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Begin New Search Content Type Journal Article Journal Polish Political Science Yearbook

181. Poland’s Energy Security Strategy

Author:
Zuzanna Samson
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
Poland, as one of the European countries experiencing the most significant economic growth in recent years, permanently relies on coal power. There are plenty of reasons behind this condition, however, wanting to become one of the European leaders Poland ought to diversify its energy sources and lower the share of those harmful to the natural environment. Some changes have already been implemented, nevertheless the Polish government is mostly reluctant to diminish the role of coal mines. Moreover, the current actions taken to diversify sources of natural gas imports are dependent on Polish foreign policy and international alliances. The author analyzes changes in the Polish energy security strategy in recent years and compares them with provisions established during COP24. The article analyzes the Polish energy market with the share of individual sources and examines the possibility to increase the share of those alternative to coal in the near future.
Topic:
Security, Energy Policy, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

182. Turkey’s View of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Visit to Poland in 2017. Prospects and Conclusions

Author:
Joanna Marszalek-Kawa and Ahmet Burak
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
On October 17, 2017, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan paid an official visit to Warsaw upon the invitation of the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda. The main subject of the talks was political, economic and cultural cooperation. Issues of security were also addressed. President Erdoğan had last visited Warsaw during the NATO summit on July 8–9, 2016. During the meeting in October, the two presidents signed five bilateral agreements. This paper provides an analysis of the effects of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit and prospects regarding the development of friendly relations between Poland and Turkey from Ankara’s perspective. In the paper we applied the test analysis method, the historical method and the institutional and legal one. We pose a thesis that the aim of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit was to identify mutual relations in the economic, political and cultural dimension. According to the Turkish government, these relations are beneficial for both sides. What should be particularly important for Poland is the prospect of opening new cooperation opportunities in the economic sphere. Turkey, in turn, apart from defining the broad framework of business cooperation, is undoubtedly determined to find a partner which could be its ally in the European Union.
Topic:
International Relations, Politics, Bilateral Relations, Elections, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, and Poland

183. Local Self-Government as a Problem of Political Theory

Author:
Łukasz Swieciki
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The article aims at restoring local self-government as a research problem of political theory. In contemporary political science literature, local self-government is not treated as one of its normal, standard research problems. The main obstacle of its ambiguous position within political theory is, as I argue, the forced and imposed apolitical character of local self-government considered as a part of public administration. Despite some degree of organizational, especially institutional and legal, self-determination, the local self-government is not a political, i.e. sovereign entity. However, its non-sovereign status, which is legally established, does not exclude the existence of political potency in it.
Topic:
Sovereignty, Political Theory, Governance, Legitimacy, and Local
Political Geography:
Global Focus

184. The State and Local Self-Government. Territorial Organization of the State

Author:
Radoslaw Kaminski
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
Local self-government constitutes a part of executive power in the state, with the state’s law underlying its functioning. Local government remains under the state’s supervision, representing a form of the political system within the decentralized public administration. 2018 marks 20 years of the functioning of local self-government based on a three-tier structure. The aim of the paper is an attempt at finding the answer to the question whether or not the organizational solutions adopted by the legislator and established in practice need to undergo reforms and if so, to what extent? The question thus formulated relates directly to the argument that the organization of local government system is not sound while the criteria assumed in the territorial breakdown of the local government organization do not correspond to the conditions in which those units operate, and therefore what appears necessary is for the system to be reorganized and the number of units at individual tiers to be reduced. The paper presents selected problems of the local administration in the context of a systemic organization and suggest possible (or necessary) changes which, in the author’s view, should become a subject of discussion (and in practice are such) between local selfgovernment and government administration.
Topic:
Governance, Reform, Local, Decentralization, Federalism, and Territory
Political Geography:
Global Focus

185. Local Self-Governments as New Actors in the International Stage. The Scope of the Issue

Author:
Stanisław Falinski
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The aim of the article is to present, in a short and a synthetic form, self-governments as new actors on the international arena. Discussed are the genesis and the development of this new international activities being undertaken by local residential areas such as the “twinning movement” and the programme for establishing “sister cities”. Briefly described are the key international organizations focused on the local self-governance. Discussed is also, in a relative detail, is the cooperation of the Polish self-governance entities with local self-governance partners within the international sphere. The author concludes by attempting to define the scope and importance of the international cooperation of local self-governance entities in general and its impact on the individual participating partners.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Governance, Local, Decentralization, and Federalism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

