Issue 3

Table of Contents 47(3)

  • Author: The Editors
  • Institution: Polish Political Science Yearbook (Poland)
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 451-454
  • DOI Address: -
  • PDF: ppsy/47-3/ppsy20183toc.pdf

Polish Political Science Yearbook, 47(3). Published online: August 30, 2018. The Polish Political Science Yearbook is international peer-reviewed journal indexed in: American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies (ABSEES) Online, BazHum, Central and Eastern European Online Library, Central European Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (cejsh.icm.edu.pl), Columbia International Affairs Online, Cosmos Impact Factor, Directory of Open Access Journals, Electronic Journals Library, ERIH Plus, Gale PowerSearch, Google Scholar, HeinOnline, IBR – International Bibliography of Book Reviews of Scholarly Literature on the Humanities and Social Sciences, IBZ – International Bibliography of Periodical Literature on the Humanities and Social Sciences, ICI Journals Master List, International Political Science Abstracts, Open Academic Journals Index, POL-Index (Polska Bibliografia Naukowa) and The Lancaster Index.

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Current Amendments to Polish Electoral Law in the Light of European Standards

  • Author: Anna Rakowska-Trela
  • Institution: University of Łódź (Poland)
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 457-466
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018301
  • PDF: ppsy/47-3/ppsy2018301.pdf

In December 2017 and January 2018, the Sejm and Senate, thanks to the votes of the deputies of ruling party Law and Justice, passed hugely controversial law amending inter alia Polish Electoral Code. Its adoption was opposed by the parliamentary opposition, by the electoral administration bodies and by many experts, however unsuccessfully. The enactment of this law destabilises the electoral system without a clear or evident need and treats the electoral code as a political instrument. Secondly, it does not provide the sufficient time for adaptation (vacatio legis), which may jeopardise free and fair local elections and the stability of the political system. Thirdly, the bill contains numerous unclear provisions and is in many parts written in a careless and contradictory way. Such amendments do not correspond with the European standards, described in the Venice Commission’s Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters.

amendments election electoral code electoral law Poland

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Electoral Issues as the Subject of Petitions Submitted to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland of the Eight Term

  • Author: Anna Rytel-Warzocha
  • Institution: University of Gdańsk
  • Author: Andrzej Szmyt
  • Institution: University of Gdańsk
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 467-475
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018302
  • PDF: ppsy/47-3/ppsy2018302.pdf

Art. 63 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 2 April 1997 provides everyone with the right to submit petitions to state authorities. The procedure for considering petitions is specified by the Act on Petitions of 11 July 2014. According to the law, petitions can, in particular, take the form of a request to amend the law. The aim of the article is to focus on petitions concerning the amendment of electoral law against the background general information on the legal regulations in this regard. In the 8th term of office of the Sejm, which began on 12 November 2015, there were five petitions submitted to the parliament which concerned electoral issues. The petitioners proposed amendments in regard to the manner of electing senators to the Senate of the Republic of Poland and councilors in the communities of up to 100,000 residents, strengthening mechanisms that would counteract “electoral frauds”, electoral thresholds in the elections to the Sejm and mandatory voting.

Committee on Petitions mandatory voting petition electoral law

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Consequences of the Electoral System in Polish Municipalities – Pathologies and Abuses

  • Author: Justyna Wasil
  • Institution: University of Maria Curie-Skłodowska
  • Author: Monika Sidor
  • Institution: University of Maria Curie-Skłodowska
  • Author: Katarzyna A. Kuć-Czajkowska
  • Institution: University of Maria Curie-Skłodowska
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 477-490
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018303
  • PDF: ppsy/47-3/ppsy2018303.pdf

Pathologies and abuses accompany elections and are connected with the electoral system both in its narrow and broad sense. Moreover, they stem from a human nature and a degree of democratic principles consolidation. Cohabitation is conditioned by the electoral system and, in the case of the proportional allocation of seats, it arises more often than in the majority system with single member constituencies. The phenomenon itself is not always pathological. However, such an adverse situation develops when it comes to clashes, neither substantive nor creative, between the municipal bodies and, in consequence, the interests of the local community are jeopardised. Elections at the municipal level are also accompanied by other pathologies and abuses including: coercing votes when voting by proxy, adding voters to an electoral roll, bringing residents to a polling place, paying for one’s votes, preying on the naïvety of voters which can take grotesque forms or brutalising an election campaign caused by the mediatisation of local policy. The above-mentioned phenomena were examined and presented in the paper based on the analysis of statistical data, articles from the local press and, most essentially for the discussed subject, a rich material collected thanks to the in-depth interviews conducted by the authors.

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Election Petitions in Poland: The Efficiency Analysis of the Institution

  • Author: Jagoda Wojciechowska
  • Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (Poland)
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 491-502
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018304
  • PDF: ppsy/47-3/ppsy2018304.pdf

The article concerns the analysis of procedures connected with election petitions in Poland on the basis of the constituencies under the jurisdiction of the District Court in Toruń. It should be mentioned, however, that research is currently being conducted in other courts, which even at the preliminary stage appears to corroborate the results of the analysis presented in the article. The research focuses on the guarantees of the efficiency of the electoral petition in Poland. The election petition is the most important instrument which is available to verify the validity of elections. The Constitution does not regulate this matter, entrusting the legislator with this task. The possibility of submitting an election petition implements the principle of the external judicial review of the progress of an election or referendum, which can be initiated upon the request of a legal entity entitled to submit the petition. Considering the role of the petition proceedings as well as the values which remain protected within the procedure of settlement, the legislator should demonstrate the utmost care to increase their efficiency. However, the regulations concerning election petitions are scattered around the whole Electoral Code. Furthermore, for an election petition to be justified, there must be a cause-effect link between the law violation and the results of an election, with the burden of proof placed on the petitioner. The overall result is that in judicial practice only in few cases have grievances in election petitions been considered justified.

