Przegląd Politologiczny, 2010, nr 3

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    Idealny wzór partii politycznej a dzisiejsza rzeczywistość w Polsce
    (Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2010) Sielski, Jerzy
    The paper attempts to formulate an answer to the question of what an ideal party should look like at present, and what contemporary reality in Poland is like. In his attempt to create an ideal model for a political party, the author adopts the concept of the ‘good state’, as developed in the paper Wyznaczniki dobrego pañstwa, as a point of reference. He goes on to compare the way in which contemporary parties fulfill their functions to the objectives of a good state (egoistic objectives: to retain power and maintain social and political security; altruistic objectives: social order and reforms). He adopts six fundamental functions of a national party: intermediary, electoral, ruling, shaping public opinion, educational and organizational function. The author concludes by saying that there is no ideal political party in Poland that performs its functions in relation to the ‘good state’ well. Instead of convincing society about themselves, contemporary (2007) Polish parties have created conflicts and created sharp social divisions that continue to exist.
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    Demokracja dyskursywna w myśleniu politycznym
    (Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2010) Zyborowicz, Stanisław
    The paper concerns one of the concepts of democracy. Each democracy assumes that the people who live together in society need certain procedures/institutions to make binding decisions that take into consideration everybody’s interests. The notion of a deliberative democracy is used to describe a system of political decisions based on the decision-making process perceived as a combination of consensus and representative democracy. Discursive democracy is a theoretical model of a political system propagated by Jurgen Habermas and Jon Elster, and also by Joshua Cohen, Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson. The concept was used for the first time by Joseph M. Bessette in his work Deliberative Democracy: The Majority Principle in Republican Government in 1980, and later on in The Mild Voice of Reason in 1994. Public debate is a key aspect of the discursive concept which emphasizes the manner in which all arguments are presented in open discussion. Discursive democracy assumes a larger participation of citizens in the legislative process by means of institutionalized debates organized to complement the process of informal opinion shaping. Deliberative democracy will win an increasing number of proponents. This certainly is not only a matter of will but also of realistic opportunities to participate in the process of building a deliberative democracy.
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    Mit totalitaryzmu i Platońska filozofia demokracji
    (Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2010) Paradowski, Ryszard
    A certain trend in political philosophy has associated Plato with a totalitarian tradition, which is disputed in this paper. The author argues that Plato could be included in the political philosophy of a democratic type, referring to the interpretation of the theory of ideas, presented in the text. This interpretation involves a certain understanding of the idea of the Good and the two principal methods of defining it, as well as ‘Plato’s dilemma’ (the Good above the Demiurge versus the Demiurge above the Good), and a peculiar Platonic way to resolve this dilemma. Additionally, the author confronts Plato’s dilemma with the axiological duality of the cultural message conveyed by the Old Testament. The author develops a hypothesis that especially (albeit not exclusively) as the author of The Republic, Plato laid the foundations for the political philosophy in general, but also, despite the disapproval of the Athenian democracy he manifested, for the philosophy of democracy, perceived as a kind of order, based on defining the Good by means of dialogue and the prevalence of so-defined Good over any kind of ‘Demiurge’, including a political Demiurge.
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    Skutki akcesji Polski do Unii Europejskiej w ocenie głównych Kościołów chrześcijańskich w RP
    (Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2010) Kusztal, Aleksandra
    Polish membership of the European Union became a fact in 2004. The fears and hopes of the main Christian churches in Poland as regards its consequences have already been at least partly verified. This verification has been partly positive, as the main Christian churches in Poland have obtained access to direct subsidies for arable land owners. However, there have also been disappointments, such as the disappointed hopes of the churches of minor denominations to obtain more balanced and actual equality of rights for different churches and religious denominations in Poland by virtue of Community law. Another disappointment concerned the expectation that due to their participation in integration processes Poles would abandon a certain religious and spiritual provincionalism, or their complete disregard of the opinions of representatives of churches and religious denominations in the process of the EU’s internal reforms. It can be observed that the intellectual and moral potential of such important institutions of social life as Christian churches in Poland has not been taken full advantage of in the European debate and discussion on integration. Unfortunately, it is also rather difficult to find any signs that this may happen in the future.