186. Social Policy within the Framework of Public Self-Governance - Selected Topics

Author:
Katarzyna Wojewoda-Buraczynska
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The article herein discusses selected issues of the effectiveness of public governance model at the Province level of self-governance in regard to providing support services to persons with disabilities. Described herein are tasks for carrying out the policy of social inclusion of persons with disabilities that are the responsibility of the Province self-governance. Also described is the method for carrying out the said tasks and the most frequently used model of public governance. Discussed also are the critical challenges and flaws of the said model of public governance. Presented also are some suggestions for changes in regard to the discussed areas. The aim of the article is to analyze province social policy toward people with disabilities. The article also attempts to evaluate the methods used to implement it. The article is based on the analysis of legal acts regarding the social inclusion policy of persons with disabilities at the level of the province, with particular emphasis on the content of province programs on equal opportunities for people with disabilities and counteracting social exclusion and assistance in the implementation of tasks for the employment of disabled people. When writing an article, the dogmatic method was used in the analytical approach. The article proposes a thesis that the collaborative governance model used to implement the social inclusion policy of disabled people at the province level does not ensure sufficient control over the efficiency of using public funds, and thus does not guarantee the effective implementation of public tasks by non-public entities.
Topic:
Development, Governance, Social Policy, Disability, Social Services, Public Service, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

187. Wrocław Civic Budget. Social Innovation Adapted in Polish Local Government

Author:
Malgorzata Madej
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The paper explores Wrocław Civic Budget in the context of procedures and impact. It reviews various data to present different aspects of this process: number of projects submitted and implemented, citizens’ participation in the selection process, geographical distribution of the implemented projects and their contents, showing the significant fall in the citizens’ interest in the process after two years of its implementation. The paper aims to analyze whether the project in its current form actually succeeds in activating the citizens’ and involving them in the local decision-making on one hand, and changing the city on the other. The effectiveness of participatory budgeting in Wrocław is explored, considering such criteria as reliability, impact, activation and innovativeness. The data reveal both the successes and drawbacks of Wrocław Civic Budget, allowing for presentation of recommendations.
Topic:
Governance, Reform, Budget, Social Policy, and Local
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

188. Wrocław Civic Budget. Social Innovation Adapted in Polish Local Government

Author:
Malgorzata Madej
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The paper explores Wrocław Civic Budget in the context of procedures and impact. It reviews various data to present different aspects of this process: number of projects submitted and implemented, citizens’ participation in the selection process, geographical distribution of the implemented projects and their contents, showing the significant fall in the citizens’ interest in the process after two years of its implementation. The paper aims to analyze whether the project in its current form actually succeeds in activating the citizens’ and involving them in the local decision-making on one hand, and changing the city on the other. The effectiveness of participatory budgeting in Wrocław is explored, considering such criteria as reliability, impact, activation and innovativeness. The data reveal both the successes and drawbacks of Wrocław Civic Budget, allowing for presentation of recommendations.
Topic:
Governance, Social Policy, Local, Innovation, and Civic Engagement
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

189. Third Place is a Charm. Women in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Regional Assembly Elections in Poland

Author:
Marzena Cichosz and Łukasz Tomczak
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The analysis of women’s participation in elections has long been an important theme within political studies. Scholars have looked at factors that affect women’s participation in politics in general, as well as their decisions to run in parliamentary or regional elections. In 2011, as the second Central and Eastern Europe country (the first being Slovenia), Poland introduced gender quotas into the proportional electoral system. Researchers looking into the consequences of such systemic solutions in various countries have established that the intended goal of increasing the proportion of women in legislative bodies has not always been achieved. In fact, the outcomes have varied widely. Such discrepancies invite further examination. The presented study focuses on regional assembly elections in Poland between 2010 and 2018. The article elaborates on and complements the results of the authors’ prior work on the 2010 and 2014 elections. The research looks at how effective women were in winning the available mandates, what were their placements and which parties managed to get most women into the assemblies.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Elections, Local, Regionalism, and Equality
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

190. Nonpartisan Electoral Committees in Local Government Elections in Poland in 2018

Author:
Marcin Czyżniewski
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The article presents the result of quantitative research on local government elections in Poland carried out on October 21 and November 4, 2018. Its goal is to examine the proportions of lists registered by political parties and nonpartisan electoral committees and the mandates they have obtained. This proportion shows the degree of presence of political parties in local governments of various levels and sizes. The data were selected so that all provinces in Poland were examined (16), a number of districts were randomly selected (in provinces with less than 20 districts, data from half districts were examined, in provinces with over 20 districts, from one third). Within the selected districts, all communes were examined. The quantitative research shows that local governments elected in 2018 are not political only in small and medium-sized communes, in which the councils are made up mostly of councilors who were candidates from nonpartisan committees.
Topic:
Governance, Elections, Local, and Partisanship
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