election verification election petition voting civil rights democracy elections electoral system

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The Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation

  • Author: Michał Pietkiewicz
  • Institution: University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (Poland)
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 505-520
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018305
  • PDF: ppsy/47-3/ppsy2018305.pdf

In December 2017 and January 2018, the Sejm and Senate, thanks to the votes of the deputies of ruling party Law and Justice, passed hugely controversial law amending inter alia Polish Electoral Code. Its adoption was opposed by the parliamentary opposition, by the electoral administration bodies and by many experts, however unsuccessfully. The enactment of this law destabilises the electoral system without a clear or evident need and treats the electoral code as a political instrument. Secondly, it does not provide the sufficient time for adaptation (vacatio legis), which may jeopardise free and fair local elections and the stability of the political system. Thirdly, the bill contains numerous unclear provisions and is in many parts written in a careless and contradictory way. Such amendments do not correspond with the European standards, described in the Venice Commission’s Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters.

Russian defense Russian doctrine territorial defense state security military doctrine

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Russian Active Measures in Psychological Warfare

  • Author: Justyna Doroszczyk
  • Institution: Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland)
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 521-534
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018306
  • PDF: ppsy/47-3/ppsy2018306.pdf

The aim of the article is to analyse Russian active measures in the context of psychological warfare. Active measures are defined as the actions of political warfare conducted by Russian secret service. In case of Russian Federation they are the core of psychological operations that are tools of realising international and domestic policy priorities. Active measures include disinformation campaigns and supporting insurgency in opponent states. Regarding the context of psychological operations active measures are designed to model the mental sphere of opponent society. Active measures are aimed at weakening the unity of the European Union as well as common trust in NATO. Creating favourable atmosphere for Russian activity is the main goal of implementing active measures. Therefore active measures are considered as a great part of Russian interpretation of psychological warfare. Although active measures can support the military activity they are designed to influence the mental sphere of opponent society and are used to create opinions and interpretations that match Russian interests. Those measures are difficult to identify and therefore are threats that are not easy to counteract.

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Amnesties: conditio sine qua non for a Lasting Peace Solution or Ticking Time Bomb for Peacebuilding?

  • Author: Agnieszka Szpak
  • Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (Poland)
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 537-552
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018307
  • PDF: ppsy/47-3/ppsy2018307.pdf

The author attempts to define amnesty and describe conditions that must be met for amnesties to be in accordance with international law. This in turn involves an analysis of legality of amnesties. The paper also examines motivation for granting amnesty and desirability as well as the future of granting amnesties. In the end a nuanced approach is adopted highlighting the fact that amnesties are neither conditio sine qua non for a lasting peace solution nor ticking time-bombs for peacebuilding. This reflects the idea of this paper that justice is not an absolute and sometimes it might be necessary to let go and combine judicial and non-judicial mechanisms (including the disclosure of truth and reparations for the victims) in order to achieve sustainable peace.

impunity international crimes peacebuilding amnesty peace

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The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and the Problem of Political Will

  • Author: Jed Lea-Henry
  • Institution: Vignan University (India)
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 553-570
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018308
  • PDF: ppsy/47-3/ppsy2018308.pdf

The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) was created in the hope of overcoming the barrier that state sovereignty, as a principle, had become to actions of humanitarian intervention. It was imagined that as mass atrocity crimes were coming to the attention of the international community, that, on the whole, they were willing, able and eager to intervene in order to stop the violence in question. Holding them back was sovereignty as both a legal and normative barrier. This was always a bad explanation for the pervasive lack of humanitarian intervention; accordingly R2P, as a bad solution, has failed almost entirely. The problem is, and always has been, that when faced with mass atrocity crimes, the international community is plagued by a near-permanent lack of political will to action.

humanitarian intervention R2P responsibility to protect international crimes international law

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Challenging Life Nearby Russia

  • Author: Ewelina Wojciechowska
  • Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (Poland)
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 573-575
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018309
  • PDF: ppsy/47-3/ppsy2018309.pdf

Book Review: Sylwester Gardocki (Ed.), Rosja i jej sąsiedzi. Studia i szkice. Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek: Toruń 2015. ISBN: 978 -83 - 8019 - 208 - 9.

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Not Only the War. The Ideology of Polish Underground State

  • Author: Łukasz Kołtuniak
  • Institution: Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland)
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 576-578
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018310
  • PDF: ppsy/47-3/ppsy2018310.pdf

Book review: Jerzy Juchnowski & Jan Ryszard Sielezin, The concept of state and nation in Polish political thought in the period of war and occupation (1939 – 1945). Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek Toruń 2016 (pp. 295). ISBN: 978-83- 8019- 487- 8.

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European Opportunities in the Field of Lawyer-Linguists – Irish Perspective

  • Author: Joanna Siekiera
  • Institution: Collegium of Socio-Economics, Warsaw School of Economics
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 581-586
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018311
  • PDF: ppsy/47-3/ppsy2018311.pdf

Conference on Opportunities for Law Graduates as Lawyerlinguists with the EU. Dublin, (7 March 2018), The Honorable Society of King’s Inns

Multilingualism is now considered as the mean of achieving common goals on the European ground. This term can be referred to speaking several languages at the same time, and as to an official requirement for the employees of an organisation or a company who should communicate internally and externally by using more than one language and finally, as to multiculturalism which can apply to an individual’s capability to master several languages. But since the EU has extended equal treatment to 24 languages spoken in all of its member countries, there is a huge demand for translators, interpreters, linguists and lawyer-linguists. The Irish language, being a working one, while not yet a XX language is an interesting example of achieving the largest scope of multilingualism in the EU.

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