Government In Poland Research Articles

Normative Model of Supervision over the Activities of Communes in Poland

Communes are the main units of local government in Poland. The Constitution of 1997 guarantees them self-governing and independence, both in terms of their own public tasks and tasks commissioned by central authorities. Self-governance and independence of communes are not absolute. The activities of the commune self-government are subject to supervision from the point of view of legality, and the supervisory bodies are government administration bodies and regional chambers of auditors. This study aims at detailed reconstructing the Polish model of constitutional supervision over the activities of communes and its evaluation from the theoretical teleological and functional perspectives. The analysis led to the conclusion that the adopted criterion of supervision is sufficiently defined to prevent too much freedom of interference in the activities of communes, allows for proper protection of the interests of the entire country and its citizens. Thus, the Polish normative model meets the theoretical assumptions.

Cultural policies in illiberal democracies: a conceptual framework based on the Polish and Hungarian governing experiences

ABSTRACT Different governments in Europe are advancing corporatist mechanisms to foster a homogenizing and conservative understanding of culture. Illiberal practices framed within these policies include a delegated censorship and several measures based on xenophobic claims. Despite the importance of this phenomenon, the available literature on cultural policies has not adequately addressed it so far. This article proposes a conceptual framework to distinguish these illiberal cultural policies from the ones framed by liberal democracies on one hand and totalitarian regimes on the other end. This conceptual scheme is developed through a qualitative methodology based on a thorough review of the relevant literature currently available, a series of semi-structured interviews with relevant actors and a comparative analysis of the cultural policies developed by the ‘populist radical right’ governments in Poland and Hungary.

INCOME BUDGETS EVALUATION OF SELECTED COMMUNES OF POMORSKIE VOIVODSHIP IN POLAND FROM THE TAX ON MEANS OF TRANSPORT

Local government in Poland at the commune level has various sources of own income, one of them being the tax on means of transport. The need for communes to carry out many tasks requires ensuring income to the local budget at a sufficiently high level. The risk of a decrease in income to the budgets of communes caused by the worsening of the economic situation as a result of an epidemic makes it necessary to assess the sources of communes’ income. An audit, which evaluates selected areas of activity of a given organization, is a useful tool. The main objective of the research for the purposes of this publication was to assess the level of income to the budget of selected municipalities from the tax on means of transport and its share in the total income of municipalities. In addition, changes in the level of income to the budgets of the surveyed municipalities in 2016-2019 were verified. Moreover, the article presents the essence and importance of audit in the assessment of revenue to the municipal budget. The article uses a case study, an analytical method, an application method, a method of examining source documents and a literature review as the research methods. The analysis of budget revenues of selected communes of Pomorskie Voivodship in Poland showed that the tax on means of transport constitutes a small percentage share in total budget revenues (below 1% of total budget revenues). In addition, a significant decrease in revenues from this tax to the budgets of 11 surveyed municipalities was observed in the surveyed period 2016-2019. The analysis also revealed fluctuations in the municipalities’ revenues from the tax on means of transport, which make it difficult to forecast revenues. It should also be noted that municipalities apply certain discounts and preferences when setting the amount of the tax on means of transport, which also reduce the revenue of the municipality. The assessment of revenues to municipalities’ budgets from the tax on means of transport indicates that further analyses of revenues from individual local taxes and charges should be carried out in order to identify potential risks and threats to the financial economy of municipalities in Poland.

Whose Poland is it to be? PiS and the struggle between monism and pluralism

ABSTRACT Since 2015, the Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS) governments in Poland have engineered a revolt against the post-1989 ‘liberal consensus' and a shift towards a regime rooted in executive aggrandisement, populism and nativism. In this article, we contextualise this shift in terms of a persistent ‘metapolitical’ dispute over the legitimacy of political actors and the contestability of certain areas of policy. PiS claims to be reintroducing pluralism to a Polish politics dominated by monistic technocratic liberalism. In response, the party has implemented a series of changes entrenching an even more exclusionist form of monism. Whilst economic policies have empowered social groups that felt excluded from post-1989 reforms, nativist cultural policies and colonisation of the political-institutional infrastructure have militated against the pluralist understanding of politics as structured disagreement. We conclude that Polish politics remains dominated not by disagreements over policy, but by the metapolitical question of who has the right to govern Poland.

