In this paper author examines the perception of Central Asia by contemporary Russian thinkers and scientists: "neo-Slavophiles", "Eurasians" and "Westernizers". Author established the existence of significant differences between three groups of experts in the assessment of Russia's foreign policy in relation to Central Asian states. This conclusion applies equally to the attitude of selected Russian scientists concerning China, as well as to Russia's prospects in the region.
The author of the book research the interaction of politics and law as two important social regulators that have a common goal the effective development of society. The author defines the real models of interaction between politics and law, which have formed in Ukraine and the Republic of Poland in the process of social transformation, and the creation of an appropriate model, which should be based on the goal of ensuring the public interest.
As part of the article, the author presents the advantages and disadvantages of research solutions used during the presidential election in 2010. The decision to choose these elections as an example was dictated, on the one hand, by the fact that the survey on the day of the election was carried out by three companies, and on the other hand, by the fact that different research techniques were used. Moreover, the conducted research is well documented both in the journalism and in the report of Professor Domański's team, and by the author himself, who analyzed this problem in terms of the selection of an appropriate research technique earlier.
The issue analysed by the author is that of the institution of Presidential immunity pertaining to the President of the Republic of Poland, and operating in such a way that a sitting President cannot be held criminally liable before a common court for acts tantamount to offences. Inclining towards the essence of this solution and its consequences when it comes to respect for constitutional principles of legalism and equality before the law, the author at the same time seeks to assess the completeness of the provisions in effect in Poland, in so doing identifying a lack of clear directives as to how a former President (i.e. one who has left office) is to be held criminally liable. The conclusion reached by the author can be said to boil down to a recognition that the liability of a former President before Poland's Tribunal of State for offences or crimes committed is of an accessory nature where common courts are concerned, with the condition underpinning recognition of the Tribunal's primacy in matters of jurisdiction being the National Assembly's adoption of a Resolution holding a former President liable constitutionally, and potentially at the same time initiating action in respect of given offences. Any lack of such a National Assembly Resolution must give rise to a particular kind of reactivation – in respect of the former President – of jurisdiction in the dispensing of justice by common courts, given the fact that one of the negative procedural premises has ceased to be non-applicable. Thus, unlike in the case of a President still holding office, the cognition of the Tribunal of State in relation to a former President is neither exclusive nor automatic. Such observations have also stimulated work by the author to develop de lege ferenda postulates regarding the subject matter, as set against the wider background of Poland's political and constitutional system.
The article analyzes the possible options for the constitutional development of the Republic of Belarus. Among them: amending the current Constitution, the adoption of a new Constitution and the restoration of the 1994 Constitution. The author substantiates his approach to the forthcoming constitutional reforms.
The author of the book analyzes the constitutional foundations of the government systems of modern Ukraine during the years 1917–2017. The book is devoted to the analysis of enacted constitutions, the complete or partial amendments to the constitution and the analysis of directions introduced or initiated changes.
The Republic of Kosovo was created several years after the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Its problems were visible during Josip Broz Tito's presidency. Over the last ten years Kosovo has had two female presidents. The question is, what is the position of women on the Kosovan political scene? This phenomenon is particularly significant from the point of view of the post-conflict reconstruction of the state. The aim of this article is to analyse the evolution of the role of Kosovo Albanian women in the politics of Kosovo at the central level. For this reason, the article includes women involved in the armed conflict in Kosovo, especially in the activities of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA, alb. Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës, UÇK). The author also presents the role of women in the Kosovan political arena since 1999, with particular emphasis on changes that took place after the declaration of independence of Kosovo. Furthermore, the author examines the profiles of selected female politicians. The article is based on an analysis of primary and secondary sources, the comparative and historical method, and an analysis of statistical data.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a traumatic experience that, unlike previous crises, affects all countries. A team of researchers from the Warsaw School of Economics undertook a preliminary study of its consequences. The author of the review introduces the assumptions of the monograph, its main goals and structure, and attempts to supplement the proposed research areas with further aspects that may be important from the point of view of political science.
