Polish Parties Research Articles

From regional autonomy towards horizontal and vertical congruence coalition politics in Polish regions in the period 1998–2018

ABSTRACT In 1999 regional self-government was established in Poland and, subsequently, politics began to operate in a new multilevel setting. The question raised in this article is, how did Polish parties adapt to functioning in a multilevel system focusing on coalition politics? The analysis of documents – regional assemblies’ resolutions were used to track regional coalition formation in the period 1998–2018 – was supplemented by data gathered from the author’s interviews with regional politicians. The tendency to avoid cross-cutting coalitions was evident from the first two elections when regional politics was rather autonomous. Vertically and horizontally congruent coalitions gradually became standard when advantageous conditions occurred after 2006. The particular features of the party system leading to the avoidance of cross-cutting coalitions were the role of socio-political cleavage, that is a ‘post-communist divide’ and, later, rising polarization within a bipolar party system. Cross-cutting coalitions were occasionally acceptable but never those requiring cooperation between a majority party forming the government and the main opposition party at the central level. Recent studies indicate the rise of divergent coalitions in Europe, but in Polish regions, the contrary tendency has been observed.

Can the party family approach explain Polish partisan positions? A case study on the policy field of higher education in post-socialist Poland

ABSTRACT Research on partisan positions on higher education policies has focused to date mainly on parties in sustained democratic regimes in Western Europe. This study compares these findings with Polish parties’ positioning and investigates the extent to which parties’ preferences in post-socialist Poland can be explained by their party family affiliations. Poland provides an interesting case because of its socialist heritage of strong government control in the higher education sector and the rather fluid party system with a comparatively large share of populist right parties. By means of a qualitative content analysis of 41 party manifestos from 1989–2019, partisan positions of Christian democratic, social democratic, liberal, agrarian, and populist right parties are categorized along the re-distributive and control dimension of higher education policies. While party families can explain Polish parties’ positioning on the control dimension, there is a cross-party consensus to expand the sector and increase public funding due to strong popular demand after the transformation which contrasts with the positions of West European parties. Key results are a rising salience of this policy field in party manifestos and a detailed description of populist right parties’ preferences for government control of higher education institutions and expansion of this sector.

Poland and the Middle East Crisis 2023–2024: Reaction of Polish Political Forces

This research presents an analysis of the reaction of Polish political forces to the acute conflict between Hamas and Israel, which began on October 7, 2023. The paper examines how this conflict has affected Polish domestic and foreign policy, especially in the context of the migration crisis and antisemitic sentiments in Europe. The authors analyse in detail the political, historical and social aspects that have shaped the positions of various Polish parties in response to Middle Eastern events. The study addresses how Polish political forces are responding to challenges related to international security and migration waves, which is particularly relevant in the light of events in the Gaza Strip. Particular attention is paid to the dynamics of the changing positions of Polish political parties, starting with sympathy for Israel and shifting to support for Palestine following the death of a Polish volunteer and a number of other developments, including the escalation between Israel and Iran. The authors draw conclusions about the complexity of Polish political responses to international conflicts, reflecting the diversity of internal and external pressures and ideologies.

Udział duchowieństwa katolickiego w życiu politycznym i społecznym Polski w latach 1918–1939 na przykładzie diecezji włocławskiej

When Poland regained its independence, the catholic clergy actively took part in shaping social and political life of the country. They called for unity, harmony and the need to build a country based on catholic teaching of the Church. The clergy from Włocławek sympathized with the National Democracy – that was the party which had a great deal of support from all bishops of Włocławek. Polish Christian Democratic Party had also a lot of supporters in those days, the Party existed under this name until 1937, when it united with the National Worker’s Party forming Labour Party. You could say that the clergy were in favor of social solidarity, whose realization was a corporate system, which should be understood as an authentic socio-economic autonomy, created with the help of the country but the initiative itself came from society. An important external factor, which ordered priests to engage in political affairs, was the social radicalism among the urban and rural population. A peasant movement played a significant role here. The clergy relatively favorable referred to the polish parties such as “Piast” and “Stronnictwo Ludowe”. The priests worked for many organizations, associations, trade unions or school. A great deal of efforts had to be put into the functioning of agricultural circles or fire brigades. The priests were also involved in the activities of local government, the development of cooperative movement. They performed various functions in educational and cultural organizations. Those working in industrial factories were involved in trade union movement, whose ideology was based on principles of Christian ethic and the existing social order.