Local Economic Development in the Context of the Institutional Efficiency of Local Governments

Institutional efficiency of local governments can be defined as permanent readiness to shape economic and social partnerships with both entrepreneurs and local residents, as well as a capacity to provide prompt and competent responses to expectations of business people willing to start or already conducting business in a given municipality. Evaluation of efficiency pertains to the ability of a local government to express its goals, to agree about these goals with the local community and to be efficient in making decisions. The results of international studies demonstrate that in the long run the quality of institutions determines the wealth of individual countries. Socio-economic development depends not only on the economic base and financial support opportunities but also on factors that involve institutions. Bearing above in mind the main purpose of this article was to diagnose the type, direction and extent of interactions between the level of development and institutional efficiency of local governments in Poland. To reach it, the research team used both secondary data (from public statistics) and original data (acquired through a survey study comprising 1,120 representatives of local authorities). The level of efficiency of local governments was assessed with a synthetic measure of efficiency (EFF), whereas development was measured with a synthetic development index (DEV). The results show that the local governments were in a rather unfavorable situation in terms of both efficiency and development. In both cases, the average value of the synthetic measure applied reached a value equal to 30% of the highest possible score. Research proved that there was a correlation relationship between EFF and DEV measures (r = 0.365). In addition, it turned out that the power of impact of development processes resulting in some improvement of efficiency is more intensive than the effect of efficient functioning of municipalities on the development processes that occur within them.

The anatomy of choice: an analysis of the determinants of local service delivery in Poland

ABSTRACT The aim of the paper is to identify the factors determining the choice between service delivery modes to provide local services. The original choice model proposed by Ferris and Graddy predicts that local officials seek to minimise service delivery costs (production and transaction costs), subject to political and fiscal constraints. The article tests production efficiency and transaction costs hypotheses in relation to the modes of service delivery adopted by local governments in Poland: in-house, corporatisation, cooperation, contracting out. It explores delivery choices of three different services: water supply, local transportation, and home care for elderly people. Based on the results of a nationwide survey addressed to all municipalities we test the aforementioned hypotheses using multinomial logit regression models. The empirical evidence confirms the basic expectations that the externalisation of service delivery is a function of local officials’ attempt to minimise the sum of production and transaction costs subject to fiscal and political constraints.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND SECURITY – NATIONAL SOLUTIONS BASED ON A DECENTRALIZED UNITARY STATE

The article describes the relationship between the organisation of local government in Poland and its competences and responsibilities in the field of ensuring public safety and order to the residents of local communities - municipality, district and province. On the example of selected statutory solutions, it can be stated that at the lowest local government level, the local authority is obliged to a large extent - using or in cooperation with the Police and other institutions independent of the authority - to ensure the safety of residents. It also has basic legal instruments for this. At the provincial and national level, these responsibilities were primarily taken over by the State.

Legal Steps to Secure the Tobacco Supply Chain: A Case Study of Poland.

The threat of tobacco tax evasion and avoidance is the most commonly mentioned argument against tax hikes. Increasingly, the focus of legislators is on leaks in the tobacco crop supply chain, in which raw or cured tobacco that was never taxed finds its way to smokers. To study the process undertaken by Poland to secure the tobacco supply chain, we analyzed the 2013–2018 legislation around tobacco supply and interviewed a key stakeholder in the Government of Poland. We found that farmers and intermediary entities can trade tobacco only if registered with the government. Farmers are required to report the size of their fields and the weight of their crops to the state authorities. Each purchase within the supply chain is also reported by both the seller and the buyer for cross-validation. This has prevented manipulation within the system, while the mere threat of heavy fines related to an excise tax law violation and/or the administrative burden associated with becoming an excise tax payer (had the violation been prosecuted) has significantly contributed to securing the tobacco supply chain. The experience of Poland demonstrates that securing the tobacco supply chain is complicated but also a tractable problem. This case can be widely applicable to other countries.

Subsidiarity, fiscal decentralisation and financial autonomy of local and regional governments in Poland – the past and the future

Background: Past changes in Polish local and regional governments’ financial autonomy give rise to the question whether local and regional governments in Poland still have sufficient finan­cial autonomy to perform in line with the requirements of the principle of subsidiarity. Dimen­sions of special concern are revenue as well as selected recent legislation changes’ potential future impact on Polish local and regional governments’ financial autonomy in terms of both revenue and expenditure.
 Research purpose: The main objective of the article is to reflect upon the notion of local and regional self-governance, and to critically assess the current degree of financial autonomy of local and regional governments in Poland.
 Methods: The article starts with a review of literature covering key concepts – subsidiarity, fiscal decentralisation, and local governments’ financial autonomy. Some of the approaches used to operationalise and measure financial autonomy are also highlighted and later used in the analysis and discussion.
 Conclusions: The article ends with a call for general debate on the future of local and regional governments in Poland as the past trends and expected future developments – in light of discussed legislation changes as well as the potential impacts of the covid-19 pandemic – demonstrate the gradual erosion of the local governance model, which was founded three decades ago on a prem­ise of strong financial autonomy.

