Transition to Democracy in Poland

Transition to Democracy in Poland PDF Author: Richard Felix Staar
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312212476
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
"With the inclusion of new, updated material, Transition to Democracy in Poland is a timely, authoritative collection that analyzes Poland's experiment in democratization, from the points of view both of longtime observers of the country and of those who are actually carrying out this extraordinary task. The volume explores Polish parry alignments, mobilization, elections, leaders, labor unions, and the Church. It discusses the range of issues encountered by those attempting to move Poland from a command to a free enterprise economy and the impact these issues will have upon international trade, future membership of the European Community, and security relations. This is an essential book for those who wish to understand Poland's pioneering effort to transform the whole nature of its political and economic framework."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Transition to Democracy in Poland

Transition to Democracy in Poland PDF Author: Richard Felix Staar
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312212476
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 298

Get Book Here

Book Description
"With the inclusion of new, updated material, Transition to Democracy in Poland is a timely, authoritative collection that analyzes Poland's experiment in democratization, from the points of view both of longtime observers of the country and of those who are actually carrying out this extraordinary task. The volume explores Polish parry alignments, mobilization, elections, leaders, labor unions, and the Church. It discusses the range of issues encountered by those attempting to move Poland from a command to a free enterprise economy and the impact these issues will have upon international trade, future membership of the European Community, and security relations. This is an essential book for those who wish to understand Poland's pioneering effort to transform the whole nature of its political and economic framework."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Consolidating Democracy In Poland

Consolidating Democracy In Poland PDF Author: Raymond Taras
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429719558
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
A comprehensive analysis of politics in a young European democracy, this book describes the principal features of Poland's democratic system-the political institutions, parties, elections, and leaders that have shaped the transition from communism. Raymond Taras examines the complex Walesa phenomenon; the comeback of the communists; and the uneasy

Democracy in Poland

Democracy in Poland PDF Author: Anna Gwiazda
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317396219
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
This book assesses the quality of democracy in Poland from the collapse of communism in 1989 up to the 2011 parliamentary election. It presents an in-depth, empirically grounded study comparing two decades of democratic politics. Drawing on democratic theory and comparative politics, the book puts forward an evaluation of democracy based on four dimensions: representation, participation, competition and accountability. The book is an important contribution to debates on the performance of the new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe, where some scholars argue that there is a ‘democratic crisis’, that, after a period of democratic progress, most of these countries are experiencing democratic fatigue and that their democratic performance is poor. However, the Polish case shows that democracy is not in crisis - in fact, the quality of democracy in Poland has improved. The book shows that democratic quality stems from good democratic institutions. Moreover, the Polish case shows useful lessons that can be learnt by democratic reformers in countries that are undergoing the transition to democracy or are aiming to consolidate their democratic systems. It concludes that effective accountability, good representation and stable competition are vital.

Continuities in Poland's Permanent Transition

Continuities in Poland's Permanent Transition PDF Author: H. Wydra
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0333983009
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
This book examines change in post-1989 Poland by linking it analytically to the continuity of Poland's past. It argues that the first reality of objective-institutional change is underpinned by the continuity of second realities. Based on an interdisciplinary analysis of the Polish case, this study proposes a new conceptual framework for the study of transitional societies and revises standard assumptions in transitology and democratization studies.

Democratic Transitions

Democratic Transitions PDF Author: Sergio Bitar
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 142141760X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 487

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Book Description
Thirteen former presidents and prime ministers discuss how they helped their countries end authoritarian rule and achieve democracy. National leaders who played key roles in transitions to democratic governance reveal how these were accomplished in Brazil, Chile, Ghana, Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, and Spain. Commissioned by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), these interviews shed fascinating light on how repressive regimes were ended and democracy took hold. In probing conversations with Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Patricio Aylwin, Ricardo Lagos, John Kufuor, Jerry Rawlings, B. J. Habibie, Ernesto Zedillo, Fidel V. Ramos, Aleksander Kwasniewski, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, F. W. de Klerk, Thabo Mbeki, and Felipe González, editors Sergio Bitar and Abraham F. Lowenthal focused on each leader’s principal challenges and goals as well as their strategies to end authoritarian rule and construct democratic governance. Context-setting introductions by country experts highlight each nation’s unique experience as well as recurrent challenges all transitions faced. A chapter by Georgina Waylen analyzes the role of women leaders, often underestimated. A foreword by Tunisia’s former president, Mohamed Moncef Marzouki, underlines the book’s relevance in North Africa, West Asia, and beyond. The editors’ conclusion distills lessons about how democratic transitions have been and can be carried out in a changing world, emphasizing the importance of political leadership. This unique book should be valuable for political leaders, civil society activists, journalists, scholars, and all who want to support democratic transitions.

