Środkowoeuropejskie Studia Polityczne, 2011, nr 2
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Item Rola Jacka Kuronia w procesie odradzania się idei społeczeństwa obywatelskiego w Polsce(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Kaszkur, AlinaWithout doubt, Jacek Kuroñ was an outstanding figure in the recent history of Poland. His political platform made a considerable contribution to the development of the organization and political strategy of opposition circles and was equally important in the revival of the idea of civic society in Poland. His whole life long, Kuroñ struggled to make the individual central by means of involvement in the organized life of the community. He perceived a civic society as such a community, driven by moral standards and a common good, united by brotherhood, spontaneously organizing itself and shaping its own awareness and attitudes. During the period of his social and political activity Kuroñ struggled to revive the idea of a civic society both under the communist system, and later in a revived independent Poland. The projects he proposed were always preceded by a thorough assessment of the reality that surrounded him, and adapted both to the contemporary political circumstances and the social mood. Kuroñ’s postulates were intended to make the society sensitive to the need to care for the common good, to inspire a feeling of responsibility for the state, and they called for social, cultural, economic and political activity, encouraging citizens to participate in running their own country.Item Specyfika rosyjskiego autorytaryzmu(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Bartnicki, Adam RobertOne of the significant theoretical issues in political science involves the accurate definition of the political regime in modern Russia, the description of its mechanisms, and outlining its specific nature and developmental perspectives. At present, these matters are somewhat chaotic for two reasons. Firstly, researchers are cautious in applying equivocal notions to a system which is both ambiguous and highly dynamic, and consequently changeable. Secondly, there is a multitude of research constructs seeking a new definition, or at least a new conception, in order to describe the reality of transforming Russia.Item Białoruś Łukaszenki – od demokracji do rządów autorytarnych(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Śleszyński, WojciechAlexander Lukashenko assumed power in 2004, having won the first democratic presidential elections in Belarus. Shortly after the elections, he set about reinforcing his position and took steps to restore the solutions applied during soviet times, the only difference being that the President’s administrative powers began to expand, instead of those of political party structures. The presidential position was further strengthened as a consequence of a referendum held in May 1995, when Belarusian society supported Lukashenko’s efforts aimed at closer integration of his country with Russia. The electorate also approved the return of a slightly modified national emblem and flag from the soviet times, and the equality of rights of the Russian and Belarusian languages. Struggling against the opposition, the President was aware that the durability of his success would depend on restoring balance to the national economy. The steps he proposed for this purpose assumed returning to the solutions applied during the times of a centrally planned economy, proposals which were supported by the majority of Belarusians. In the early 21st century, the authoritarian Belarusian system was founded on a relatively smoothly operating centrally controlled economy and increasing control of the state in the realms of politics and culture. More than fifteen years of Alexander Lukashenko’s rule have shown him capable of establishing an efficient system allowing a single person to hold power while maintaining a superficial appearance of democracy. The authoritarian system of Belarus skillfully combines nostalgia for the soviet system with strong presidential authority.Item Konstruktywne wotum nieufności w Republice Federalnej Niemiec i III Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Dziemidok-Olszewska, BożenaThe article is based on the premise that a constructive vote of no confidence is an institution of a political system which provides the best assurance for the stability of government and protection from governmental crises. The conditions and formal requirements of the procedure of a constructive vote of no confidence make it possible to protect a government from the consequences of the activity of an accidental negative majority. The paper aims to present and compare this procedure in the Federal Republic of Germany and Poland in terms of three main aspects: the conditions of its establishment, the actual procedure and the political consequences. A vote of constructive no confidence was introduced in Germany as a consequence of the negative experiences of the Weimar Republic, whereas in Poland it was the rational reasoning of the authors of the Constitution that provided for the procedure. The differences between the German and Polish procedures concern, among other things, the structure of the motion, the number of obligatory signatures under the motion, and the period from submission of the motion to the vote. The most fundamental political consequences of a vote of no confidence concern the strengthened position of the government and its leader, stabilization of the political system and enabling minority governments to be established. The paper concludes with the observation that a constructive vote of no confidence influences the political system and all its fundamental elements, protects the government and makes the parliamentary system more rational.Item Psychologiczne uwarunkowania preferencji w zakresie kształtu systemu politycznego w Polsce na podstawie badań empirycznych(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Turska-Kawa, AgnieszkaThe paper looks at the issue of the psychological conditioning of