Przegląd Politologiczny, 2023, nr 2
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Item Poland’s Road to Membership in the European Union from the Perspective of the 20th Anniversary of the Accession Treaty(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2023) Wallas, TadeuszThe purpose of this article is to show Poland’s path to European Union membership from the perspective of the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Accession Treaty. Joining the Community was proceeded by many years of preparation and efforts. Poland had to meet many necessary requirements to finally join the ranks of the member states. The negotiations, which began on April 3, 1998, were concluded on April 16, 2003, with the signing of the Accession Treaty in Athens. In Poland, the decision was also decided by the public expressing its opinion in a referendum held on June 7–8, 2003. On July 23, 2003 the Accession Treaty was ratified, and on May 1, 2004. Poland became a member of the European Union. Poland’s entry into the European Union made it possible to take a civilizational step. Poland benefited from its presence in the EU in many dimensions, primarily political, economic and social. The benefits of Poland’s accession to the EU far outweigh the costs. This assessment is also confirmed by the opinions of citizens expressed in surveys. In June 2022, the number of supporters of Poland’s EU membership reached a record 92%.Item The Use of Secret Services for Political Purposes on the Example of the Slovak Information Service(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2023) Żarna, KrzysztofThe article describes an analysis of cases where the Slovak Information Service was used for political purposes. The analysis covered mainly the years 1995–1998, when Ivan Lexa was the director. It was also the period of the so-called third government of Vladimír Mečiar, the coalition of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia – Slovak National Party – Association of Slovak Workers. The article is based on the assumption that in the years 1995–1998 SIS was used for political purposes, and despite the fact that almost 30 years have passed since that time, those responsible have only faced political responsibility, and have not been held criminally responsible. The paperwork uses the literature on the subject, press articles and transcripts from the meetings of the National Council of the Slovak Republic. Decision analysis, case study and content analysis were studied in the work.Item Political Communication on Social Media During Poland’s 2020 Presidential Campaign(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2023) Mańkowski, SzymonProper political communication is one of the most crucial areas of activity for political actors and organizations. The processes of political communication have been constantly evolving for years, however, the greatest dynamics is associated with the emergence of the Internet and, in particular, some of the most important channels of communication belonging to the Web 2.0, i.e. social media, which enable the performance of all strategic functions of political communication. The article is an attempt to present political communication in social networks on the basis of the recent 2020 presidential campaign in Poland.Item The Commercialisation of Propaganda and the Independence of the Fourth Estate – a Contribution to the Discussion on Contemporary Threats to Media Freedom(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2023) Skrzypczak, JędrzejThe article presents the phenomenon of the so-called privatisation of censorship and the commercialisation of propaganda and their impact on the independence of the fourth authority. The author intends to confirm or question the hypothesis according to which, in the 21st century, the new phenomenon of the so-called privatisation of censorship and the commercialisation of propaganda. To this end, he intends to use a descriptive method, situational analysis, and comparative analysis elements. The concept of the so-called “privatisation of censorship” was first described by J. Kurzlantick and P. Link based on observing components of the media policy of the People’s Republic of China towards Taiwan in the 21st century. According to these authors, a very worrying phenomenon can be seen in outsourcing content control to private sector representatives. This means that censorship is delegated to private media companies. This action is supposed to consist of exercising actual control over the circulation of content and messages, not by state bodies but by media owners or advertisers who exert direct or indirect pressure, usually economic, on journalists intending to publish critical texts. The concept of privatisation of censorship should be broadened to the idea of the so-called commercialisation of propaganda. This type of strategy seems to be observed in Hungary and Poland in recent years, the most apparent evidence of which is the remedial action taken recently by the European Union, particularly the European Media Freedom Act proposal. Based on the analysis of the described examples seen in Taiwan, Hungary and Poland, it has been demonstrated that the measures referred to as the privatisation of censorship and the commercialisation of propaganda can prove very effective and thus dangerous for the independence of the fourth estate. The current legal regulations guaranteeing freedom of speech and the media, although explicitly prohibiting, among other things, preventive censorship, turn out to be insufficient in ensuring the independence of the fourth authority in the case of actions termed “privatisation of censorship” and “commercialisation of propaganda”.Item Roles of Advisory Councils in Urban Governance(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2023) Pawłowska, AgnieszkaUrban governance (UG) is a place-based network of cooperation between public and non-public actors where public authorities play a strategic role in deciding on city matters. A number of UG actors include advisory councils (ACs), characterized by a long tradition, universality, stability and objectives related to urban affairs. The article aims to identify AC roles in UG. In addition, the author hypothesizes a correlation between the number of official (statutory) and informal (not legally regulated) roles and differences between ACs in terms of the roles they play. The hypotheses were verified in qualitative research. 