Suchergebnisse

The author formulates the assumption that public authorities in Poland are less able to hold accountability in connection with the changes introduced to the political system under the rule of the United Right. The aim of this article is to justify this assumption by presenting the current conditions of accountability of public authorities. In defining accountability, the author uses the approaches of R. Mulgan and M. Bovens. Following these authors, she distinguishes three stages of accountability: information, discussion, and consequences. The article presents the legal grounds and restrictions on access to public information, discussion of government policy and imposing sanctions on public authorities and officials. The author formulates a conclusion on the accountability deficit of public authorities in Poland due to the limitation of discussions in the parliament and public media and the breaking of the chain of accountability at the stage of consequences, which results mainly from the political subordination of the prosecutor's office.

The article outlines Polish literature dedicated to the phenomenon of flamenco. An author not only presents the state of research on flamenco in Poland, but also refers readers both to the earliest and to the most popular works on flamenco functioning abroad. While analyzing Polish literature Piotrowska asks a question about general attitude of Polish authors towards the issue of 'Gypsyness' of flamenco and presents how Polish writers treat Gypsy roots of flamenco. The author concludes that in Polish literature – comprising a few articles and books – Gypsy connotations of flamenco are usually duly underlined. At the same time, Piotrowska states that Polish literature on flamenco is dominated by practical approach focusing on performantive practices (dance, instrumental play), rather than on historic or aesthetic perspective. The author stresses the absence of Polish translations of important books on flamenco, however she also acknowledges the role Polish Internet sites play in promoting the Gypsy aspect of flamenco phenomenon. ; Natalia Gancarz

The main aim of this article is to analyze the phenomenon of football hooliganism in Poland. This analysis is evolving – that is the reason why constant studies are being conducted. Additionally, the author decided to show the genesis of football hooliganism and he described supporters' community. A great asset to the article is a depth interview which with active hooligans from the biggest Polish supporters' groups. Thanks to this interview, the author verified a part of the information available in different articles.

This article attempts to answer the question whether neonasizm and neofascism are a serious threat to the modern world, especially for Poland. The author shows some reasons of extremism – right occurring in our country mainly the restrictiveness of constitutional regulations in this matter. We can find in this article the way of groups functioning, technical recruiting new members and methods slogans popularization of these organizations on the basis of Polish National Revival, Lech Bubel's activity and subculture of skinheads. The most significant neo-Nazis' and neofascist slogans were quoted in this article so that the author is going to prove that they are widely available and that their authors are unpunished. It also shows some differences between modern extreme movements and our indigenous ones, and emphasized increasing similarity of Polish movements to the foreign ones. Furthermore, the author proves that in the European countries not only the society but also the government become more and more radical. However the article also presents social initiatives of the fight against extreme, such the organization called "Never Again" which promoted three major campaigns : "Music Against Racism", " Let's kick racism out from the stadiums" and "Racism Delete". The author wants to show the scale of the problem that is the expansion of neo-Nazis' and neofascist groups. She stresses the need to break with the passivity against extreme – right in Poland and the need to take action against its activity, both government and citizens.

The article presents an analysis of the legal status, organization and powers of the special services of the Republic of Estonia. The author presents the mission and tasks of the Estonian Internal Security Service (Kaitsepolitsei), the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service (Välisluureamet) and the Military Intelligence Centre (Luurekeskus). The article show the historical aspect of the Estonian special services and their location in the structure of state organs responsible for national security. In addition, the author presents a surveillance system on the activities of intelligence and counterintelligence services.

The first part of the article is dedicated to the classic approach to security in three areas: the security of the individual, the state and on the international stage. Then the author conducts an analysis of the interdisciplinary approach to security. He characterised the behavioural as well as sociological and economic theories. The author analyses the government policies pertaining to internal security in the last fifteen years. He explained the legal and constitutional rules of the government administration in Poland and then characterised the system of institutions responsible for security within the country involving a critical analysis of internal security policy, i.a. its effectiveness and efficiency. The author formulates the thesis which holds that within the last fifteen years the governments have failed to design an effective policy of internal security, so far. The postulated concepts and governmental proposals have been designed as temporary measures and under political pressure without much consideration for systemic solutions. The policy of internal security lacks the systemic approach deriving from the theory of organisation.