ВПЛИВ СТУДЕНТСЬКОГО САМОВРЯДУВАННЯ НА РОЗВИТОК УНІВЕРСИТЕТСЬКОЇ АВТОНОМІЇ В ПОЛЬЩІ

The article is devoted to the problem of studying the influence of student self – government bodies in Polish universities on the development of university autonomy. Student self-government in Europe is not a new phenomenon, dating back to the first medieval universities. Even then, the most talented students were involved in certain administrative functions, as well as in teaching as assistant professors. No wonder universities are considered a kind of model of civil society and in this regard preceded the modern type of European civilization. The article considers the main competencies of student government in Poland. The Polish experience of leading higher education institutions in the field of activity and functioning of student self-government as one of the social institutions of society, which is extremely interesting and useful for Ukraine, is analyzed. The organizational and legal bases of functioning of public student associations in the academic environment of Poland are analyzed. The role and place of the Polish Student Parliament in the system of state and public administration of higher education are shown. It is noted that the main body of student self-government in Poland is the Student Government Council. The Student Government Council is a body of resolution consisting of nine students selected in a general election. For student activities, this is approximately what the Seimas is for public authorities. The brightest and most significant are the main directions and tasks of student self-government bodies, the system of student selfgovernment activities in higher education institutions in Poland. A feature of student government in Poland is their strong material base and financial and legal independence from the administration of the educational institution. It is determined that the Polish system of student self-government starting from the legislative level and ending with the material side has significant differences from the Ukrainian, which are discussed in detail in the article.

Stability and efficiency of coalition governments in Poland and Czech Republic: comparative analysis

The article was dedicated for evaluation of government stability and study of government efficiency of coalition governments in Poland and Czech Republic. To evaluate the compiled index of cabinet efficiency we have used data of such scientific institutions as Freedom House, Economist Intelligence Unit and Political Risk Services International Country Risk Guide. Revealed cabinet stability and cabinet efficiency did not always correlate with each other. In general government efficiency was higher in the period before accession to the EU. It is under- lined, that the most efficient coalition governments Poland and Czech Republic were minimum-winning coalitions.

Marketing communication with stakeholders at the minicipal offices in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship

Purpose: The main goal of this study is to present the essence and the importance of marketing 11 communication in the functioning of local governments. 12 Design/methodology/approach: The study incorporates the results of a study on various 13 aspects related to marketing management in the municipalities of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian 14 Voivodeship. As part of the study, specific marketing communication activities that were used 15 by local governments in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship over the past 5 years have been 16 identified. The subject of the assessment were consisted in those marketing communication 17 methods that are used by local governments, due to the specificity of the activities carried out 18 by municipalities. 19 Findings: The results of the study indicate that many local governments representing large 20 urban or urban-rural municipalities underestimate the importance of the activities that can be 21 undertaken in this regard. Vast majority of the local governments covered by the study only use 22 individual marketing communication tools, limiting themselves to advertising, public relations 23 or personal promotion activities. 24 Practical implications: The results of the study allowed identification of a different solutions, 25 which are characteristic for municipalities in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, that can 26 be used by other local governments in Poland. 27 Social implications: The paper indicates on many useful solutions, that are related to the 28 training of the officials in the methods and tools used for creation of proper relations with the 29 stakeholders. 30 Originality/value: This paper presents selected results of the study on various aspects 31 associated with marketing management in the municipalities of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian 32 Voivodeship. One of the research objectives was to identify and evaluate the marketing 33 communication activities that have been undertaken by the municipal offices in the Kuyavian34 Pomeranian Voivodship over the past 5 years.

Spatial Absorbency Assessment for Sustainable Land Development

Sustainable land use development requires a smart decision‑making process based on appropriate spatial design patterns. However, the pro‑investment policy of many municipalities often results in disproportions between the de‑mand and supply of investment areas, which means that spatial development is not realized in a sustainable way. In order to avoid the overconsumption of land for investment purposes, central government in Poland introduced a requirement to assess land balance, which includes the calculation of spa‑tial absorbency at the level of local urban planning. The aim of this work is to develop the concept of spatial absorbency assessment. In order to select best practices, document reviews of local spatial policies in Kalisz, Łódź, Toruń and Gdańsk were performed. Based on the review, a method for spatial absorbency assessment was presented. The applicability of the proposed solution is pre‑sented by its use on the case of the Racibórz municipality. The visualization shows what kind of geoinformation is required to perform an assessment by means of the developed method. The results of the calculations present the final feedback that is received by local authorities. The work was carried out us‑ing ArcGIS software. The obtained results may constitute the basis for further multi‑dimensional analyses as part of sustainable land development planning at the local level.