The Constitution of 3 May 1791: Testament of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Constitution of 3 May 1791: Testament of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Реукраїнізація авангардного мистецтва як процес ідентифікації української культурної спадщини

Метою статтіє простежити процес деколонізації українського мистецького модернізму 1910-х –1930-х рр. від відкриття в мистецтвознавчій критиці феномену «українського авангарду» до його історико-культурної ідентифікації як самодостатнього явища європейської культури. Прикладне завдання полягає у сприянні популяризації відомих імен і пам’яток українського авангарду як актуальної культурної спадщини України. Методологія дослідженняґрунтується на поєднанні загальнонаукових та спеціально-історичних методів з принципами об’єктивності, історизму, системності, науковості та верифікації. Наукова новизнароботи полягає у тому, що на основі мистецтвознавчої, культурологічної, історичної літератури і документів проаналізовано виникнення та розвиток російського і європейського авангарду першої третини ХХ ст.На цій основі здійснено спробурозкрити феномен «українського авангарду» не тільки в художній сфері, а й осмислити його через історичну площину деколонізації. Процес реукраїнізації включає, по-перше, повернення ряду імен всесвітньо відомих майстрів (О.Архипенко, О.Богомазов, Д.Бурлюк, О.Екстер, В.Єрмилов, К.Малевич, В.Меллер, А.Петрицький тощо) на карту української культури; по-друге, визнання їх непересічної ролі в зародженні, становленні російського і радянського авангарду; по-третє, реінтеграціюукраїнського складника в європейському модернізмі і переосмислення впливовості української мистецької мови на європейську художню культуру. Висновки.Український авангард є самодостатнім оригінальним історичним явищем в європейській культурі. Його виключність зумовлена поєднанням європейських інноваційних мистецьких тенденцій з етичними нормами й естетичними ідеалами української народної культури. Поліетнічністьі демократичність українського авангарду визначили і активно вплинули на постання російського авангарду. Відтак останній не слід характеризувати як суто здобуток російської культури.

Польський національний рух у Галичині під час Першої світової війни

Метою статті є дослідження розвитку польського національного руху в Галичині під час Першої світової війни. Методи дослідження: аналіз, синтез, узагальнення, проблемно-хронологічний, історико-системний. Наукова новизна: вперше у вітчизняній історіографії комплексно досліджено ґенезу польської національної ідеї в Галичині в 1914–1918 рр. та діяльність місцевих польських політиків задля її реалізації. Висновки: Завдяки ліберальному політичному режиму Австро-Угорщини польський національний рух Галичини наприкінці ХІХ ст. – на початку ХХ ст. досяг значних результатів. Тому польська політична еліта бачила (у початку І світової війни) шанс для звільнення від Російської імперії польських земель та відновлення своєї національної держави. На думку більшості представників польського національного руху, досягнення цієї мети мало базуватись на підтримці та тісному союзі з Габсбурзькою монархією. Унаслідок усі польські партії Галичини та їхні представники у Віденському парламенті урочисто стали на сторону Австрії та Четверного союзу у світовому конфлікті. На першому етапі світової війни польське суспільство краю з ентузіазмом підтримувало Австро-Угорщину та допомагало формувати національні підрозділи у складі австрійської армії – польські легіони. Ситуація зазнала кардинальної зміни після підписання Четверним союзом договору з Українською народною республікою. Таємний додаток до цього документу передбачав поділ Галичини за національною ознакою. Це підірвало довір’я польського політикуму та суспільства до Відня. Крім цього, американський президент В. Вільсон у січні 1918 р. у своїх «14 тезах» гарантував відновлення польської держави з виходом до моря. Зі вступом у війну США на стороні Антанти Четверний союз практично втратив шанси на мілітарну перемогу. Тому наприкінці 1918 р. польська політична еліта Галичини усвідомила потребу об’єднання задля відбудови Польської держави в кордонах 1772 р. без підтримки Четверного союзу.

The election campaign of political parties to the Legislative Seym in 1919

The article presents the topics in the election campaigns of the Polish political parties running for the Seym in 1919. It focuses on the course of the election campaign. For the political parties, the elections were not only a test of social trust, but a barometer of political sentiments in the society.

