Suchergebnisse

Part of the package of the democratic changes accepted at the Polish Round Table in 1989 was the reintroduction of the presidency, abolished in 1952 by the Constitution of the communist era. Since then, Poland has had three presidents & four presidential elections. General Wojciech Jaruzelski ran unopposed in the only presidential elections by the National Assembly in July 1989. In 1990, the Constitution was amended to introduce presidential election by universal ballot. "Solidarity" leader Lech Walesa was elected for a five-year period (1990-1995). In 1995 he lost the elections to the then leader of the Alliance of Democratic Left Aleksander Kwasniewski, who in 2000 successfully ran for reelection. During this period, the position of the President of the Republic evolved. The new Constitution of 1997 defines the system of the Polish Republic as a parliamentary-cabinet one but with broad prerogatives of the president. The actual position of the president depends not only on the norms of law but also on the political support he has in the society & on his relations with parliamentary parties. The Polish experience of the last ten years shows the possibility of a relatively strong presidency without the presidential control of the executive branch of government. It also argues against both extremes: presidentialism (the president being the chief executive or controlling the prime minister) & a weak, symbolic presidency. 8 References. Adapted from the source document.

More than a decade has passed since the momentous events of 1989 that changed the world order & redefined the geopolitics of Central Europe. This is the right moment to assess the results of these changes & discuss the future of that region. A review of past & contemporary comparative studies indicates Central Europe differs from the postcommunist East (the former Soviet Union) & the Southeast (the former Yugoslavia with the exception of Slovenia) & Albania in several ways: (1) The Central European states overthrew their communist regimes earlier & in a more decisive manner than the USSR. (2) The economic transformation of Central Europe, though not completely smooth, is nevertheless much smoother than the transformation of the member countries of the CIS. (3) The postcommunist societies differ in the pattern by which their systems of social stratification changed after the collapse of their communist regimes. (4) There are big differences between the Central European postcommunist states, including the Baltic states on the one hand, & the CIS members & 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 SRY, & the election of Vladimir Putin as President of Russia. The regional geopolitical picture may become more stable with closer ties between the states of Central Europe & Germany. Adapted from the source document.

Poland's experience in democratic transformation is to some degree different from that of other post-communist nations because of its having been the first country to depart from a communist regime. It therefore had a relatively long period of power-sharing, negotiated at the Round Table conference in early 1989. The first parliament (1989-91) reflected the contractual arrangements of the Round Table and was not fully representative. The second parliament (1991-93) was paralyzed by extreme fragmentation. The third parliament, elected in 1993, is more consolidated but suffers from the absence of right-wing parties due to their failure to reach the required electoral threshold. During Lech Walesa's presidency (1990-95), relations between the president and parliament were tense, particularly after the left's victory in the 1993 election. Nonetheless, parliamentarism has survived in Poland and the democratic system has avoided constitutional crises. Poland's experience confirms the superiority of parliamentarism over presidentialism in new democracies.

The threat of new forms of authoritarian government in Central & Eastern Europe is discussed in relation to means of achieving a more just & long-lasting democracy. Although the collapse of communism inspired tremendous hope regarding the future of democracy, a number of conditions have created doubts about democracy & concerns regarding the potential for noncommunist, authoritarian seizure of power. These conditions include the inefficiency of current democratic structures, economic recession & unemployment, the revival of nationalist & ethnic movement, & conflicts of values between freedom of expression advocates & moral & religious groups seeking state enforcement of moral/religious standards. Despite these dangers, it is concluded that democratic regimes can be stabilized & made more efficient through a variety of means: more equitable distribution of the economic burdens resulting from political/edconomic restructuring; creation of jobs by the state; a social accord policy based on negotiation between the government, special interest groups, trade unions, & peasant organizations; greater cooperation between Left groups/parties; & parliamentary democracy based on moderate representation, rather than presidentialism. T. Sevier