity, the author advances a thesis that citizens' political identity is the aftermath of the emergence of political market — a space for debate, competition and rivalry, whose settlement comes with the political power. The emergence of autonomic public space in metropolitan areas must therefore be the result of the political power being located on this level. Since the "power of the metropolis" in France still remains incomplete, the metropolitan identity is at an early state of development. Nonetheless, the reform effected in 2014 by the MAPTAM act, as well as the transformation of the Metropolis of Lyon into a fully-fledged unit of territorial government prove that the empowerment of major urban and metropolitan areas has already become a constant vector of transformations within the French system of territorial organization, which will be accompanied with new territorial political identities in the future.

A Hundred Years of the Project Method in PolandThe text presents the development of the project method in Polish education throughout the last century. The project method was introduced into Poland after regaining independence, and it was implemented during the inter-war period (1918–1939) in some schools, both in urban and rural environments. Nevertheless, the method was at that time treated as a pedagogical novelty andexperiment, rather than a natural part of school life. After 1945, education, like other aspects ofsocio-political life, was influenced by the communist propaganda, and the project method, supporting autonomy, democracy and empowerment, was not promoted as a valuable educational approach. After 1989, when progressive trends appeared in Polish schools, the project method gained somepopularity but it was not until 2008 when it was granted national and formal recognition. Then, the new core curriculum was developed, and the project method became an obligatory part of school reality. The revival of the project method was connected with the alarming findings concerning social capital in Poland. In this situation, making students cooperate within projects seemed aremedy for the decreasing social capital. As the author points out, formal introduction of the method does not necessarily mean its effective accomplishment, which should be accompanied by spontaneity and authentic engagement. What is more, as the author shows, after decades of theabsence of this method in Poland, and the lack of the relevant socio-cultural background, teachers might find it difficult to implement a project so as to contribute to the increase of social capital. All these areas need further investigation. Nevertheless, the author hopes that the text will contribute tobetter understanding of contemporary challenges and opportunities related to the implementation of the idea of projects in Polish education. ; A Hundred Years of the Project Method in PolandThe text presents the development of the project method in Polish education throughout the last century. The project method was introduced into Poland after regaining independence, and it was implemented during the inter-war period (1918–1939) in some schools, both in urban and rural environments. Nevertheless, the method was at that time treated as a pedagogical novelty andexperiment, rather than a natural part of school life. After 1945, education, like other aspects of socio-political life, was influenced by the communist propaganda, and the project method, supporting autonomy, democracy and empowerment, was not promoted as a valuable educational approach.After 1989, when progressive trends appeared in Polish schools, the project method gained some popularity but it was not until 2008 when it was granted national and formal recognition. Then, the new core curriculum was developed, and the project method became an obligatory part of school reality. The revival of the project method was connected with the alarming findings concerningsocial capital in Poland. In this situation, making students cooperate within projects seemed a remedy for the decreasing social capital. As the author points out, formal introduction of the method does not necessarily mean its effective accomplishment, which should be accompanied by spontaneity and authentic engagement. What is more, as the author shows, after decades of theabsence of this method in Poland, and the lack of the relevant socio-cultural background, teachers might find it difficult to implement a project so as to contribute to the increase of social capital. All these areas need further investigation. Nevertheless, the author hopes that the text will contribute tobetter understanding of contemporary challenges and opportunities related to the implementation of the idea of projects in Polish education.