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    Kierunki racjonalizacji struktury rolnictwa polskiego w świetle rozwiązań stosowanych w Europie Zachodniej
    (Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2010) Babiak, Jerzy
    Agriculture is a peculiar sector of the economy that requires support from the state. Its spontaneous transformation is not effective enough, therefore a number of mechanisms are applied to stimulate advantageous structural transformation both at EU and national levels. The agricultural system of West European states is based on the family farm. Although Community law does not define a family farm, different systems provide various measures applied in order to protect family farms, e.g. by means of controlling agricultural land trade. The paper presents the legal and institutional solutions applied in this respect in France, Germany and Denmark. These states have not been randomly selected, as they are the main competitors for Polish agriculture in the Community market, and they have succeeded in establishing an agrarian structure. Against the background of their experience, Polish legal solutions are presented and assessed. The responsibilities of the Agricultural Property Agency are presented in detail; its principal task apart from the management of State Treasury property is to shape agrarian structure.
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    Eurosceptycyzm znad Wełtawy. Inspiracja brytyjska czy oryginalny wariant czeskich konserwatystów?
    (Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM) Leszczyński, Paweł
    The aim of this paper is to reveal the connections between the British version of Euroskepticism (as one variety of this political and intellectual phenomenon) and its Czech variant, personified by the present President of the Czech Republic – Vaclav Klaus. The paper discusses the fundamental elements of the Euroskeptical outlook that are sometimes presented to public opinion in EU states as ‘Eurorealism.’ The British variety is presented alongside the most important elements of the same concept in France and Denmark. Although Czech Europskepticism refers to numerous significant structural elements of its British predecessor, it has a number of original features. Among others, they result from the geopolitical conditions of Central Europe. The author analyzes the statements of the present Czech president (who once described himself as a Thatcherist) to show his essential influence on the shape of Euroskeptical attitudes on the Vltava. The author also presents the most important foreign policy documents of the former political circles of Vaclav Klaus, i.e. the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), with their Europskeptical overtones. The paper concludes with the author’s observations concerning the similarities and discrepancies between British and Czech attitudes.
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    Organizacja, struktura oraz działanie ruchu anty- i alterglobalizacyjnego w państwach Unii Europejskiej
    (Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2010) Miliszewski, Kamil
    This paper discusses the main notions of the theory of organization and operation of a social movement that has been termed the anti-, and alter-globalization movement since the late 1990s. Its beginnings can be found in the protests of the populations of both Americas, mainly those of Mexico and the US, against a free-trade zone and agreements of states with international organizations. Attention should be paid to the structures the movement has built in European Union states, most closely related to globalization processes. Here both formal structures are encountered, such as the non-government organization Attac, and informal organizations operating on the principles of direct democracy. Formal organizations formulate legal and legitimate statutes and attempt to discuss the issues of globalization at the level of public debate. This is the path chosen by the parties of the so-called ‘new politics’ – prophetic, left-wing and libertarian parties. Informal organizations usually operate along principles of direct action and dialogue inside the movement itself. The key role in the shaping of the organizational structures of the anti-, and alter-globalization movements in Europe is played by the international European Social Forum, which is the venue for annual meetings and debates of different ideological currents.
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    Nieformalne struktury państw Unii Europejskiej w walce z międzynarodowym terroryzmem. Bilans współpracy i wyzwania
    (Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2010) Wojnicz, Luiza
    The informal structures of the European Union employed in the struggle against international terrorism can be divided into those emerging inside the European Community, and those involving the states outside the EC, or third parties. The emergence of informal structures to fight terrorism resulted from the observation that the then EC did not cooperate to fight terrorism. In the 1960s and 1970s the increasing problem of terrorism stimulated efforts to look for ways to deal with it. It would have been a good solution to begin cooperation in the field of internal security on a Community scale, yet this approach stirred too many controversies and fears. Additionally, a general disinterest in political cooperation at that time made some states begin building informal structures aimed at the exchange of information on terrorist threats. It is worth emphasizing that the structures discussed in this paper (i.e. groups and clubs) are to a certain extent an element of European intelligence, as they involve intelligence agencies, structures operating within EU countries and outside, and the cooperation or synergy of intelligence provided by various mechanisms and activities. The cooperation within the framework of such structures goes beyond the EU and Europe, thus becoming more effective in fighting international, modern, globalized, non-territorial terrorism of a network character. Therefore, although the European Union has been conducting its own policy against terrorism involving all its member states, these informal structures with third parties will continue to play an important part in anti-terrorist cooperation between states that are at particular risk of terrorist activity.