Rozpad władzy jako konsekwencja upadku mitologii. Obrazy końca systemu komunistycznego w korespondencji Jerzego Giedroycia i Witolda Wirpszy z lat 1981-1985

Based on an analysis of the correspondence between Jerzy Giedroyc and Witold Wirpsza (continued from1981 to 1985), the article relates the agony of the communist government in Poland, triggered already decades earlier by the fact that the ideology supporting that political system fell into a gradual decline. The author of the paper explores how Leszek Kolakowski’s idea that “the crisis of the communist consciousness did not come about through lack of new knowledge about the world; it came about through the collapse of the mythology which gave shape to that knowledge,” expressed in his essay “The Death of Gods,” is reflected in the letters in question.In their open dialogue, exchanging pieces of information, as well as pure speculation, Giedroyc and Wirpsza, both living outside Poland, the former in Paris and the latter in Berlin, describe the decay and disintegration of the communist rule not only in Poland, but all over the Soviet Empire. Having examined the epistolary material, the author of the paper reconstructs the history of the gradual fall of the system employed in the former communist countries to organize the social (mental as well as moral) consciousness so that an explanation of the facts inconvenient to the government could always be found within the body of its ideological myths. The intellectual exchange between Jerzy Giedroyc, editor-in-chief of the Polish-emigre journal Kultura in Paris, and Witold Wirpsza, a brilliant poet and essayist who frequently contributed papers to Kultura, shows that the foundation myth of the communist rule was in time losing its credibility, and that the authors of the studied letters were of the opinion that the communist government could merely apparently justify its actions by reference to the ideology. A reading of the letters in question, which are rich in political analysis and include numerous polemics around literary works, as well as around events of the time, not only shows that they stem from the historical context in which they were written (the time of martial law in Poland), but is also an opportunity to reconstruct the rhetorical perspective they exhibit. The author of the paper explores how the facts-based discourse the letters express is subjected to figurative literary techniques and points out that the image of the decay of the communist rule they convey falls into the convention of figural realism. Translated by Dorota Chabrajska

Przestrzenne i czasowe zróżnicowanie natężenia potoków pasażerskich w kolejowych połączeniach dojazdowych do Wrocławia

Spatial and temporal patterns of railway commuting to Wrocław The development and optimisation of the agglomeration and regional railway system is one of the basic challenges for the regional policy of the local government in Poland. There are many studies focusing on the problems of functioning of railway transport in agglomeration areas, however there are less studies dealing with the issue of demand for railway services during the day. It is a evident research gap. The main purpose of this article is to recognize the spatial and temporal differentiation of the railway passenger volume in Wrocław. The article presents the number of passengers arriving and departing from Wroclaw according to particular directions, and identifies peak hours based on the daily distribution of passenger volume in specific time intervals.

The Municipal Council in the Polish Local Government Structure: Selected Aspects

The article presents selected aspects being a consequence of the evolution of local government in Poland. The main attention is focused on the presentation of the structure and competences of the municipal council, in the context of systemic changes of local government. The article is of a review nature character and its aim is to diagnose organisational solutions concerning the municipal council in Poland. The main premise of the article implies that the process of evaluation of the structure and functioning of the municipal council is conditioned by involvement of the local residents who experience its influence on their daily lives, including meeting their needs. Decentralisation and participation of local community members in local government structures such as the municipal council or other bodies are key issues in civil society development. The process of local government evolution has not been completed and localgovernment organisation and functionality does not deviate from European standards.