the preferences concerning the shape of governance system and the system of political parties in Poland in the light of empirical research (N=1086), carried out in 2009. The analysis takes into account the variables of self-assessment, dispositional optimism, self-efficacy and dispositional fear. These variables, accounting for the cognitive functioning of individuals, the level of their involvement and motivation, have turned out to be significant when differentiating individuals’ preferences concerning political systems.Item Preferencje ustrojowe jako czynnik dyskrepancyjny identyfikacji ideologicznych i partyjnych(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Wojtasik, WaldemarApart from its institutional dimensions, the determining factors of the evolution of a political system are based on the social expectations concerning the possible shape of the preferred and implemented solutions. This paper presents the conclusions of nationwide research carried out on a representative sample (N=1086) to analyze the direction and scope of the expected change in the political system in relation to thepolitical programs of the main political parties in Poland.Item Efektywność zmian w ukraińskim systemie wyborczym w procesie transformacji(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Sydun, SwietłanaOver the period of its independence, Ukraine has gone through several stages of modernization of its electoral system, moving from system of absolute and mixed majority to proportional representation. What can this signify? Either the democratic principles of the national political system are strengthening and political institutions fully function in society, or a system of state authorities has actually transformed into the rule of oligarchic parties which control the activities of the government via parliament and are sufficiently independent from the President. By virtue of the constitutional reform from late 2004, Ukraine has transformed into a parliamentary-presidential republic, where the parliament is the core of control over executive power. Therefore, it is quite significant which parties win the elections.Item Metody zwiększania frekwencji wyborczej. Polska a doświadczenia innych państw(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Musiał-Karg, MagdalenaNumerous reports and analyses of voter turnout levels have recorded the global trend of declining participation by citizens in national elections. One of the most important results of poor participation of citizens in electoral processes is the serious legitimization deficit. Governments in many countries try to prevent that by taking various measures to solve the problem of falling turnout and to increase the level of the electorate’s involvement. In Poland, the low turnout level has been the subject of many scholarly discussions aimed at finding solutions to the problem of poor civic participation. The main goal of this study is to assess the various methods of increasing voter turnout which are used in different countries, including Poland.Item Decentralizacja władzy publicznej w Polsce na przykładzie samorządu terytorialnego(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Antkowiak, PawełThe political and social transformations of 1989 in Poland were primarily related to the profound democratization of the apparatus of public authority, resulting in the almost total abandonment of the unified, centralized structure. In the realm of public administration this process is illustrated by the thorough decentralization of the administrative apparatus. The current model of administration assumes that is it is exercised both by the apparatus of the centralized governmental administration and by a diversified system of independent organs and institutions that perform public tasks vested in them by virtue of law in their own names and on their own accounts. The subject of this paper is the reinstatement of territorial self-government which constituted an integral part of this processItem Współczesna demokracja a społeczeństwo obywatelski na przykładzie Polski(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Rachwał, MarcinIn order to function properly, a modern democracy needs a civic society, that is a society of individual, conscious subjects, who are active in the public realm. The absence of this component of democracy results in numerous problems, if only to mention low turnout in elections and referenda, thereby weakening the legitimacy of power and difficulties in the implementation of political decisions. Many authors emphasize the fact that the 1980s were a period of very intensive development in civic society in Poland which persuaded the authorities at the time to commence talks with the democratic opposition. The outcome of the talks of the Round Table, the elections in June 1991 and further events, was that a democratic political system was institutionalized in Poland. After several years of political transformation the issue of the weakness of Polish civic society was raised more and more frequently. Therefore, the question may be asked of what has happened to Polish society? A society that was once able to force the non-democratic authorities to make concessions after the turning point of 1989, has become less and less involved in public life. In trying to address this problem one needs to emphasize the fact that Polish civic society was revived at the time of the struggle against the socialist state. After the change of political system, the negative aftermath of the relations between state and citizens has produced certain difficulties. Consequently, new mutual relations need to be established between state and citizens, since a democratic system requires a functioning civic society that does not struggle against the state but rather collaborates with it. It takes time to develop such an organization of society, though.Item Decentralizacja władzy publicznej w Polsce na przykładzie samorządu terytorialnego(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Antkowiak, PawełThe political and social transformations