Poland: From Paradigm to Pariah? Facts and Interpretations of Polish Constitutional Crisis

Abstract

This article is divided into two parts. The first one, entitled Facts presents briefly crucial events of what I call the Polish constitutional or for short, and what has been widely described as a backsliding on part of Poland into authoritarianism. The second part, entitled Interpretations, attempts to explain nature and possible causes of crisis. In that part I present three explanations of Crisis. The first explanation is historical and looks for possible causes of Crisis in unique nature of Polish transition from Communism to democracy, in particular in smoothness of this transition understood as absence of vindictiveness against previous regime. The second explanation, a legal one, ascribes crisis to immaturity of Polish legal culture, in particular its excessive formalism. The third explanation is a sociological one. It interprets Crisis as one of liberal values in contemporary Polish society.