Suchergebnisse

The interrelation between the development of political institutions & the processes of scientific-technical revolution is 2-fold. Political preconditions for the rapid change in science & technology must exist, & the processes of rapid scientific & technical change produce important consequences in political life. Economically, Poland has reached the threshold of scientific-technical revolution; whether the country will be able to achieve the stage of high technological development in a reasonably short time depends on the political conditions. 3 changes in the functioning of political institutions are directly related to the processes of scientific-technical revolution: (1) changes in all levels of management, (2) changes in flow of information, & (3) development of automatic structures of decision-making. Other changes in political institutions influence the process of scientific change indirectly. In this context 2 variants of future developments are discussed: rationalized centralism & democratic self-government. Favored is a strategy of combining the strong elements of both. The consequences of the scientific-technological revolution for the political institutions is discussed. 5 major factors could be hypothetically identified: (A) changes in class structure & social stratification, particularly in the direction of increased roles for professionals & an increased educational level for the Wc; (B) further political integration of the nation; (C) changes in the culture of work, increase of social discipline, & higher assessment of collective & individual efficacy of the Poles; (D) achievement of a higher standard of living & leveling of economic inequalities; & (E) increase of the amount of leisure time. All these changes will result in a better & more harmonious society, which in turn makes it both necessary & possible to increase the scope of democratic self-management. Potential restraints to this process may result from the inertia of old political institutions &/or from technocratic tendencies. Greater self-management will mean more direct democracy, better representation, further democratization of the political authorities, & deepening of the leading role of the Communist party. Modified HA.

More than a decade has passed since the momentous events of 1989 that changed the world order and redefined the geopolitics of Central Europe. This is just the right moment to assess the results of these changes and discuss the future of that region. Based on the past comparative studies or those currently going on, we may say that Central Europe differs from the post-communist East (the former Soviet Union) and the South-East (the former Yugoslavia with the exception of Slovenia) and Albania. First, Central-European states overthrew their communist regimes earlier and in a more decisive manner than the USSR; second, the economic transformation of Central Europe, though not completely smooth, is nevertheless much smoother than the transformation of the member countries of the CIS; third, the post-communist societies differ in the pattern by which their systems of social stratification have changed after the collapse of their communist regimes; fourth, there are big differences between the Central-European post-communist states, including the Baltic states on the one hand, and the CIS members and Serbia/Montenegro-Yugoslavia on the other regarding their international orientation. The author highlights three significant events that are going to leave their trace on the regional geostrategic situation: NATO's eastern expansion, NATO's campaign against SKY and the election of Vladimir Putin for president of Russia. The regional geopolitical picture may become more stable with closer ties between the states of Central Europe and Germany. (SOI : PM: S. 11)

Les partis socialistes et sociaux-démocrates laissent peu d'observateurs et de citoyens indifférents. Depuis plusieurs années maintenant, nombre d'acteurs les présentent comme une famille de partis en crise, sans imagination ni tonus, incapable de se renouveler et appelée à dépérir. D'autres, au contraire, la dépeignent comme une famille à l'avenir prometteur sinon radieux. L'objectif du livre n'est pas de confirmer l'une ou l'autre de ces visions. L'ouvrage analyse en profondeur les transformations qui touchent, dans la période contemporaine, la social-démocratie dans ses différentes facettes : évolution des modèles organisationnels, changements dans les performances politiques et électorales, rapports modifiés avec les organisations syndicales et les associations de la société civile, réactions à l'émergence de nouveaux concurrents politiques ou de nouvelles valeurs, réorientations idéologiques et programmatiques. Pour la première fois, le propos n'est pas exclusivement centré sur la partie occidentale de l'Europe mais concerne autant les partis sociaux-démocrates des démocraties consolidées que les organisations se revendiquant du socialisme démocratique en Europe centrale et orientale, et met en évidence les spécificités et les points communs. À l'aube du XXIe siècle, ce sont donc les défis et les manières d'y répondre qui sont décortiqués par plusieurs des meilleurs spécialistes européens des partis sociaux-démocrates en Europe.