of 1989 in Poland were primarily related to the profound democratization of the apparatus of public authority, resulting in the almost total abandonment of the unified, centralized structure. In the realm of public administration this process is illustrated by the thorough decentralization of the administrative apparatus. The current model of administration assumes that is it is exercised both by the apparatus of the centralized governmental administration and by a diversified system of independent organs and institutions that perform public tasks vested in them by virtue of law in their own names and on their own accounts. The subject of this paper is the reinstatement of territorial self-government which constituted an integral part of this process.Item Efektywność zmian w ukraińskim systemie wyborczym w procesie transformacji(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Sydun, SwietłanaOver the period of its independence, Ukraine has gone through several stages of modernization of its electoral system, moving from system of absolute and mixed majority to proportional representation. What can this signify? Either the democratic principles of the national political system are strengthening and political institutions fully function in society, or a system of state authorities has actually transformed into the rule of oligarchic parties which control the activities of the government via parliament and are sufficiently independent from the President. By virtue of the constitutional reform from late 2004, Ukraine has transformed into a parliamentary-presidential republic, where the parliament is the core of control over executive power. Therefore, it is quite significant which parties win the elections.Item Współczesna demokracja a społeczeństwo obywatelskie na przykładzie Polski(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Rachwał, MarcinIn order to function properly, a modern democracy needs a civic society, that is a society of individual, conscious subjects, who are active in the public realm. The absence of this component of democracy results in numerous problems, if only to mention low turnout in elections and referenda, thereby weakening the legitimacy of power and difficulties in the implementation of political decisions. Many authors emphasize the fact that the 1980s were a period of very intensive development in civic society in Poland which persuaded the authorities at the time to commence talks with the democratic opposition. The outcome of the talks of the Round Table, the elections in June 1991 and further events, was that a democratic political system was institutionalized in Poland. After several years of political transformation the issue of the weakness of Polish civic society was raised more and more frequently. Therefore, the question may be asked of what has happened to Polish society? A society that was once able to force the non-democratic authorities to make concessions after the turning point of 1989, has become less and less involved in public life. In trying to address this problem one needs to emphasize the fact that Polish civic society was revived at the time of the struggle against the socialist state. After the change of political system, the negative aftermath of the relations between state and citizens has produced certain difficulties. Consequently, new mutual relations need to be established between state and citizens, since a democratic system requires a functioning civic society that does not struggle against the state but rather collaborates with it. It takes time to develop such an organization of society, though.Item Wybory jako forma legitymizacji władzy w Polsce w dwudziestoleciu przemian ustrojowych(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Stelmach, AndrzejDuring the political transformation in Poland, electoral law was frequently changed. The general principles, already adopted in 1991, were maintained in parliamentary elections (to the Sejm). The changes only affected the detailed solutions concerning how the votes were calculated as mandates, and the sizes of constituencies. The so-called elective thresholds, which were introduced in 1993, have been maintained. In practice, the result of the current system of parliamentary elections is that the parties that attract approximately 25% of the votes cast by all those authorized to vote, win over half the parliamentary mandates, thereby exercising power. Therefore, the claim that a democratic electoral system is based on the principle of majority rule seems doubtful here, as what we actually get entails the rule of the largest social group, or at least the one that has the most effective organization. Contrary to popular belief, the majority elections to the Senate do not change the above rule. A voter supporting a given candidate in these elections is mainly directed by the political group which supports this candidate. The electoral system to the Senate was finally formed in 1991 and only slightly amended in 2001. Asingle-mandate constituency in the elections to the upper chamber of the parliament was only introduced by Electoral Law in 2011.Item Decentralizacja władzy publicznej w Polsce na przykładzie samorządu terytorialnego(Wydawnictwo Naukowe WNPiD UAM w Poznaniu, 2011) Antkowiak, PawełPrzemiany społeczno-polityczne roku 1989 w Polsce wiązały się przede wszystkim z daleko idącą demokratyzacją aparatu władzy publicznej, przynosząc w efekcie niemal całkowite odejście od struktury jednolitej i scentralizowanej. W sferze wykonywania administracji publicznej przejawem tego procesu jest daleko idąca decentralizacja aparatu administracyjnego. Obecnie funkcjonujący model administracji zakłada jej wykonywanie zarówno przez aparat scentralizowanej administracji rządowej, jak również wieloraki układ organów i instytucji działających samodzielnie i wykonujących powierzone im w drodze ustaw zadania publiczne w imieniu własnym i na własną odpowiedzialność. Przedmiotem tego opracowania stała się restytucja samorządu terytorialnego, który stanowi integralną częścią tego procesu.