THE FIRST WORLD WAR IN THE HISTORICAL MEMORY OF UKRAINE AND POLAND: CHANGING APPROACHES AND DISCOURSE

The purpose of this study is to analyze the research on the First World War, specifically focusing on changing topics and new discourses, clarifying the place and role of the Great War in the historical memory of Ukrainian and Polish peoples over the centuries and analyzing the means of its actualization and memorialization. The research methodology is based on comparative studies aiming to shed light on convergence and divergence in the historical memory of the First World War in Ukraine and Poland over the past hundred years. The historical-analytical method is employed to characterize the Ukrainian and Polish historiography on the Great War and analyze the information space to identify current trends in representing war events, new discourses, and commemorative practices. The scientific novelty. The study highlights new approaches to the study of the First World War by historians and demonstrates the growth of its role and importance in the historical memory of Ukraine and Poland in the first decades of the XXI century. Conclusions. The First World War, though being an epoch-making event in the history of mankind for decades, was considered a "forgotten" war and received little attention in the historical research of Ukrainian and Polish scholars. In Soviet historiography, it was positioned as the war of the imperialists and did not arouse much interest. Polish historians mainly focused on studying the solution to the Polish issue during the war, the activities of Polish socialist political parties, and the revival of Polish statehood. Only in the late 90's of the twentieth century, a number of studies on the Great War appeared in Poland and Ukraine, with topics of research and discourses revealing such global phenomena as refugees, showing economic, social, and cultural aspects of the war, clarifying the personal, emotional, and psychological level of its perception by the population of warring countries. On the 100th anniversary of the beginning and end of the Great War, the popularization of knowledge about the war was intensified through the creation of special programs, documentaries and feature films, a series of interviews, TV and radio programs with famous historians discussing the main events and consequences of the war, reflecting on its lessons and prevention of future military conflicts. In Poland, the jubilee anniversaries of the war facilitated the resumption of activities to perpetuate the memory of the war participants through the installation of monuments, memorials, and the creation of museum exhibits.

The policy of the Polish authorities towards national and ethnic minorities after 1989

The aim of this article is to analyse the Polish authorities’ policy towards national and ethnic minorities after 1989, after the collapse of real socialism in Poland. The author gives an overview of the historical and sociopolitical situation of these minorities in Poland. The main point of consideration is the position and functioning of national and ethnic minorities on the basis of law, their political activity in parliamentary and local elections, as well as the attitude of leading Polish political parties towards the issues of national and ethnic minorities. National and ethnic minorities are, by definition, less numerous than the rest of the Polish population, but remain Polish citizens and at the same time are aware of their historical community. The article uses the following methods: descriptive and institutional-legal.

Candidate selection process and the personal stability of the Polish delegation in the European Parliament

The article analyses the determinants of the selection of candidates for the European Parliament in Polish political parties and the relationship between the way candidates are selected and the personal stability of the Polish representation in the EP. The study is based on the analysis of party documents and data obtained in semi-structured interviews with MEPs elected in the period 2004–2019. The level of variability and stability of the personal composition of the Polish delegation is presented in terms of the four parties that have been part of the Polish representation in all previous terms. The stability of representation is not a leading motive in the intraparty selection of MEP candidates. The domination of informal criteria in creation of the electoral lists further weakens the link between selection process and personal stability of the Polish delegation in the EP.

Parliamentary Parties and the Anti-Abortion Laws in Poland (1991–2019)

This article aims to analyze the approach of Polish parliamentary parties to the anti-abortion legislation in 1991-2019 on the level of their ideological programmes. Classification of political parties concerning their ideological families has been proposed. Next, the article presents a typology based on the party’s attitude to the discussed problem, distinguishing the following categories of parties: the proponents of apportioning, the opponents of abortion, heterogeneous parties, and parties that do not express an opinion on this issue.