In recent years the euro area has been characterised by a very low rate of economic growth (in some years there was even a real reduction in the volume of production). This has launched a debate among economists about the instruments to be applied in public policy to bolster the economy. In this article the author analysed the possible effects of fiscal and monetary policy on economic growth when economic stagnation in the euro area is accompanied by a high level of public debt as a percentage of GDP and a very low level of the interest rates set by the central bank as well as market interest rates. On the basis of economic theory the author considers whether expansionary fiscal policy will contribute to the growth of real output, or merely enlarge the public debt and increase the risk of sovereign debt default and currency crisis. The author also introduced the concept of quantitative easing as an instrument of expansionary monetary policy.

The paper approaches theoretical and axiological aspects of the concept of elites, which could influence quasi- empirical or empirical assumptions about elites. Author analyses political elite as a functionally separated group, proposing neutral approach to the study of elite, assuming that under certain conditions theoretical and axiological statements can be separated. Pointing at three general perspectives: hierarchical, institutional and psychological, author supports the second one of them as the most adequate for contemporary conditions. Author discusses the meanings of three phenomena observed during the systemic transformation: 1) resources of power which are not anchored institutionally, 2) elite – masses division, 3) forming of democratic leadership; claiming that these should be studied from the neutral perspective. ; Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu "Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia". Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00.

In the paper the author singles out three types of social order, that is the way of a social organization from the political power point of view: 1) religious order, 2) masterful order, and 3) civil order. The basic form of the social order is the state. According to the author the main difference between, from one had, the first two types, and the third from the other, lies in different political relation between the government and the rank and fi le members of the state. In the case of the fi rst two types – religious and masterful – all members, "citizens", are subject to the state, whereas in the case of civil order – the state is subject to its citizens. Poland after demise of communism has developed apparently a civil state, but Polish civil society has been still rather weak. The author of the essay is searching for the roots of this weakness in the Polish history.

The author of the book examines the issues of constitutional stability and its role in ensuring sustainable democracy.

The author addresses the issue of ethno-business, which has been largely unresearched to date. In the approach proposed by the author, ethnobusiness is understood as a wide range of practices and behaviours related to the deliberate use of existing regulations going beyond the intentions of legislators that guarantee cultural and political privileges for national and ethnic minorities. Various activists and leaders gathered around ethnic organizations and co-creators of the discussed phenomenon most often pursue their private material or political interests. However, ethno-business is closely linked to the established Romanian legislation on national minorities. Thus, the author investigates the roots of this phenomenon, introducing readers to the regulations on minorities in Romania, and points to the social consequences of ethno-business. The analysis of the discussed problem is supplemented and illustrated by examples of specific behaviours observed by the author during his long-term and extensive ethnographic field research carried out on the Romanian-Ukrainian borderland between 2009 and 2010. Although this research project focused on aspects of ethnic and national identity among the Slavic-speaking community of the Maramures region, it also gave an opportunity to spot a number of behaviours that can be interpreted in the context of ethno-business. The ethnographic examples given in the article show how the policies related to the protection of national minorities in Romania can be exploited in various circumstances by different individuals who have relevant knowledge of the rights of national minorities.

