Przegląd Politologiczny, 2020, nr 4
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Item The image of the “Russian hacker” and cyberphobia of the “digital environment”(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2020) Sidorov, Viktor AleksandrovichThe “digital environment” is perceived as a new situation in the political consciousness of the society, as well as a source of xenophobia in politics. In the context of political uncertainty in the world, journalism is becoming a vehicle for spreading cyberphobia – a new type of social fear. Cyberphobia is understood as a natural reaction of public consciousness to the intensification of new types of crimes against the individual and society with the use of “digital” technologies. The new informational reality has predetermined cyberthreats that appeared in the media leading to the most dangerous social phobia. This, for instance, has been combined with the idea of the “Russian hacker” and his personification as the world Evil.Item Between Relative Deprivation and Gratification: A Study in the Gals for Gals’ Sense of Reproductive Security(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2020) Rak, JoannaThe study examines the political thought of the pro-choice Dziewuchy Dziewuchom (Gals for Gals) movement, which was active in Poland in 2016–2018. The main goal of the analysis was to determine how the sense that one’s needs were satisfied was changing during the political activity of the Gals and to what extent these changes depended on the external stimuli provided by Polish Parliament working on two bills to tighten the anti-abortion law. The research issues were resolved using qualitative source analysis, relational content analysis and the dyad of the theoretical categories of relative deprivation (RD) and gratification (RG). The study shows that the Gals for Gals movement created an internally coherent picture of their situation. However, relative deprivation and gratification were manifested only immediately after the movement was established and on its first anniversary. The manifestations did not depend on external stimuli provided by the successive stages of the legislative processes. The manifestations of deprivation served the purpose of discursive self-legitimation of the movement, and of gratification expressed organizational success. These types of attitudes emerged during the second stage, that is after the rejection of the first bill at the second reading, when the Gals discursively self-relegitimated the movement and expressed a sense of organizational success and satisfaction of the need for social recognition. This means that the Gals were not satisfied with achieving the goals of the movement, and the efforts to neutralize relative deprivation did not motivate their political activity.Item The issue of raw material security in Poland’s contemporary national security strategies(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2020) Kamprowski, RafałThis article examines the issue of ensuring raw material security as seen in the contemporary national security strategies of Poland. The temporal framework identified as “contemporary” indicates that the analysis embraced documents from the period 2003–2020, which mark a significant qualitative change in terms of defining and understanding security as an area which is not dominated by its hard, military aspect. The study aims to identify, discuss and compare various concepts of ensuring raw material security to Poland on the basis of the four strategies of Poland’s national security. The following research problems were formulated to achieve the research objectives defined in this way: to what extent is the issue of Poland’s raw material security present in the documents analyzed? What tools have the authors of the strategies employed to ensure security in Poland in terms of raw materials? What are the main difficulties in ensuring raw material security to Poland highlighted by the analyzed national security strategies? Are there any convergences in the visions of ensuring Poland’s raw material security presented in the analyzed strategies? The research questions formulated in this way served as the basis for the following research hypothesis: given an increase in non-military threats, the raw material-related dimension of security is increasingly emphasized in national security strategies. The research methods used in this article include the comparative method and source analysis. The technique of analysis was also used.Item Independence referenda in Catalonia and their political significance(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2020) Lesiewicz, ElżbietaThe article discusses two independence referenda of 2014 and 2017, which have been declared illegal by the Spanish government and the Constitutional Court. The referenda have shown that the majority of Catalans to establish their own state. The article presents historical conditions of the Catalan independence movement, analysis of referenda outcomes, and the impact of the 2020 pandemic on the independence movement. Methods used include institutional and legal analysis, system analysis and historical genetic method. The methods have proven that to a large extent historical factors and the 2008 economic crisis contributed to independence tendencies in Catalonia. All these facts contributed to the growing support for the independence among Catalans. This has been proven by outcomes of two independence referenda. The first one of them was held on 9 November 2014 and the turnout was 2 million out of 5.4 million eligible citizens. As much as 80% of voters opted for independence. The turnout of the 2017 referendum was 42.3% out of 5.34 million, and 90% of 2.26 million citizens participating in the referendum opted for independence, whereas 8% were against. The referenda showed that independence trends in European regions were still valid, since separatists might even use the crisis caused