Foreign-Policy Topics in Political Programs of Polish Parties during the 2019 Elections

Foreign-Policy Topics in Political Programs of Polish Parties during the 2019 Elections

The influence of the domestic election cycle on the turnout for European parliamentary elections. The case of Poland

The purpose of the article is to diagnose the causes of the increased interest shown by Poles in the European parliamentary election in 2019. From 2014 to 2019, Poles’ participation in elections to the European Parliament went up from 23.83% to 45.68%. Drawing on Europe salience theory and second-order election theory, I set out to determine whether changes in Poles’ attitudes towards the European Union led to this almost twofold increase in turnout from 2014 to 2019, or whether this trend was mainly attributable to the election cycle, that is, the coincidence in 2019 of both European and domestic parliamentary elections. My research involved an analysis of survey data (CBOS, Eurobarometr), statistical data, and the course of the European parliamentary election campaign.
 During the analysis, it turned out that in the years 2014–2019 there were no significant changes in how the European Union and its institutions were perceived by Poles that could explain the dramatic increase in interest in the European election. What had the greatest impact on voter behaviour was the fact that the European election was held just several months before an election to the Polish parliament. The Polish political parties treated the European election in May as a test of support in the nation election to be held in the autumn – as a ‘quasi-first round.’ The European election campaign was heavily covered by the media, and focused on domestic issues (building up Poland’s welfare state). The ruling party’s announcement of numerous social reforms and a desire to influence the result of the ‘May round’ mobilised an above-average number of Poles to take an active part in the European election.

Threatening or Benevolent Hegemon?

In the political science literature, we can find various approaches to Germany’s “alleged” hegemony. In the article we examine the images of Germany among the Polish political parties between 2014 and 2017 to better understand their different attitudes toward Germany in the context of Polish foreign policy. We distinguish four types of images of Germany: benevolent hegemon, malicious hegemon, tamed hegemon, and non-hegemon. The left and center parties (the Nowoczesna, the PO, the SLD) viewed Germany as a benevolent hegemon, strengthening Poland’s position at the international level, and also as a tamed hegemon (restricted by the EU and NATO). The right-wing and nationalist parties (the Kukiz 15, the PiS, the SP) perceived Germany as a malicious hegemon that conducts hostile foreign policy against Poland. Two remaining parties adopted “peculiar” approaches toward Germany: the PSL treated Germany simultaneously as a benevolent and malicious hegemon, whereas TR treated Germany only as a tamed one.

Rewolucja lutowa i jej konsekwencje w propagandzie środowisk lewicy niepodległościowej w Królestwie Polskim w 1917 roku

<p>Jednym z kluczowych wydarzeń z punktu widzenia sprawy polskiej w czasie I wojny światowej była rewolucja lutowa. Znalazło to w 1917 r. odzwierciedlenie między innymi w propagandzie lewicowych partii niepodległościowych z Królestwa Polskiego (Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, Partia Niezawisłości Narodowej i inne), dla których głównym autorytetem pozostawał Józef Piłsudski.</p><p>Politycy wspomnianych partii twierdzili, że upadek caratu w Rosji był uwarunkowany różnymi czynnikami. Wskazywano tu na takie przede wszystkim kwestie jak: słabość władzy carskiej i klęski wojenne Rosji; braki żywnościowe w miastach; działalność zarówno opozycji liberalnej, jak też ruchu rewolucyjnego w Rosji; a także, zewnętrzna (brytyjska) inspiracja przewrotu.</p><p>W propagandzie partii lewicy niepodległościowej poddawano zdecydowanej krytyce rosyjskich liberałów, którzy objęli władzę po przewrocie. Paweł Milukow, Aleksander Guczkow i inni politycy z tego kręgu byli oskarżani o imperialistyczne tendencje. Nadzieje działaczy polskiej niepodległościowej lewicy wiązały się z aktywnością rosyjskich demokratycznych socjalistów, zwłaszcza zaś Aleksandra Kiereńskiego. Powszechne było też przekonanie, że rewolucyjne przeobrażenia zakończą się w Rosji dopiero w momencie zawarcia pokoju.</p><p>Latem i jesienią 1917 r. polscy socjaliści i inni lewicowi sympatycy Piłsudskiego z Królestwa Polskiego byli przekonani, że Rosja znajduje się u progu kolejnego przewrotu, a dni rządu Kiereńskiego są już policzone.</p>

Does Novelty Necessarily Mean Change? New Political Parties within the Polish Party System

