Przegląd Politologiczny, 2016, nr 2
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Item The problem of mounting income inequalities in the world vis-a-vis the phenomenon of harmful tax competition. The ICIJ tracking down the greatest financial scandals of the 21st century(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2016) Walkowski, MaciejIn May 2016, over 350 economists from thirty states signed a letter to global political leaders and the G-7 in particular, warning that tax havens are socially unfair and have no economic justification whatsoever. The author of the best selling Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty, Professor of Columbia University, the adviser to the UN Secretary General Jeffrey Sachs and Professor of Princeton University and Nobel Winner, Angus Deaton, alongside many renowned academics, called to make the global tax system more transparent and to introduce regulations that would curb the activities of Offshore Financial Centers (OFCs). An NGO Oxfam International, which coordinated the writing of the letter, called upon global leaders to develop a joint standpoint to abandon the secrecy of business operations in tax havens and reveal what harms they bring. According to the analysts from Oxfam, Credit Suisse and UNCTAD, what is called tax optimization actually contributes to greater global income disparities, which are treated as the gravest global issue in the 21st century. The author refers to academic analyses and the results of the journalistic investigations of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in an attempt to diagnose and examine those mutual dependencies and to present the various harms the procedure brings to economies and societies, and presents his own assessment and forecasts for the future.Item Reasons behind the success of the “Islamic State”(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2016) Wojciechowski, SebastianTerrorism today entails a wide range of diverse threats. Currently, the most dangerous such threats are posed by ‘the “Islamic State” (IS). The aim of this paper is to identify the key factors for the dramatic rise of the “Islamic State” to power and significance. Its success has been the sum total of a number of diverse and mutually linked factors. Those fall into the two categories of endogenic reasons associated with the activities undertaken by the “Islamic State” and the exogenic factors, which apply to various developments and processes which have also contributed to IS advancement. Despite the “Islamic State” s loss of influence and resources, it is bound to continue to destabilize the international scene and pose a security threat for years to come. One should therefore give priority to learning about the reasons behind its success as such knowledge may help not only defeat IS but also prevent other Islamic and terrorist organizations from rising to power in the future.Item Normative media theories: the media in the new democracies(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2016) Piontek, DorotaThe political changes which occurred in Central and Eastern Europe in the last decade of the 20th century resulted in introducing democratic systems to replace authoritarian regimes. The political transformation in the region affected also freedom of speech and leeway for the media. The transformation was of an evolutionary nature, preceded by discussions and disputes over the future form of the media. At the initial stage of the changes, strict state control was required, as the government was responsible for the success of the democratic changes. Following the overthrow of the authoritarian regimes, a need emerged for sorting out the legal and institutional basis of a free media intended to be established on the basis of state-owned media, fully controlled by the political authorities and in fact assuming a single role, namely that of a propaganda machine. Normative theories of the media have become the starting point, as a collection of ideas and postulates stating that the media’s mode of operation should facilitate socially desirable values. Discussions of the legal, institutional, functional as well as personal solutions related to the mass media in the new democracies referred to observations and agreements among researchers who came from systems with long democratic traditions. This paper revolves around the relation between the media and democracy, and argues that the theory of the media’s social responsibility and the democratic-participant theory were the major source of inspiration for the participants of the debates about the future form of the mass media in the emerging democracies. It is worth noticing that these theories represent not only slightly different opinions on the role of the media in a democracy but they also reflect the differences in understanding the essence of democracy.Item European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation as an element invigorating integration processes at the local and regional levels in the European Union(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2016) Jańczak, JarosławIn the context of the mounting crisis of the European integration project, cross-border cooperation appears to be one of the dynamically developing exceptions. This in particular concerns the instrument of the European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC). Recent years have seen a considerable increase in the number of groupings established and initiatives aimed at establishing new ones. A more inquisitive approach to the development of EGTCs can produce different conclusions, however. On the one hand, EGTCs can exemplify the institutional pragmatism of local authorities, on the other – the implementation of EU member states’ national policies. The purpose of this paper is to take a critical look at EGTCs as an element invigorating integration processes at the local and regional levels of the European Union. The author explores the different motivations and spatial differentiation of EGTCs that is emerging in the European Union. The premise of this paper is that in different parts of Europe, actors commit to establishing EGTCs for different reasons, which translates into the varying ‘density’ of EGTCs in specific EU macroregions. The analysis is conducted taking into account the main theories of integration in the field of European Union studies and the processes of international integration. The conclusion is that France and Hungary are the main European players with respect to EGTCs, although each state is stimulated by different factors.Item Poland towards the migration crisis of 2015–2016(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2016) Potyrała, AnnaThe migratory pressures brought to bear on the European Union member states since the early 2015 have deepened differences of approach to addressing the migration crisis, especially as regards the quota system adopted in September 2015. The paper presents Poland’s position on the escalating crisis, its arguments for abandoning the open door policy on immigration as well as the political and legal measures undertaken by Poland.Item Germany’s attitude towards the association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2016) Koszel, BogdanThe author represents the opinion that before the revolution in Kiev (Euromaidan) at the turn of 2013/2014 Germany had not been interested in Ukraine. Attempts to establish closer contacts with Kiev were blocked by Moscow. The oligarchic system prevailing in the country discouraged the EU from making solemn commitments to Kiev. It was only after the Russian occupation of Crimea that Germany became more active, and with its help the association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine was concluded.Item Present and potential factors destabilizing Central Asia as a challenge to the European Union(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2016) Fiedler, RadosławCentral Asia is struggling with various challenges ranging from conflicts over water to ethnic and religious conflicts. Another factor destabilizing the situation is the mounting regional competition between Russia, China and the USA. While Russia is trying to maintain its zone of influence, China wants to build its own zone. US activities are mainly related to stabilization in Afghanistan. Given this background and the different problems and challenges, the EU’s activities in this region are negligible. Soft instruments prevail, but EU activities are anything but coherent, as the EU lacks a broad, long-term strategy of relations with Central Asia that could redefine EU involvement in the region.Item Ideological Determinants of the Current Saudi-Iranian Rivalry in the Middle East(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2016) Osiewicz, PrzemysławThe Saudi-Iranian rivalry reached a dramatic climax at the very beginning of January 2016. Unodoubtedly, Iran and Saudi Arabia represent two distinct political systems and two different approaches to foreign policy making. The question is, however, what are the reasons for these differences. It is a well-known fact that both Iranian and Saudi political systems are based on Islamic values. Yet the main difference is that their main principles stem from two divergent interpretations of Islam. The main aim of the article is to point up the main ideological differences between Iran and Saudi Arabia which directly or indirectly shape their foreign policies. Do they play a decisive role as far as the current tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia are concerned? As far as sources are concerned, the analysis is based on official documents issued by Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Iran and Saudi Arabia as well as selected monographs and academic articles.Item Political sciences: a discipline of the social sciences or the humanities?(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2016) Wallas, TadeuszBy virtue of an administrative decision, the division of Polish academia into fields and disciplines was verified in 2011. It is owing to this process that political science, among others, was reassigned in Poland. Before September 30, 2011, political science was classified as one of the humanities, but later on it was included in the new field of the social sciences, created as a result of the division of the humanities. This decision started an ongoing discussion, also in the circles of political scientists, on the issue of how advisable this change is, and it has become an important task to confirm the thesis that this decision was substantially justified. It is assumed that political science as a discipline has more in common with other disciplines assigned to the social sciences than the humanities. Additionally, by way of developing a new register of academic fields and disciplines, the administrative divisions in Polish academia were to a large extent aligned with the classification of fields and disciplines adopted by the OECD, UNESCO and EUROSTAT, which will facilitate the internationalization of academic collaboration. The above organizations and institutions, and – consequently – some of their member states, have already divided the humanities, which used to be alternatively named social sciences, into two separate fields: the social sciences and the humanities. In order to justify the above-mentioned thesis it was necessary to determine how academic specialization, discipline and field of science are perceived today; to indicate the essential divisions in academia; to attempt to define the specific nature of the humanities versus social sciences; and to present the relations of political science to the latter category. The assessment of how intensive these relations are, made it possible to confirm that the above-mentioned thesis is justified.Item Distortions of electoral law in the elections to the Polish Sejm and Senate(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2016) Stelmach, AndrzejThe paper analyzes the evolution of parliamentary electoral law in Poland, applying the method of systemic analysis, the legal and comparative method and historical methods. A statistical analysis has also been conducted. The paper indicates what factors are related to electoral regulations that result in the deformation of the intentions of citizens. In particular, it discusses the political outcomes of the successive changes of electoral laws and their political context. It presents how the changes to electoral law deform the intentions of citizens. The paper also examines the real level of the legitimization of legislative power in Poland by citizens.Item The influence of ICT on modern democracy. Selected dilemmas of electronic democracy(Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2016) Musiał-Karg, MagdalenaDue to rapid development of Information and Communication Technologies in all areas of public life, the influence of ICT on democracy has been becoming over the last years an increasingly popular research subject. Application of modern technologies influences work, education, trade, services and social relations on the professional, public and private space. ICTs are also applied to facilitate (and adapt technologically) processes that occur between political institutions, political parties and politicians – and voters. ICTs are increasingly applied in providing information and communications, as well as in elections. Taking all this into consideration, one can speak about a new paradigm of democracy assisted by electronic technologies. Next to traditional democracy, electronic democracy is becoming a popular concept defined in terms of information and communication technologies applied in order to increase citizen participation in democratic processes, both as concerns the quantity and the form of actual impact exerted by individuals on public institutions. The main objective of this study is to answer questions about the most important dilemmas related to e-democracy, and the most frequent concerns, and thereby challenges, posed by this new form of governance. These considerations are conducted in the context of the analysis of the influence of ICT on democratic principles, as well as citizen participation. The theoretical foundation for the analysis is provided by the theories by Tero Päivärinta and Øystein Sæbø, Joachim Åström, and Jan A. G. M. van Dijk. The paper is divided into several parts: the first one discusses the character of electronic democracy and its models, the second concerns the issue of ICT-assisted participation, and the third is devoted to the different dilemmas and challenges posed by electronic democracy.