The author of the paper undertakes to present and analyze one of the research instruments applied by comparative political science in quantitative surveys, namely scales of democracy (sometimes referred to as indices or factors of democracy). This instrument is quite common in Western, in particular Anglo-Saxon political science, whereas it remains relatively unknown in Polish political science. The aim of the paper is therefore to introduce the reader to this theoretical and methodological construct. In order to achieve this aim the author indicates the possible uses of scales of democracy and the areas of research that apply them. He also analyzes methodological problems related to the development and application of scales of democracy. Although they offer a useful tool in comparative analyses, the essence of this instrument may raise certain methodological and epistemological doubts. Therefore it is significant to maintain the utmost diligence when developing these scales, which must be based on the application of advanced statistical instruments and research algorithms. On the basis of the conclusions of G. L. Munck and J. Verkuilen, the author presents a model process for developing scales of democracy and demonstrates the challenges faced by the researcher trying to develop such scales. The last part of the paper discusses the place of the issue of democracy measurement in Polish political science. The author claims that Polish researchers' interest in this issue does not correspond to its significance and the potential advantages that could be obtained.

In the article the author presents his analysis of the current political events in Ukraine, beginning with the origin of the Euromajdan and the mistakes of president Yanukowych that eventually led to his removal. The Ukrainian society is depicted with strong emphasis on the high level of political awareness that is characteristic of that society and their determination to reach their goals, as well as their political and economic aspirations. According to the author, the Ukrainian-Russian war started on February 28, 2014 when unidentified troops began occupation of administrative buildings in Crimea and the development of this conflict will bring severe consequences for both countries. Furthermore, the possible reasons why Putin chose the Crimea as an arena of his political pursuits are provided, as well as his minimum, maximum and interval targets concerning Ukraine. The author also maintains that the West and its actions or lack thereof is crucial for Ukraine; he notices that the demands made by the Western side are ignored, but he sees them not as "empty words" but announcements of future political events. He believes that the Western countries will take action in two ways: they will introduce immediate symbolic sanctions, as well as long-term sanctions aimed to prevent violating international law in the future. The article also presents the author's prediction concerning the future actions of the Western states and the likelihood of direct NATO intervention. Additionally, the author considers the situation in Ukraine also from the perspective of Poland.

The author of the paper undertakes to present and analyze one of the research instruments applied by comparative political science in quantitative surveys, namely scales of democracy (sometimes referred to as indices or factors of democracy). This instrument is quite common in Western, in particular Anglo-Saxon political science, whereas it remains relatively unknown in Polish political science. The aim of the paper is therefore to introduce the reader to this theoretical and methodological construct. In order to achieve this aim the author indicates the possible uses of scales of democracy and the areas of research that apply them. He also analyzes methodological problems related to the development and application of scales of democracy. Although they offer a useful tool in comparative analyses, the essence of this instrument may raise certain methodological and epistemological doubts. Therefore it is significant to maintain the utmost diligence when developing these scales, which must be based on the application of advanced statistical instruments and research algorithms. On the basis of the conclusions of G. L. Munck and J. Verkuilen, the author presents a model process for developing scales of democracy and demonstrates the challenges faced by the researcher trying to develop such scales. The last part of the paper discusses the place of the issue of democracy measurement in Polish political science. The author claims that Polish researchers' interest in this issue does not correspond to its significance and the potential advantages that could be obtained.

In the article the author presents his analysis of the current political events in Ukraine, beginning with the origin of the Euromajdan and the mistakes of president Yanukowych that eventually led to his removal. The Ukrainian society is depicted with strong emphasis on the high level of political awareness that is characteristic of that society and their determination to reach their goals, as well as their political and economic aspirations. According to the author, the Ukrainian-Russian war started on February 28, 2014 when unidentified troops began occupation of administrative buildings in Crimea and the development of this conflict will bring severe consequences for both countries. Furthermore, the possible reasons why Putin chose the Crimea as an arena of his political pursuits are provided, as well as his minimum, maximum and interval targets concerning Ukraine. The author also maintains that the West and its actions or lack thereof is crucial for Ukraine; he notices that the demands made by the Western side are ignored, but he sees them not as "empty words" but announcements of future political events. He believes that the Western countries will take action in two ways: they will introduce immediate symbolic sanctions, as well as long-term sanctions aimed to prevent violating international law in the future. The article also presents the author's prediction concerning the future actions of the Western states and the likelihood of direct NATO intervention. Additionally, the author considers the situation in Ukraine also from the perspective of Poland.