191. The Results of 2019 Parliamentary Elections in the Perspective of 2018 Local Government Elections

Author:
Szymon Gajewski
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The analysis of the results of the elections to regional parliaments of 2018 allows to take a closer look at the current political preferences of the electorate one year before the parliamentary elections. The distribution of support for political parties in individual provinces shows that Law and Justice (PiS) enjoys constant, high and stable support, which will most likely allow this party to extend mandate to rule the country for the next 4 years. The largest opposition party, the Civic Platform (PO), sees the chances of victory in uniting further opposition groups around itself. The common start with Nowoczesna under the name of the Citizens’ Coalition (KO) did not meet the expectations. However, the distribution of support in the local government elections showed that the actions consolidating the opposition are currently the only chance to fight a leveled electoral fight with Law and Justice (PiS).
Topic:
Government, Elections, Local, Decentralization, and Parliamentarism
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

192. Participatory Budgeting in Poland AD 2019: Expectations, Changes and Reality

Author:
Krzysztof Makowski
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
Discussion whether to formalize participatory budgeting or not has been solved. Again, this time it has happened without scholars’ engagement. Given this situation, can we say that whoever is satisfied? The amendment of the act that introduced legal form of participatory budgeting as a new tool of public consultation does not meet anyone expectations. The reason to think so is that there is no new and compulsory form of public engagement in financial decisions. Moreover, organizational framework and the huge variety of using participatory budgeting have been turned to uniform pattern. Equally, it is hard to agree that implemented solutions, previously though as a way to increase citizens’ involvement in functioning and scrutiny part of public bodies, have been met.
Topic:
Governance, Budget, Local, Participation, and Financial Development
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

193. The “Golden Rule” as a New Financial Management Tool for Local Governments

Author:
Katarzyna Blazuk and Przemysław Czernicki
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The implementation of the so-called “golden rule” regarding the fiscal management of the sub-sector of the local-self-government (LSG) constituted a reaction to the growth of the debt within the sector of public finances and an attempt to curb the LSG deficit. In this manner the Legislator wanted to balance the budget regarding operating revenues and the operating expenditures and to allow for the use of public loans, thus permitting the generation of the debt only in regard to capital expenditures. The authors of the article evaluate the validity of introducing the new regulations, subjecting the “golden rule” to a positive critique and forming requirements for changes and improvements based on solutions to this problem utilized in other countries. An empiric data is presented that shows the consequences of overloading the LSG with the effects of the growing level of public debt in a situation when the responsibility for the majority of the debt (more than 90%) rests with the public governance at the government level. The authors also put forth the thesis that the implementation of the more restrictive rules on the central level is also necessary to optimize the entire system of public finances.
Topic:
Governance, Budget, Local, and Financial Development
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

194. Committing a Crime as a Reason to Limit the Ability to Perform Functions in Local Government Administration

Author:
Janusz Bojarski and Natalia Dasko
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
2018 local self-government elections in Poland were special ones. Brought to light mismatching of provisions of the Electoral Code and Act on Local Self-Government Employees and attempt to use it to obtain an advantage in fight for political power caused political emotions and legal controversies. The aim of this article is presents limits imposed by criminal law on right to be elected in this type of elections and more general, role of criminal law as a tool in politics. The article presents a problem of conflict of legal regulations regarding the right to be elected and perform a public function in a local self-government unit as a problem of conflict between will of voters and attitude of politicians to creation of law and aim they try to obtain.
Topic:
Crime, Governance, Law, Elections, and Local
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

195. Provoking Debate on Central European Security

Author:
Robert Gawlowski
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
Co-production of public services is an increasingly popular tool in public man- agement, although it is still a new phenomenon in Poland. Despite the attention research- ers give to co-production, some significant gaps remain. In this article, author attempts to examine the legal possibility of implementing co-production by the Polish local government by local initiative and Solecki Fund. The article aims to examine how major Polish cities gathered in Union in Polish Metropolises used local initiatives. The next step in research is to find out how Solecki Fund is spread among rural areas according to statistical data. It is proved that only a handful of local governments in Poland are truly engaged in co-produc- tion. However, Solecki Fund can be shown as an excellent example of citizens’ engagement. It is presented a possible agenda on what can be done to make co-production more popular and used on a regular basis not only in metropolitan but also rural areas.
Topic:
Governance, Public Policy, Welfare, Management, and Public Service
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