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    Europa po Traktacie z Lizbony – słowa i rzeczywistość
    (Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2010) Konopacki, Stanisław
    The Treaty of Lisbon, which became effective on December 1 2009, provides for the transformation of the European Union into a more democratic, efficient and united community. This paper attempts to assess to what extent its provisions are reflected in the current reality of a united Europe. On the one hand, democratic legitimization of the EU is growing as a result of increasing competencies of the European Parliament, the rights of national parliaments, and so-called citizens’ initiatives. However, the turnout in the last European elections, the increasing popularity of extremist right-wing parties, the work of the European Convention and restrictions imposed on the free movement of persons show that EU practice is far from the complete implementation of democratic values. Secondly, the Lisbon Treaty provides for higher EU efficiency in the international arena. This cannot be achieved, though, by electing people devoid of charisma, experience and a vision of a united Europe to the highest positions, such as EU president or chief of diplomacy. Last but not least, the new treaty provides for energy solidarity. Yet the work of the European Parliament, which is expected to translate these words into practice, is burdened by an increasing number of doubts and difficulties.
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    Genealogia międzynarodowości. Społeczna teoria stosunków międzynarodowych
    (Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa UAM, 2010) Gałganek, Andrzej
    In several papers recently published by the author, the main reference was the theoretical considerations of Justin Rosenberg, in an attempt to show the reasons for the dichotomization of ‘internationality’ and ‘internality,’ and the ways of overcoming this dichotomization. This paper attempts to resolve and conclude these previously discussed issues. On the ground of Rosenberg’s theoretical assumptions, the paper answers the questions of where ‘internationality’ originated, and what is a decisive factor for its existence as the dimension of the social world. The author makes reference to the notion of uneven and combined development as interpreted by J. Rosenberg so as to reconstruct the methods applied in answering the above questions in three stages. Firstly, he discusses the model, allowing a comparison of different methods of combining uneven development with international relations. It emerges that, thus far, all these methods have tended to assume political multiplicity (internationality) rather than explain its existence. Secondly, the author reconstructs the explanations referring to the historical-and-sociological argument presented in the work of Barry Buzan and Richard Little. They place the sources of internationality in the prehistoric transition from a hunter- gatherer existence to an agricultural one, which was connected with processes of social diversification and the formation of proto-states. At first glance, Buzan and Little’s explanation seems to make the notion of uneven and combined development redundant. On more detailed analysis, however, ‘unevenness’ and ‘combination’ turn out to play a key role in Buzan and Little’s empirical argument, albeit not theorized upon. Thirdly, the author of this paper demonstrates how ‘unevenness’ and ‘combination’ are necessary elements in processes of social transformation. Thus, he demonstrates that the sources of ‘internationality’ do come from the uneven and combined nature of historical development.
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    O pojęciu i istocie bezpieczeństwa
    (2010) Rosicki, Remigiusz
    The subject of the paper is the notion and essence of security. The paper is divided into three parts; the first one discusses the essence of security, the second – the increasing significance of security in non-military dimensions, while the third part presents different ways of defining the notion of security. The first part analyzes security in its philosophical, existential and biological contexts. These considerations are concluded with a general definition of security as the opportunity to fulfill one’s existential needs as well as to ensure one’s existence, survival and development. Security is also a state of certainty of the above opportunities. The second part of the paper concerns the issue of the expansion of the notion of security. This is related to redefining power in international relations and with the progressing specialization of the fields of study that deal with the issue of security. Additionally, attention should be paid to the expanding repertoire of threats, which forms an element of numerous definitions of security. The expansion of this repertoire itself may be a consequence of increased awareness in various realms of social activity (e.g. environmental protection). The last part concentrates on the ways of defining security and concerns four approaches to security as the (1) subject, (2) object, (3) a spatial entity, and (4) a process. It can be said that the concept of security is open; it is impossible to present a single, clear set of definitions. This follows from the open repertoire of threats and different approaches of different fields. Therefore, static approaches to the essence of security should be criticized. It should also be stated that the range of the concept will continue to expand.