Management of operational and investment activity of local governments in Poland

Management of operational and investment activity of local governments in Poland

Udostępnianie zasobu w archiwach partii komunistycznej na przykładzie Archiwum Komitetu Wojewódzkiego Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej w Lublinie

<p>Podjęcie tematu udostępniania zasobu archiwalnego zgromadzonego przez komunistyczną mono-partię rządzącą w Polsce wynikało z potrzeby uchwycenia jej podejścia do realizacji tego zadania, uważanego współcześnie za jedną z najdonioślejszych funkcji archiwów historycznych. Bezpośrednim powodem zainicjowania badań w tym obszarze był całkowity brak literatury dotyczącej realizacji tej funkcji przez Archiwum Komitetu Wojewódzkiego PZPR w Lublinie i nikły stan badań nad tym samym zagadnieniem w odniesieniu do archiwów PZPR z innych ośrodków oraz w skali ogólnokrajowej. W toku postępowania badawczego starano się odpowiedzieć na pytania o to, z jakich powodów, w jaki sposób, w jakim zakresie i na czyj użytek realizowano to zadanie w AKW w Lublinie. W badaniach zastosowano metodę dedukcyjną, indukcyjną i statystyczną. Do zanalizowania tytułowego zagadnienia wykorzystano następujące rodzaje źródeł: wewnętrzne normatywy kierownictwa PZPR regulujące sferę udostępniania zasobu w jej archiwach, protokoły z narad kierowników archiwów komitetów wojewódzkich PZPR uwzględniających problemy udostępniania dokumentów i cykliczne sprawozdania sporządzane przez kierowników AKW w Lublinie. Udostępnianie zasobu w ciągu kilku dekad istnienia AKW w Lublinie ewoluowało od podejścia restrykcyjnego ku względnej liberalizacji. Symptomem liberalizacji było to, że w miarę upływu czasu wśród użytkowników obok liczebnie dominujących członków partii (pracowników aparatu partyjnego i działaczy) pojawiali się także członkowie innych stronnictw i osoby bezpartyjne. Pod względem liczebności na drugim miejscu byli studenci różnych uczelni, a na trzecim pracownicy naukowi. W ciągu roku AKW w Lublinie odwiedzało średnio od dwudziestu kilku do sześćdziesięciu kilku użytkowników. Zwiększona częstotliwość, z jaką odbywały się ich wizyty w tym archiwum często wiązała się z przypadającymi na dane lata ważnymi dla partii jubileuszami, do których obchodów się przygotowywano. Z kolei spadek liczby odwiedzin w niektórych przypadkach mógł mieć związek z wybuchającymi w kraju kryzysami społeczno-politycznymi, takimi jak Grudzień ’70 i wprowadzenie w Polsce stanu wojennego. Udostępnianie archiwaliów użytkownikom z zewnątrz praktycznie przez cały czas istnienia AKW w Lublinie, to jest od lat pięćdziesiątych do osiemdziesiątych XX w., podlegało reglamentacji. Zgody na dostęp do dokumentów udzielał odpowiedzialny za sektor propagandy sekretarz KW. Służyło to niedopuszczeniu do udzielenia osobom niepowołanym informacji mogących narazić na szwank wizerunek PZPR i jej bieżącą politykę. Wśród tematów badawczych realizowanych przez użytkowników zasobu AKW w Lublinie przeważały takie, które bezpośrednio lub pośrednio afirmowały działalność partii i ‘władzy ludowej’, np. historia organizacji młodzieżowych, działalność UB, MO i ORMO oraz utrwalanie władzy ludowej w Polsce. Z dokonanych ustaleń płynie ogólna konkluzja, że zasoby archiwów PZPR, w tym AKW w Lublinie, służyły przede wszystkim potrzebom tej partii. Zwłaszcza opracowywaniu propagandowo użytecznej wersji historii jej samej oraz dziejów innych organizacji społeczno-politycznych, instytucji i środowisk, na które w okresie Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej partia wywierała przemożny wpływ.</p>

Competitiveness of Slovak enterprises in Central and Eastern European region

Many changes occurred in the management of the economy in Slovakia caused by the transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s. The process of globalization into Slovak economic conditions was limited due to initial alertness. While the governments of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic presented themselves as pro-reform, the Slovak government preferred Slovak privatizers (Kosir, 2016). Nevertheless, the retail chain Billa entered Slovak market in 1990, followed by automobile giant Volkswagen in 1991, American retail chain Kmart in 1992, which took over the department stores Prior. Because of the reforms implemented, Slovakia gains confidence from foreign investors. Significant foreign capital inflows into the emerging business environment of the Slovak economy, such as Heineken, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and others. A courtesy of Slovak government has also become reprivatisation of VSŽ Kosice, which became part of the U.S. Steel, based in Pittsburgh in the USA.

Museums and Local Governments in Poland: Partners in Local Development?

In recent years, the role that culture plays as a factor of socio-economic development has been widely acknowledged (Gomez, Knorringa and Corradi 2016, Pike, Rodriguez-Pose and Tomaney 2017). Likew...