The Key Role of NATO Accession on Poland's Democratic Transition

The Key Role of NATO Accession on Poland's Democratic Transition PDF Author: Jaroslaw Jablonski
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781423507871
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 75

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Book Description
The accession of Poland into NATO in the spring of 1999 raises the question of how western attempts to transfer democratic institutions to new democracies in central Europe operated in reality as concerns reform and reaction. Among the obstacles to this process was a western ignorance shout domestic social challenges and political conflicts. These go hand in hand with the process of democratic transition and show themselves starkly in the case of Polish politics, society and military institutions in the years before 1999. While transitioning to democracy, Poland experienced two types of threats: one from civilian politicians who tried to use the military to accomplish their political goals, and another from military officers with political ambitions. After the collapse of communism in 1959, Polish military forces remained highly visible in domestic politics for almost a decade and the issue of civil-military relations was at the center of government crises on three occasions. Democratic civilian control over military, a requirement to join NATO, became one of the primary political goals of an overwhelming majority of Polish elites since society saw the membership as the best guarantee of national security and a peaceful future. Politicians and government officials who didn't accept or understand this determination were eventually voted out, dismissed, or now exist on the fringes of political life. NATO's plan for Poland to nova toward full membership in the alliance resulted in a peaceful democratic transition.

The Quality of Democracy in Poland Fifteen Years After the Transition from Communism

The Quality of Democracy in Poland Fifteen Years After the Transition from Communism PDF Author: Daniel Pawel Kaczmarczyk
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
The purpose of this thesis has a very ambitious goal. Namely, it will try to show the quality of the democratic regime in post-communist Poland. The task is relatively difficult because of the complexity of the political systems. Political scientists have been trying for years to test and compare qualities of different regimes. However, the multidimensional phenomenon of democracy limits the standardization of testing such regimes. There are many instruments which are commonly used in order to test the condition of a particular system, but there is no single and correct model which should be followed in measuring the quality of democracy. My thesis will develop a model which will consist of using both objective instruments such as indexes and indicators and public opinion which represent subjective side of the perception how the system works. The mix of such indicators will show us how the Polish democracy has developed over time, and how the perception of institutions and scholars specializing in testing democratization differs from the view of Polish people who experience the system on the daily basis.

Empowering Revolution

Empowering Revolution PDF Author: Gregory F. Domber
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469618524
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 413

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Book Description
As the most populous country in Eastern Europe as well as the birthplace of the largest anticommunist dissident movement, Poland is crucial in understanding the end of the Cold War. During the 1980s, both the United States and the Soviet Union vied for influence over Poland's politically tumultuous steps toward democratic revolution. In this groundbreaking history, Gregory F. Domber examines American policy toward Poland and its promotion of moderate voices within the opposition, while simultaneously addressing the Soviet and European influences on Poland's revolution in 1989. With a cast including Reagan, Gorbachev, and Pope John Paul II, Domber charts American support of anticommunist opposition groups--particularly Solidarity, the underground movement led by future president Lech Wa&322;&281;sa--and highlights the transnational network of Polish emigres and trade unionists that kept the opposition alive. Utilizing archival research and interviews with Polish and American government officials and opposition leaders, Domber argues that the United States empowered a specific segment of the Polish opposition and illustrates how Soviet leaders unwittingly fostered radical, pro-democratic change through their policies. The result is fresh insight into the global impact of the Polish pro-democracy movement.

Party Organization and Communication in Poland

Party Organization and Communication in Poland PDF Author: Michał Jacuński
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030599930
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
This book provides a new analytical perspective on the strategies, membership and communication management of political parties in Poland. The authors address why some political parties have managed to strengthen and survive while others have failed to do the same. The research was carried out in the years 2016–2018, when Poland started to be seen more and more as a weakening democracy. As an in-depth, empirically grounded single-country study of party structure and communication, the book gives an opportunity to draw broader conclusions about the process of party development in the Central and Eastern Europe region three decades since the beginning of democratic transition.

Poland in the Single Market

Poland in the Single Market PDF Author: Anna Visvizi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000228533
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
By all accounts, the case of Poland and its segue to market economy and democracy is a success story: 30 years of uninterrupted growth and development, infrastructure expansion, and modernization of the economy and society. Epochal changes have unfolded in a timespan of merely three decades. Change has taken place so fast that children born in late 1980s and onwards cannot remember what life in Poland under communism was like and cannot relate to it. Also, many elderly people, easy victims of romanticizing their own youth, tend to forget. As a result, the uniqueness of Polish transition and transformation, the boldness and efficiency of reforms, and the success that Polish society mastered together, tend to be undermined today both domestically and internationally. Poland has now been a member of the EU for more than 15 years. During that time, Poland’s image on the EU scene evolved from newcomer, through ‘model child’, champion of growth, to – in some respects – a maverick. This volume’s objective is to remind society, old and young, researchers, scholars and practitioners, that Poland’s success is an outcome of well-thought out and bold structural reforms implemented in a swift and timely manner, of society’s support for these reforms, and of third actors’ benign assistance. Looking back on the 30 years since the collapse of communism, and at the over 15 years of EU membership, this book offers an interdisciplinary, comprehensive and critical insight into factors and processes that have led to today’s Poland.