Procesy globalizacyjne, szczególnie nasilone na przełomie XX i XXI wieku, mające głównie charakter gospodarczy i kulturowy, wywierały i wywierają istotny wpływ na funkcjonowanie państw demokratycznych, w tym także na władze lokalne, co wiąże się z dynamicznie zachodzącymi zmianami w ich otoczeniu. Załamanie się modelu państwa opiekuńczego postawiło przed samorządem terytorialnym w Europie nowe wyzwania. W praktyce w wielu państwach europejskich oznaczało to podjęcie reform zmierzających do dewolucji państwa, której osią jest upodmiotowienie społeczności terytorialnych. Głównym efektem globalizacji w obszarze europejskiego samorządu terytorialnego, obok reform struktury przestrzennej oraz zmian instytucjonalnych, jest poszukiwanie adekwatnych systemów zarządzania administracją publiczną, co zawiera się w dwóch procesach: urynkowieniu działalności publicznej oraz dążeniu do jej uspołecznienia. ; Globalization processes, primarily of an economic and cultural nature, particularly intensified at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries exerting considerable influence on the operations of democratic states, including local governments, which was the outcome of dynamic changes in their environments. The collapse of the caring state model has posed new challenges to local governments in Europe. In practice, it meant the implementation of reforms aimed at the devolution of the state along the axis of the empowerment of local communities. The primary outcome of globalization in the area of European local government involves reformed spatial structure, institutional changes and searching for adequate management systems for public administration, taking the form of two processes, namely the commercialization of public activities and seeking to socialize this type of activity.

Globalization processes, primarily of an economic and cultural nature ,particularly intensified at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries exerting considerable influence on the operations of democratic states, including local governments, which was the outcome of dynamic changes in their environments. The collapse of the caring state model has posed new challenges to local governments in Europe. In practice, it meant the implementation of reforms aimed at the devolution of the state along the axis of the empowerment of local communities. The primary outcome of globalization in the area of European local government involves reformed spatial structure, institutional changes and searching for adequate management systems for public administration, taking the form of two processes, namely the commercialization of public activities and seeking to socialize this type of activity. ; Procesy globalizacyjne, szczególnie nasilone na przełomie XX i XXI wieku, mające głównie charakter gospodarczy i kulturowy, wywierały i wywierają istotny wpływ na funkcjonowanie państw demokratycznych, w tym także na władze lokalne, co wiąże się z dynamicznie zachodzącymi zmianami w ich otoczeniu. Załamanie się modelu państwa opiekuńczego postawiło przed samorządem terytorialnym w Europie nowe wyzwania. W praktyce w wielu państwach europejskich oznaczało to podjęcie reform zmierzających do dewolucji państwa, której osią jest upodmiotowienie społeczności terytorialnych. Głównym efektem globalizacji w obszarze europejskiego samorządu terytorialnego, obok reform struktury przestrzennej oraz zmian instytucjonalnych, jest poszukiwanie adekwatnych systemów zarządzania administracją publiczną, co zawiera się w dwóch procesach: urynkowieniu działalności publicznej oraz dążeniu do jej uspołecznienia.

One of the greatest achievements of the socio-political transformation process in Poland is the profound decentralization of public governance. In administrative law, decentralization is perceived as a system with a larger number of independent hubs, vested with competences in terms of public law, and a single center. Therefore, decentralization is a process of delegating certain public functions which formerly were reserved for the central government to groups of citizens organized in corporations. Although local government exemplifies decentralization it is not a one-dimensional no- tion that refers exclusively to territorial relations. In the system of representation specialized self-government bodies, formed with different criteria, play a highly significant role represen- ting the interests of various groups. They are divided into self-governing bodies focused on the economy and the professions. Formal and legal homogeneity, though, does not translate into the appropriate political position of these two forms of self-governing bodies in Poland. While the professional self-governing body is clearly an association governed by public law, the so-called economic self-governing body is based on concepts that emphasize the volunta- ry nature of the ties between entrepreneurs, associated in chambers of commerce. The differences in their legal status and the resulting powers bear no influence on the fact that both economic and professional self-governing bodies are now facing equally serious threats in Poland. In both cases these are related to how the state approaches the extra-territo- rial form of decentralization. We can speak of different motivations here. The state, or rather the state administration, is excessively interested in the professional self-governing bodies and is curbing the autonomy they have traditionally been vested with. The situation is quite different with respect to the economic self-governing bodies, where the public authorities are scarcely interested in becoming involved in supporting them. It should be realized then, that the success of Polish decentralization reform will only be complete when all forms of self-government develop harmoniously irrespective of the rela- tions between their members, whose empowerment will serve democracy and strengthen civic society. ; One of the greatest achievements of the socio-political transformation process in Poland is the profound decentralization of public governance. In administrative law, decentralization is perceived as a system with a larger number of independent hubs, vested with competences in terms of public law, and a single center. Therefore, decentralization is a process of delegating certain public functions which formerly were reserved for the central government to groups of citizens organized in corporations. Although local government exemplifies decentralization it is not a one-dimensional no- tion that refers exclusively to territorial relations. In the system of representation specialized self-government bodies, formed with different criteria, play a highly significant role represen- ting the interests of various groups. They are divided into self-governing bodies focused on the economy and the professions. Formal and legal homogeneity, though, does not translate into the appropriate political position of these two forms of self-governing bodies in Poland. While the professional self-governing body is clearly an association governed by public law, the so-called economic self-governing body is based on concepts that emphasize the volunta- ry nature of the ties between entrepreneurs, associated in chambers of commerce. The differences in their legal status and the resulting powers bear no influence on the fact that both economic and professional self-governing bodies are now facing equally serious threats in Poland. In both cases these are related to how the state approaches the extra-territo- rial form of decentralization. We can speak of different motivations here. The state, or rather the state administration, is excessively interested in the professional self-governing bodies and is curbing the autonomy they have traditionally been vested with. The situation is quite different with respect to the economic self-governing bodies, where the public authorities are scarcely interested in becoming involved in supporting them. It should be realized then, that the success of Polish decentralization reform will only be complete when all forms of self-government develop harmoniously irrespective of the rela- tions between their members, whose empowerment will serve democracy and strengthen civic society.

Artykuł ten przedstawia dorobek intensywnie rozwijającej się od początku XXI wieku, w badaniach nad wyborami regionalnymi, perspektywy rządzenia wielopoziomowego. Perspektywa ta, odwołuje się do koncepcji wyborów regionalnych jako wyborów drugorzędnych, jednak modyfikuje ją, wskazując na przeobrażenia zachodzące we współczesnej polityce regionalnej w Europie (wzmocnienie władz regionalnych [regional government], zwiększenie liczby stanowisk politycznych, które obsadzane są w drodze wyborów, większe kompetencje wyborców, wzrost liczby partii regionalnych i decentralizacja struktur partyjnych). Prace badawcze prowadzone w ramach tej perspektywy zmierzają do udokumentowania i wyjaśnienia przypadków niepotwierdzających modelu drugorzędności oraz wyodrębnienia krajów, w których jest ona nadal obserwowalna i ustalenia czynników wzmacniających ją lub osłabiających. W warstwie teoretycznej, przy opisie wyborów regionalnych, koncepcja wyborów drugorzędnych wzbogacana i uzupełniana jest o dwie inne koncepcje, odwołujące się do zakresu sprawstwa władz regionalnych i podziałów terytorialnych. Artykuł zakończy zaprezentowanie badań nad wyborami w Europie Środkowowschodniej. ; The article discusses the findings of the multilevel government school (MLG) which has been advancing since the beginning of the 21st century, studying regional elections. The concept defining regional elections as second-order elections has been recognized as critical, although it is reformulated by the MLG school to respond to changes in modern regional politics in Europe. Important recent political developments include the entrenchment of regional governments, the increase in the number of electoral appointments, expanded competencies of voters, the rise of non-state-wide parties and the empowerment of sub-national organizational levels of parties. Current MLG research focuses on identifying and explaining the cases where second-order election predictions do not appear to hold for regional elections, identifying states where it is still the case and, finally, identifying factors that increase or decrease this effect. An interesting theoretical development regarding regional elections as second-order elections is that this concept is supplemented and enriched by the theories of regional authority and territorial cleavages. The final part of the article reviews studies on regional elections and the applicability of the second-order concept to Central and Eastern European countries.