The subject of this research was the modern urban agglomerations and its aim was to find out the main tendencies of their development by way of the analyses of problems faced by urban agglomerations and their management mechanisms. The main method of the conducted research was the comparative legal method, as the study is based on comparing the experience of different countries in the sphere of urban governance. The author used sociological, systemic and structural-functional approaches as well. The author believes that the problems faced by urban agglomerations are caused by the activities of different administrative bodies at their territory, the lack of proper coordination in the face of pretty acute rivalry between them. The mentioned problems are also exacerbated by modern migration processes. The number of "native" inhabitants is being decreased in many cities, the middle class is largely moving to suburbs while poor people are moving to urban centers, the urban population is getting older. The article also contains the analyses of different attitudes towards organization of administrative structures at the territory of the modern agglomeration. Proponents of only one strong jurisdiction, functioning within the agglomeration and taking decisions obligatory for the whole area, were called "consolidationists. "Polycentrists" believe that the more various jurisdictions function within the agglomeration the better, because centralized and hierarchical administrative model is outdated and ineffective.
The presented paper deals with the basic issues, dilemmas and social and cultural contradictions in the Polish transformation process against the background of Central and Eastern Europe, the processes of the establishment and development of new states and nations as well as the new markets. The author views these problems through the light of the emergence of a broad class of subcontractors in a turbulent environment and the new modes of production, which are a result of changes in the structure of human labour introduced by post-Fordism (in its final stage, lean management) and postmodernity. The author also analyzes the social change as a consequence of social relations resulting from exchanging the life chances of the actors for the class-conditioned market opportunities in the existing social and political situation (conjoncture) and at the present stage of transformation at the moment when the emergent markets get shaped and mature. The study makes use of the hermeneutic method, which is finding out the essence of the present phase of transformation through the light of new concepts against the background of the historical-comparative analysis. The present article is not aimed at ordering reality but it is an inspiration for studies and for approaching transformation in accordance with a new conceptual apparatus of social sciences, sociology, management and political economy.
The analysis of the issue of political culture shows the spectrum of the functioning of society. In Poland, the process of changing the political culture has been visible since 1989. The perspective of integration and conflict shows the dynamics of social changes in Poland after 1989. Review of Karol B. Janowski book is a set of subjective assessments by the author. The ratings relate to the reading experience. The assessments were supplemented with comments on the occurrences that Karol B. Janowski treats as crucial for Polish political culture.
The publication examines actual issues of interstate economic cooperation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states in the framework of building new transport and communication routes. There was provided the analysis of the SCO normative legal documents in the terms of transport regulation, both road and rail, there were outlined the prospects and opportunities which emerge as a result of the signing of bilateral and multilateral agreements between the members of the Organization. The author describes the current situation of international transport communication routes and also reveals in details the initiatives proposed by Uzbekistan, pointing out his key role in the formation of new Eurasian transit corridors and arteries. Considering the issue of modern Eurasian interstate cooperation mechanisms'conjugation from an standpoint of creating and improving transport and logistics infrastructure, the author notes the possibility of implementing the initiatives of Russia and China on the SCO platform. Combination of such potential integration projects as the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) on the Shanghai Organization platform will create a new model of economic cooperation in the Russia-China-Central Asia triangle. The article also examines the measures taken by the SCO member states to build new and modernize existing road and rail routes on their own territories and on the territory of neighboring states. In the conclusion, it is pointed out that further positive shifts in the developing of the Shanghai Organization transport sector will largely depend on the ability of its participants to take a coordinated policy in the transport and logistics sector.
This article analyses the international conditions during the disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is an outline of a broad research problem, a historical analysis from the perspective of the decades-long evolution of Yugoslavia's international position. After its expulsion from the Eastern Bloc in 1948, the country balanced between East and West, becoming one of the founders and leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement. The author focuses on the aspect of Yugoslavia's role in the politics of the West, especially the US and the EEC, during and at the end of the Cold War. It was the West that could, possibly, have played a role in preventing the disintegration of the country in the early 1990s, in contrast to the USSR, which had its own internal problems at that time. What factors influenced Western support for the SFRY during the Cold War? How did Yugoslavia's position in Western politics change when the Cold War rivalry ended? The author points out the temporal connection between the disintegration of the SFRY and, among other things, the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union, the democratisation process in Eastern Europe, German reunification, European integration, and the crisis in the Middle East. In the end, there was a lack of real and coherent action by Western countries to bring about a peaceful solution to the crisis in the Balkans. The consequence of this would be the disintegration of the SFRY and several years of war in the former Yugoslavia.
The article examines the features of manifestations of populism in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine. The origins of right and left populism in these countries are investigated. The activities of populist leaders and political parties, their influence on the political development of each country are analyzed. It is shown that the triumph of populism in most countries is associated with the crisis of traditional politics and the disappointment of citizens in the systemic political forces. The author substantiates the conclusion that the formation of a developed political culture of an activist type can become effective in countering the spread of populism.