57 semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of the youth councils, senior citizen councils, sport councils, and councils for residents with disabilities in 16 Polish cities. The interview transcripts were uploaded to QDA Miner for encoding and analysis. It was found that all ACs, regardless of their official roles, play informal roles, and all these roles are related to UG. There is no correlation between the number of official and informal roles, which would make ACs very similar unless the mandatory character of the roles played by the council for residents with disabilities, which differs this AC from the other. The results of the study lead the author to recommend revisions to AC regulations in order to increase their participation in the UG.Item The Interests of the Gulf Monarchies in the Horn of Africa(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2023) Cherkas, Bohdan; Novytska, NataliaThe aim of this article is to analyze the policy of the Gulf monarchies in the Horn of Africa. Close historical ties between two regions have given rise to deep cooperation between African and Arab states nowadays. Gulf monarchies competed for a long time to deepen their political, economic and security impact in the region. Strengthening economic ties with the Horn of Africa has helped increase food security in the Persian Gulf. Investments by Arab monarchies in modernizing ports in Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and Djibouti are helping to improve logistics infrastructure in the Northeast Africa. At the same time, the rapid militarization of the region due to the establishment of a number of Gulf states military bases in the Horn of Africa is increasing the level of conflict-generating in the region. The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden both have strategic importance for the armed support for the military campaign of the Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates coalition in Yemen. That is why the Horn of Africa has also gained strategic importance due to the conflict in Yemen, and therefore the ambitious Gulf states have become increasingly have become increasingly involved in the regional geopolitics. Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as the main ally of Riyadh in the Persian Gulf, are increasingly seeing the Horn of Africa as their “western flank of security.” They are united by the desire to prevent the growing influence of Turkey, Iran and Qatar in this part of the world. The competition between Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Iran helps to attract investments, maintain general stability and improve the security situation in the Horn of Africa. Conflict mediation and asset build-up in the Horn of Africa have enabled Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar to establish political influence in the region. The Gulf states are using their growing economic, security and diplomatic influence in Africa to reduce the influence of competitors and gain international support on the world stage.Item Polish Paradiplomacy. Current State and Perspectives(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2023) Ksenicz, IgorThe article presents the results of the research conducted by the author within the framework of the National Science Centre action MINIATURA 4. This was a pilot project aiming to yield a preliminary diagnosis and suggest directions of development for the cooperation between local government units and the central government in the field of paradiplomacy. As part of the study, 11 interviews were conducted with the representatives of the milieus responsible for Polish paradiplomacy: local government officials, civil servants and experts. The results of the preliminary research indicate that approached as an instrument of foreign policy, Polish local diplomacy is experiencing a severe crisis. In order to overcome it, one should consider a model of Polish paradiplomacy that respects the interests of either side, namely the central and the local government.Item Between the Politicisation and Juridisation of Constitutional Accountability in Poland(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2023) Kropiwnicki, RobertThe article discusses the models of constitutional accountability as well as the personal and material scope. The Polish model of accountability is much closer to politicization than to juridization. The Constitution defines a closed circle of entities that may be held accountable before the State Tribunal, which adjudicates on three types of liability: 1. For a constitutional tort, i.e. a violation of the Constitution or a statute, however, without the characteristics of a criminal offence. 2. Criminal law unrelated to a constitutional tort, this applies only to the person holding the office of the President of the Republic of Poland. 3. Criminal for a constitutional delict meeting the criteria of a criminal offence, concerning an act committed in connection with the function performed.Item Defenders of an Imagined Empire. The Russian Diaspora as a Tool of Propaganda and Anti-Democratic Politics in the Central and Southeast Asian Region(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2023) Lachowicz, MagdalenaThe article analyzes the role of the Russian diaspora in the policy of the Russian Federation authorities during Russia’s war in Ukraine. The author analyzes the mechanisms of centralization, consolidation and instrumentalization of organizations of so-called compatriots outside Russia, in the area of Central and Southeast Asia. The process of institutionalization of the diaspora and the creation of a coherent system of economic, cultural and repatriation policy management by the central authorities of the Russian Federation are critically analyzed. Russia, working with the diaspora, is extremely effective in exploiting the potential of its human capital, which, according to UN reports, is estimated at 11 million people, the second largest diaspora in the world after the Indian diaspora.Item The Idea of War in Russian Political Thought after 1991(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2023) Diec, JoachimAs time passed, in Russian political thought after the collapse of the Soviet Union, militarism or even an apology for war came to the fore. The aim of the study was to detect the most important models of this trend, taking into account the timeline of the Crimean events in 2014, and to attempt to explain its background in the absence of significant military threats to Russia from the international environment. Four main models of post-Soviet militarism have been distinguished: a) the rational model, pointing to the effects of military action in the modern world; b) the dualistic model of a clash between the traditionalist Russian civilization and the corrupt and expansionist West; c) the fatalistic concept of war as an inevitable aspect of the maturation of societies; d/the revivalist model, where war is treated as a device of social mobilization.