by the 2020 pandemic to support they independence struggle.Item Selected areas of female MPs presence in the Polish Sejm in 1991–2018 – quantitative aspects(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2020) Pająk-Patkowska, BeataThe article analyzes representation of women in the Polish Parliament (Sejm) in 1991–2018, a period which corresponds to 8 terms of office. The analysis excludes the Sejm of the 10th term of office (1989–1991) due to the specific nature of the election and a different mode of its operation in the period concerned. Areas of activity and female MP participation were defined based on documents that regulate the working of the Sejm. The hypothesis assumes that main bodies and institutions of the legislative branch (Presidium, Marshal, parliamentary committees) show a disparity between the number of male and female MPs. Another hypothesis is that women are more active in committees that deal with issues stereotypically associated with women, such education and health. The study involved document and statistical analyses to compare data pertaining to the activity of male and female MPs. Research materials comprise data available at sejm.gov.pl (archives of eight terms of office). It is worth emphasizing that the website is a reliable source of information. A large part of resources has been digitized which facilitates access to research materials.Item The influence of the domestic election cycle on the turnout for European parliamentary elections. The case of Poland(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2020) Nadolska, JadwigaThe purpose of the article is to diagnose the causes of the increased interest shown by Poles in the European parliamentary election in 2019. From 2014 to 2019, Poles’ participation in elections to the European Parliament went up from 23.83% to 45.68%. Drawing on Europe salience theory and second-order election theory, I set out to determine whether changes in Poles’ attitudes towards the European Union led to this almost twofold increase in turnout from 2014 to 2019, or whether this trend was mainly attributable to the election cycle, that is, the coincidence in 2019 of both European and domestic parliamentary elections. My research involved an analysis of survey data (CBOS, Eurobarometr), statistical data, and the course of the European parliamentary election campaign. During the analysis, it turned out that in the years 2014–2019 there were no significant changes in how the European Union and its institutions were perceived by Poles that could explain the dramatic increase in interest in the European election. What had the greatest impact on voter behaviour was the fact that the European election was held just several months before an election to the Polish parliament. The Polish political parties treated the European election in May as a test of support in the nation election to be held in the autumn – as a ‘quasi-first round.’ The European election campaign was heavily covered by the media, and focused on domestic issues (building up Poland’s welfare state). The ruling party’s announcement of numerous social reforms and a desire to influence the result of the ‘May round’ mobilised an above-average number of Poles to take an active part in the European election.Item Multi-level Governance of Integration Policy. Role of the Cities. Comparison of Warsaw and Prague(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2020) Matusz, Patrycja; Pawlak, MikołajThis paper analyses the role of the cities in the multi-level governance of integration policy. The goal was to analyse the relations of diverse actors in a multi-level governance context and the direct impact of the transnational EU policy to local level actors (that also bypassed the national level). We show how the interconnection of policy levels and the presence of actors in many roles in the process of developing immigrant integration policies resulted in the top-down transfer of policy goals. We also highlight the converse perspective and demonstrate how bottom-up policy initiatives strengthen the position of cities as important players in the multilevel governance, both individually and collectively.Item Financial Condition of Local Government in Poland vs StructuralReforms of Municipal Government in Scandinavian States(Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2020) Osiński, Joachim; Zawiślińska, IzabelaThe authors have undertaken an analysis of the phenomenon of debt of local government units in Poland. It is a dynamic phenomenon, which affects vast majority of municipalities and districts. A barrier to debt expansion has been established in the form of the Individual Debt Index (IOI), which has been in place since 2014 and its new elements entered into force on 1 January 2020. The structure of the index is intended to allow regional accounting chambers (RIO) to control the process and prevent its progression. The authors indicate, however, that the main problem for local self-government units is insufficient own income, which forces them to increase the pool of funds transferred from the central budget to self-governments in the form of grants and subventions and to look for various forms of loans for their activities. Using the experience of the Scandinavian countries, the authors propose to start territorial and resource consolidation reforms of small local government units – municipalities and districts. The aim is to facilitate better use of endogenous resources of territorial self-government units and use of economies of scale related to local economy and social resources. This should result, as in Scandinavia, in the development of public entrepreneurship, higher social efficiency and effectiveness, and stabilisation of the income of individual units. After more than 20 years of operation, small local government units in Poland have become structurally and functionally obsolete and do not guarantee modern development of local communities.