Abstract The aim of the paper is to assess new political parties in Poland and to examine the question of their perceived novelty and influence on the party system. We employ Barnea and Rahat’s analytical framework to evaluate the newness of Polish parties in three party facets: party-in-the-electorate, party-as-organisation, party-in-government. This multi-dimensional analysis allows one to identify those fields in which any novelty may occur. Among the analysed factors is the new parties’ electoral base that enables one to assess whether the parties managed to mobilise a new electorate or rather attracted supporters from existing parties instead. Last but not least, we study the changes caused by these parties within the whole party system. In our research we include parties that entered the parliament for the first time after the last two elections: in 2011 and 2015. Before that time the parliamentary scene in Poland seemed to be firmly closed with a nearly constant set of actors. Both in the 2005 and 2007 elections no new parties entered parliament. Hence the 2011 election is considered to be an opening for new parties, but does not necessarily bring about a significant change in the Polish party system in terms of the electoral support for the two largest parties or within patterns of electoral competition.

Facebook as an instrument of election campaigning and voters’ engagement: Comparing Czechia and Poland

Adding to the growing scholarship on the use and role of social media in election campaigning, this article examines and compares the character and determinants of Internet users’ engagement with political party communication in 2013 and 2015 Parliamentary election campaigns in Czechia and Poland. Apart from the relationship between the thematic focus of party-produced content and the level of users’ interactivity, the study also explores the way the tonality of users’ comments is influenced by different types of party communication, as well as by users’ gender. The results suggest that the level of support for a party status is largely independent of the content of the message in both countries. The type of content has, however, an effect on the intensity of criticism by the users, with policy-related subjects generating more negativity than mobilization- or campaign-oriented statuses. Finally, the study points to both gender gaps and gender as a strong predictor of user negativity, as female users – while constituting a minority of participants in both countries – tend to be significantly less negative in their comments towards the home party. Overall, the comparative study reveals both similarities and differences in the way Czech and Polish parties utilize Facebook as campaign platform, as well as in their respective Internet users’ engagement with parties messages.

Idealny wzór partii politycznej a dzisiejsza rzeczywistość w Polsce

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.

ПОЛЬСЬКА СУСПІЛЬНО-ПОЛІТИЧНА ДУМКА В УКРАЇНІ ЩОДО ПОЛІТИКИ ГАЛИЦЬКИХ ПАРТІЙ У ВИРІШЕННІ ПОЛЬСЬКОГО ПИТАННЯ (1914 – 1916 рр.)

The article shows the circumstances of the formation of Polish public opinion in Ukraine concerning the positions of Polish parties in Galicia in solving the Polish issue. The predominance of the Russophile orientation and the struggle for autonomy, the rejection of Galician «activism» by the majority of Poles in Ukraine in the early years of the war changed with the course of the war on the need for the revival of an independent Polish state. From the categorical and opposing positions in the main issues of state life, Polish political forces in different parts of the divided Poland went to dialogue and find compromises. Polish political forces on the eve of the First World War set their main task of solving the Polish issue – the restoration of statehood. At the beginning of the war, the political forces in the territories divided between Austria, Russia and Prussia supported the governments of their countries. In Russia prevailed supporters of the Russophile direction, or «passivists», and their interests represented the party of National's Democrats. In Galicia was the camp of the «activists», which includes the majority of the Polish parties, which focused on the central countries - Austria-Hungary and Germany. Part of the Polish parties in Galicia and the Kingdom relied on the support of the European coalition countries. It was a group of "neutralists". An attempt to unite the two positions and develop a common Polish policy existed even before the war, but during the war, despite the creation of various central institutions, there was no single policy regarding the ways of the revival of the future Polish state, its structure and the necessity to organize the Polish army. These approaches were presented in the programs of Polish political parties, voiced by their leaders, political and public figures, and became the subject of discussion on the pages of the press, especially the Polish. Since the beginning of the war in the Kievan Polish press, the policy of Galician activists has been condemned, and this has been reflected in the recalls of Polish parties, newspaper articles. Polish society in Russia hoped to fulfill the promises of power to give the Poles autonomy on the basis of uniting all of Poland. With the war, the number of human victims, destruction and refugees increased, so in Polish society there was a reappraisal of Galician policy and the transition to a position of struggle for the independence of the Polish state. All Polish society finally confirmed the need for the struggle for Poland's independence after the proclamation of the central states of the independence of the Kingdom of Poland.