196. "Right to Truth" and Memory Laws: General Rules and Practical Implications

Author:
Grażyna Baranowska and Aleksandra Gliszczynska-Grabias
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The “right to truth” relates to the obligation of the state to provide information about the circumstances surrounding serious violations of human rights. Despite its increas- ing recognition, the concept raises questions as to its scope and implementation as well as its existence as a free-standing right. Similarly, “memory laws” relate to the way states deal with their past. However, there are certain „memory laws” that, while officially serving as a guarantee for accessing historical truth, lead to its deformation. As a result, an “alterna- tive” truth, based on the will of the legislators, is being imposed. In this article the authors elaborate on the general nature of the new legal phenomenon of the „right to truth”, as a tool of transitional justice, in particular in the context of both providing and abusing historical truth by the legislators, through the instrument of “memory laws”.
Topic:
History, Governance, Legal Theory, Memory, and Truth
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and Poland

197. Set the Torturers Free: Transitional Justice and Peace vs Justice Dilemma in Burma/Myanmar

Author:
Michal Lubina
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
Burma/Myanmar seems to be a perfect ground for transitional justice with both long-failed transitions to democracy that seemed to succeed in 2015 finally and smouldering civil war taking place there since 1948 (since the 1990s limited to Borderlands). Unfortu- nately, the political realities in Burma/Myanmar make it unlikely, if not impossible, for tran- sitional justice to be applicable in Burma/Myanmar. The victorious in 2015 elections demo- cratic opposition party, National League for Democracy (NLD) came to power thanks to the political deal with the former military government and is consequently being forced to co- habitate politically with the army that still holds critical political checks over the government. It made NLD’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi to conduct moderate domestic policy without trying to charge the generals for their former crimes. In this circumstances, transitional justice is unwanted by mainstream political actors (NLD, the army) and seen as threatening to peace by many in the Myanmar society. This approach firmly places Burma/Myanmar on one side of the ‘peace vs justice’ dilemma. It answers the “torturer problem”, one of the central problems of transitional justice – how to deal with members of the previous regime which violated human rights – in ‘old fashion’ way, by granting them full amnesty. As such Burma/Myanmar case also falsifies an optimistic claim that transitional justice is necessary for political reforms.
Topic:
Torture, Reform, Transitional Justice, and Peace
Political Geography:
Asia, Burma, and Myanmar

198. The Role of Trauma in Romania’s Ontological Security

Author:
Loretta Salajan
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
This paper analyses Romania’s foreign policy during the first post-communist years, by employing a theoretical viewpoint based on ontological security and trauma. It un- covers the elite efforts to secure the post-totalitarian state’s identity and international course. Romania’s search for ontological security featured the articulation of narratives of victim- hood, which were linked with its proclaimed western European identity. The Romanian identity narrative has long struggled between “the West” and “the East”, trying to cope with traumatic historical events. These discursive themes and ontological insecurities were crys- tallized in the controversy surrounding the Romanian-Soviet “Friendship Treaty” (1991). Key Romanian officials displayed different typical responses to cultural trauma and debated the state’s path to ontological security, which was reflected in the foreign policy positions.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, International Affairs, Culture, and Identity
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Romania

199. Transitional Justice in Relationship to Public Sphere and Civil Society: Theoretical Approaches

Author:
Edyta Pietrzak
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The article presents the entitled fields in the framework of their mutual influence. The notion of the public sphere is valuable for understanding the role that civil society plays in transitional justice processes. However transitional justice often reduces the idea of civil society to NGOs and ignores the social movements and civil engagement in the public realm that can be perceived as integral to the creation of new cases for understanding justice in transition. This fact results in the lack of perception of the civil society place in transitional justice processes. Thus the presented paper is based on hermeneutics, critical discourse analysis and dialogue between various theoretical approaches.
Topic:
Civil Society, Transitional Justice, Public Policy, and NGOs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

200. Assessing State Support for the Development of International Economic Cooperation: a Case of Polish Trade Support Institutions’ Export Recommendations for Turkey

Author:
Oskar J. Chmiel
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
In times of increasing significance for national policies which support inter- national economic cooperation, a special role is played by state trade support institutions (TSIs). This paper investigates whether such TSIs can be said to operate effectively, through an analysis of one essential element of the support provided to domestic entrepreneurs, namely export recommendations. The recommendations provided by Polish TSIs in respect of Turkey is employed as a case study. The theory of comparative advantage along with a neo- institutional perspective provide the conceptual framing for this analysis, in conjunction with both desk research, document analysis, and selected economic indices. Factors such as trade potential, comparative advantages, and the competitiveness of selected product groups exported by Polish firms to Turkey were also taken into account. The findings largely indi- cate that TSI export recommendations are adequate, and the majority of the recommended industries demonstrated considerable sales opportunities. Nevertheless, some discrepancies were also noted, which should be an issue for further investigation by both researchers and TSI analysts. Furthermore, the case study in this paper demonstrates that the choices within economic promotion policy – despite its partition between variously-oriented TSIs - were made on the basis of economic rationality.
Topic:
Economics, Nationalism, Trade, and Trade Support Institutions
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland