The article aims to examine the role of non-farm actors and environmental interest groups in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union (EU). It uses policy networks as an analytical tool to understand the structure, dynamics and outcomes of the EU's agricultural decision-making processes. Both locations of actors in the CAP policy structures and interaction modes between actors are examined. Also, the role of networks in shaping the CAP's reform decisions is assessed. The article shows that non-farm actors, and specifically environmentalists, researchers and other agents interested in major CAP reforms, have limited influence on final policy outcomes. At the same time though it has been found that non-farm actors play an increasingly important role in framing the CAP policy debate. They form active and vocal issue networks that impinge upon initial stages of the agenda setting phase in the policy cycle process. Also, the EU institutions become more and more dependent on non-farm actors' expertise when it comes to policy evaluation. Although the pro-reform approach of these actors is clearly noticeable, it is still too small to bring more than incremental changes within the policy
The article aims to examine the role of non-farm actors and environmental interest groups in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union (EU). It uses policy networks as an analytical tool to understand the structure, dynamics and outcomes of the EU's agricultural decision-making processes. Both locations of actors in the CAP policy structures and interaction modes between actors are examined. Also, the role of networks in shaping the CAP's reform decisions is assessed. The article shows that non-farm actors, and specifically environmentalists, researchers and other agents interested in major CAP reforms, have limited influence on final policy outcomes. At the same time though it has been found that non-farm actors play an increasingly important role in framing the CAP policy debate. They form active and vocal issue networks that impinge upon initial stages of the agenda setting phase in the policy cycle process. Also, the EU institutions become more and more dependent on non-farm actors' expertise when it comes to policy evaluation. Although the pro-reform approach of these actors is clearly noticeable, it is still too small to bring more than incremental changes within the policy
The network of hospitals was implemented by an amendment of healthcare services financed from public funds. The act was introduced on 1st October 2017. The goals of the new organization of healthcare were not written directly in in the law or in the justification of the draft bill. It is supposed that the Ministry of Health planned through these changes to strengthen public hospitals and limit competition of public financing for private hospitals. The aim of the article is to stress the role of public policy in programming law changes in the future. The implementation of the science of public policy could improve the quality of the Polish law in the healthcare system.
The article is an attempt to trace the changes taking place in vocational education in Poland, paying special attention to the possibilities of local and regional activities supporting vocational education. The conclusions presented in the text result from the author's expert experience related to the implementation of projects to support vocational education. The presented model of support for vocational education is currently carried out by the Bialystok Human Resources Training Foundation in the city of Białystok and Białystok Poviat as the Competence Centre of the Białystok Functional Area. The experience in the implementation of the project and its effectiveness is so universal that the project will be implemented throughout the Podlasie Voivodeship. It can also be a model for local government units running vocational schools.
The increasing complexity of the social world forces transformations within public policies, which are trying to adapt to the dynamically changing reality. The implementation of new management techniques in line with the model of metagovernance appears to be a common formula of such adaptation. The model involves complementing the existing management models with horizontal networks of public policy stakeholders as well as establishing the policy regarding three principles - of the required diversity, required reflexivity, and ironic attitude. Public cultural institutions that serve the role of framework institutions support the implementation of new management techniques, primarily by means of creating new and supporting existing networks of cultural policy stakeholders. The description of the institution is based on in-dept-interviews with individuals involved in the creation of public policy in the area of culture pursued in the second half of 2018.
Multi-level governance is now an established field of public policy research. In this context there is a need to introduce two new concepts: substantiation of public policy goals and multi- level coordination of public policy goals. In the study based on this assumption a qualitative approach is used. Usefulness of these two concepts was proved by participatory action policy research on one specific goal substantiated and coordinated within Europe 2020 Strategy in the policy area of poverty. In the course of the research (2012-2015) the author was a representative of the network of social NGOs in the governmental body responsible for implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy in Poland. The main action research tool was an attempt to modify the goal of poverty reduction decided by the government in 2011. In that process rich data was generated, analyzed, interpreted and used for subsequent actions. The effect of the research is a deep insight and understanding of multi-level governance process in a specific policy area and a proposal for two new concepts. Emerging new research areas were proposed and discussed.
A deposit guarantee scheme is a crucial element of the financial safety network, which is currently undergoing a major reform in the European Union due to the process of the creation of the banking union. Therefore, it is important to present a variety of the possible target models, their adequacy in relation to the objectives set in the reform as well as to analyse the conditions which contributed to the choice of the one that is being implemented. What also needs to be addressed is the issue of the proposed model along with its potential to eliminate systemic dysfunctions, involving those addressed by the EU legislator as well as the moral hazard inherently present in the mere concept of a deposit guarantee scheme.
China's soft-power practice in its international activity boils down to four areas: culture, education, diplomacy, and economy. The most important element of China's soft-power policy seems to be the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Announced in 2013, the BRI is a complex, long-term and large-scale strategic political and economic project by the Chinese government with an infrastructure character. In this way, China is seeking to invest its capital surpluses in resurrecting the ancient Silk Road to create railroad and maritime networks with its most important trading partner – the European Union. In these circumstances, in September 2015, the presidents of Central and Eastern EU member states announced the establishment of the separate Three Seas Initiative (TSI), a political and economic project bringing together 12 EU states, including 11 'new' members and Austria. These entities constitute an informal bloc of states between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black seas, though without a permanent secretariat but with rotating leadership. In addition to the lack of a formal structure, the TSI region, located mainly in the EU's eastern part, is characterized by a weaker infrastructure network than Western Europe, lower GDP (except Austria), and high dependence on gas supplies from Russia (except Croatia). To overcome these disparities, the TSI has developed a catalogue of 48 investment priorities in three economic areas: energy, transport, and digitalisation. China's soft-power policy towards the 'new' EU members may be decided by the American patronage of the TSI and the fact that one of the flagship projects is the North-South Gas Corridor, which will enable the sale of American LNG in Central Europe, which has been dependent on gas supplies from Russia, China's partner in the BRI. In the context of the US-China trade war, White House planners recognise Central Europe as both a peripheral and key area for their policy and seek to strengthen the Three Seas project, which may lead to limiting areas of cooperation under the '17+1' format, involving CEE countries and China. On the other hand, the development of better energy, transport and digital connections in the EU's east clearly intersects with China's idea of building a New Eurasian Land Bridge under the BRI to connect the most economically developed edges of Eurasia. The new US strategy towards the countries of the CEE seems to boil down to involvement in specific energy-related projects. Instead of blocking or diminishing BRI-related infrastructure projects in China, they seem in fact to complement the Chinese activity in the CEE. Increased investment by American enterprises in the region may allow the administration in Washington to maintain control of Chinese infrastructure investments, and the US involvement may even lead to the participation of American companies in projects originally started by Beijing.
Multi-level governance is now an established field of public policy research. In this context there is a need to introduce two new concepts: substantiation of public policy goals and multi- level coordination of public policy goals. In the study based on this assumption a qualitative approach is used. Usefulness of these two concepts was proved by participatory action policy research on one specific goal substantiated and coordinated within Europe 2020 Strategy in the policy area of poverty. In the course of the research (2012-2015) the author was a representative of the network of social NGOs in the governmental body responsible for implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy in Poland. The main action research tool was an attempt to modify the goal of poverty reduction decided by the government in 2011. In that process rich data was generated, analyzed, interpreted and used for subsequent actions. The effect of the research is a deep insight and understanding of multi-level governance process in a specific policy area and a proposal for two new concepts. Emerging new research areas were proposed and discussed. ; Obszar teorii i badań, którego dotyczy artykuł, to wielopoziomowe rządzenie (multi-evel governance). Celem artykułu jest wprowadzenie do nauki o polityce publicznej dwóch nowych pojęć: konkretyzacja celu oraz wielopoziomowa koordynacja celu. W badaniach ugruntowujących tę propozycję zastosowano podejście jakościowe. Miały one charakter uczestniczący poprzez działanie (participative action research) w ramach praktyki polityki (policy work, policy practice). Autor jako przedstawiciel jednej z sieci organizacji pozarządowych brał aktywny udział w procesie realizacji Strategii Europa 2020 w Polsce w latach 2012-2015. Zasadniczym instrumentem badania uczestniczącego były działania na rzecz modyfikacji celu dotyczącego ubóstwa, który został ustalony przez polski rząd w roku 2011. Pozostałe dane pochodzą z analizy dokumentów i obserwacji uczestniczącej. W ich wyniku możliwe było uzyskanie głębszego zrozumienia procesu wielopoziomowego rządzenia w jednym z obszarów i propozycja nowych kategorii analitycznych. W rezultacie badań wyróżniono kilka faz krajowej konkretyzacji celu oraz dwa okresy wielopoziomowej koordynacji. Zaproponowano nowe kierunki rozwoju badań.
A deposit guarantee scheme is a crucial element of the financial safety network, which is currently undergoing a major reform in the European Union due to the process of the creation of the banking union. Therefore, it is important to present a variety of the possible target models, their adequacy in relation to the objectives set in the reform as well as to analyse the conditions which contributed to the choice of the one that is being implemented. What also needs to be addressed is the issue of the proposed model along with its potential to eliminate systemic dysfunctions, involving those addressed by the EU legislator as well as the moral hazard inherently present in the mere concept of a deposit guarantee scheme. ; System gwarantowania depozytów jest istotnym elementem sieci bezpieczeństwa finansowego, który w Unii Europejskiej przechodzi obecnie istotną reformę w związku z tworzeniem unii bankowej. Z tego względu istotne jest przedstawienie możliwych modeli docelowych, ich adekwatności w odniesieniu do założonych przez reformę celów, a także analiza uwarunkowań, które zadecydowały o wyłonieniu tego modelu, który jest wdrażany. Rozważenia wymaga również projektowana konstrukcja i jej potencjał w zakresie eliminacji dysfunkcji systemu, zarówno tych uwzględnionych przez unijnego prawodawcę, jak i inherentnie wpisanej w istnienie gwarancji depozytów pokusy nadużycia.
Civil dialogue has an impact on the quality of public policy, in the online form it allows direct influence of stakeholders on the process of formulation and its implementation. It is also a new quality in the process of evaluating public policy. Civil dialogue is usually understood as a process of communication between the state authority and non-governmental organizations, but the author of the article indicates that it is possible to conduct civil dialogue in a direct way with citizens through social media. He presents the results of research aimed at verifying the use of social media by the authorities in order to establish a dialogue with citizens. The research consisted in measuring and analyzing communication conducted by selected Polish voivodeship cities on the Twitter social network. The author points out the characteristic styles of communication that can be interpreted from the perspective of civil dialogue.
The article discusses current dilemmas of the European Union policy with regard to the development of competitive and low emission transport in the context of good governance principles. The first part discusses selected assumptions of the idea of public governance reflected in the EU transport policy. Then the current degree of development of the EU transport was assessed. The assessment of consequences of increased demand for transport confirmed the need to efficiently deliver on the strategy for the development of low emission transport. It is also stressed that the implementation of the assumptions of the public governance idea may be seen as an innovative solution in managing a complex network of ties and coordination of policies at different levels and support the shift towards low emission, circular economy model in transport. However, attention has been paid to the need to continue studies on the assessment of efficiency and effectiveness of good governance principles. ; Artykuł jest poświęcony prezentacji aktualnych dylematów polityki Unii Europejskiej dotyczących rozwoju konkurencyjnego i niskoemisyjnego transportu w kontekście realizacji zasad dobrego rządzenia (good governance). W pierwszej części artykułu omówiono wybrane założenia koncepcji współrządzenia (public governance), mające odzwierciedlenie w polityce transportowej Unii Europejskiej. Następnie dokonano oceny obecnego stanu rozwoju transportu Unii Europejskiej. Ocena konsekwencji wzrostu popytu na transport potwierdziła potrzebę efektywnej realizacji strategii na rzecz rozwoju niskoemisyjnego transportu. Podkreślono, że wdrażanie założeń koncepcji public governance może stanowić nowatorskie rozwiązanie w zakresie zarządzania skomplikowaną siecią powiązań i koordynacji polityk na wszystkich szczeblach, wspierając przejście transportu do modelu gospodarki niskoemisyjnej o obiegu zamkniętym. Zwrócono jednak uwagę na potrzebę kontynuacji badań nad oceną skuteczności i efektywności realizacji zasad good governance.
Celem tekstu jest ukazanie kształtowania się chińskiego szkolnictwa wyższego, jako formy soft power. Chińskie szkolnictwo wyższe traktowane jest jako element soft power polityki międzynarodowej Chińskiej Republiki Ludowej. Wykorzystanie instrumentu, jakim jest polityka szkolnictwa wyższego w postaci soft power możliwe jest dzięki dynamicznemu rozwojowi chińskich uczelni w ostatnich dwóch dekadach. Władze ChRL stawiają przed swoimi uczelniami ambitne cele, m.in. wprowadzenie kilkunastu uczelni do ligi najlepszych uniwersytetów świata. Chińskie uczelnie odchodzą od wzorca kultury organizacyjnej "copycat", rozwijając własną dynamikę innowacyjności uczelni, poprzez konsekwentne podnoszenie swoich pozycji w międzynarodowych rankingach. Jednocześnie jednak cele rozwojowe stawiane chińskim uczelniom powiązane są z globalną ekspansją gospodarczą ChRL. Dyplomacja naukowa Państwa Środka działa przede wszystkim poprzez Instytuty Konfucjusza. Uczelnie Unii Europejskiej stanowią cel strategiczny w tej polityce, gdyż posiadają one zasoby i praktyki konieczne do wzmocnienia uczelni chińskich. Artykuł analizuje wybrane aspekty użycia polityki uczelnianej jako soft power chińskiej dyplomacji. ; Higher education policy is an element of soft power in the international politics of the PRC. This has become possible because, for two decades, universities in China have been developing and undergoing profound changes. PRC authorities have set ambitious goals for their universities, e.g. making some of the universities top higher education institutions worldwide. Universities in China are abandoning the "copy-paste" pattern, developing their own technological innovations, and consistently raising their position in international rankings. Development goals set for Chinese universities are connected with the global economic expansion of the PRC. The scientific diplomacy of China is primarily executed through the Confucius Institutes network. European Union universities are a strategic goal of this policy as they possess the resources, practices and customs China needs to strengthen its universities. The paper analyzes selected issues of employing higher education policy as a soft power in Chinese diplomacy.
The author describes and summarises the main theories relating to the specificity of the European Union structure as an internally complex organism which is being characterised by scientists as an international organisation as well as a confederation and a federation. Many researchers compare the process of the European Union formation to the nation-state formation, others compare the E.U. to the United States of America and many more indicate that the E.U. structure with its specific multi-level governance looks like a neo-medieval empire. What we can see in this empire is a network of overlapping systems of powers and areas of loyalty. The author points out that structurally the E.U. can be visualised as a model of multilevel governance and as such can be defined as a sui generis political system. So it is not analogous to the nation state but rather to a system of governance without a formal governing body. This notion is the result of a growing level of interdependence one can see in the international arena. In the second part of article, the author addresses the sovereignty issues which relate to the E.U. member states as well as the E.U. as a separate body. He reviews the theories which variously explain the process of European integration and its influence on internal policies within member states.