Issue 4

Contents

  • Author: The Editors
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 587-590
  • DOI Address: -
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy20184toc.pdf

Polish Political Science Yearbook, 47(4). Published online: December 31, 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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Beyond Vote Rigging: Common Patterns in Electoral Malpractices in De-Democratizing Regimes

  • Author: Adam Szymański
  • Institution: University of Warsaw
  • Author: Wojciech Ufel
  • Institution: University of Wrocław
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 593-617
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018401
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018401.pdf

For the past decade in many countries in Europe and its close neighborhood we have observed different types of processes which can be named as “de-democratization”. The aim of the article is to analyze the state of elections as the crucial democratic institution which fairness and competitiveness have a substantial impact on the political regime. While Turkey as a “role model” for our analysis remains a main focus of the article, three European countries were selected for a comparison based on their relative similarity to Turkey – Hungary, Macedonia (FYROM) and Serbia. The following questions are posed: Are elections in these countries free, fair and competitive? Can some types of electoral malpractice and irregularities be identified? How does the state of elections in terms of their fairness and competitiveness influence the political regime? The main hypothesis is that in the analyzed countries elections competitiveness limited by incumbents can become a factor deciding about the change within the political regime in the long run (loss of democratic quality) and also change the regime (to a less democratic one).

Macedonia (FYROM) Serbia electoral malpractice electoral integrity de-democratization political regime Turkey Hungary

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Electoral System of the Republic of Belarus after 25 Years of Independence

  • Author: Anna Kuleszewicz
  • Institution: Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 618-627
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018402
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018402.pdf

This paper aims to present a case study analysis of the condition of the electoral system in the Republic of Belarus after more than a quarter of a century of independence. The main purpose of the paper is to explain the discrepancies between legislation and practice. The author intended to note a real situation that dominates the country’s political scene in comparison to theoretical establishments. A Constitution of the Republic (created in 1994, with minor changes in 1996 and 2004) is the legal ground of the electoral system, however, procedural details were drawn up in the Electoral Code. The principles of Belarusian electoral code consist of some statements known from democratic models, such as universal suffrage, direct suffrage, secret ballot and equality. There are different types of elections in Belarus but the most important ones are presidential and parliamentary elections. Despite the detailed legal rules for conducting these elections, in fact, the principles of democracy, as well as the internal rules in Belarus, are not respected. Both presidential and parliamentary elections have shown this in recent years. Independent observers for a long time have been alarming about worrying electoral practices in Belarus. It is also worth emphasizing that since 1994, one man has been in power uninterruptedly, and Parliament has in fact a symbolic function. In the source materials, the author used Belarusian legal acts, analyses and reports, press notes as well as scientific papers.

Belarus elections Lukashenka Constitution president parliament democracy

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Cybertools of Political Competition and the 2016 American Presidential Campaign

  • Author: Marek Górka
  • Institution: Koszalin University of Technology
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 628-641
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018403
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018403.pdf

In the last decade, one can notice the huge interest of researchers in the field of cyberpolicy, which is primarily due to the widespread use of the Internet in the public space. This fact is also an impulse for conducting interdisciplinary research that combines knowledge from social sciences on the one hand, and uses content from technical sciences on the other. Compared to the form of conducting election campaigns in the 20th century in the U.S., during the 2016 election campaign there were significant changes in the conduct of political struggle. These changes consist above all in the use of cybernetic tools, which to a large extent, however difficult to determine, shaped electoral behavior. The contemporary political competition is more and more dependent on technology, which becomes the main element of the professionalization of election campaigns. Investigating the impact of cyberspace on electoral results is a big challenge, considering the fact that the area of cybertechnology is extremely complex. Cyberspace has now become a field for many political phenomena that are constantly evolving and in most cases their importance is immense for the functioning of the political system. The article is intended to deal with selected phenomena related to cybertechnology that were compared with other events from the U.S. election campaign in 2016. The article aims to investigate selected events resulting from the use of cybertechnology, which had an impact on electoral behavior.

elections social media digital politics hybrid media manipulation disinformation

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Electoral Rights and Intellectual Disability: Considerations de lege lata

  • Author: Małgorzata Babula
  • Institution: WSPiA University in Rzeszów
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 642-651
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018404
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018404.pdf

The Constitution of the Republic of Poland mentions as one of the principles of electoral law its universality. This means that anyone who meets the requirements of law is entitled to vote. The admissibility of exclusions from this principle is also expressly defined by the law. One of the limitations in the exercise of electoral rights is an intellectual disability resulting in the incapacity of the individual. Meanwhile, Poland’s international obligations resulting e.g. from the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provides with a necessity of a deeper reflection on the present solutions. The ratification by Poland of the UN Convention has stimulated discussion on the political rights of people with intellectual disabilities, extending the field of debate on the legitimacy of the current form of institution of incapacitation. The aim of this article is to reflect on the current solutions in the exercise of electoral rights by people affected by intellectual disability but not being incapacitated.

Discrimination intellectual disability political rights electoral rights individual rights Constitution

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Members of Polish Political Parties in the Process of Inter-Electoral Campaigning

  • Author: Maria Wincławska
  • Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
  • Author: Anna Pacześniak
  • Institution: Wrocław University
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 652-662
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018405
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018405.pdf

The character and role of membership in political parties have been varied in time (van Haute, 2011; Scarrow, 2015; Gauja, 2017), just as the parties themselves, their organizations and functions in political systems (e.g. Duverger, 1976; Kirkheimer, 1966; Mair, Katz, 1997; Katz, Mair, 2009). There are researchers suggesting that the importance of members for political parties and in campaigning has declined substantially. But does it mean that they have become irrelevant in this aspect?
In the paper we look at the process of inter-electoral campaigning from the perspective of the rank-and-files of Polish political parties. There are three research questions in this article: (1) Do the rank-and-file members of Polish political parties see the functions of modern political parties in the aspect of permanent communication? (2) Do they engage in the parties’ inter-electoral campaigns? (3) Do the assessments of party functions and performances, or the view about the role of the grassroots, correlate with the members’ engagement in the campaigns of the parties?
The data analyzed in the paper were taken from the research conducted in the project „Political parties and their social environment. An Analysis of the Organization and Communications Activities of Polish Political Parties”1. The analysis is based on the quantitative data (PAPI and CAWI) of the members of six Polish political parties (n=2,488).

inter-electoral campaigning functions of the party members of political parties

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Conspiracy Theories Are Not Only for Election Losers. Anti-system Parties and Conspiratorial Distrust in Poland

  • Author: Franciszek Czech
  • Institution: Jagiellonian University
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 663-675
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018406
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018406.pdf

Using data from a nationally representative survey in Poland, this study looks at the links between post-election attitudes, ideology and conspiratorial distrust toward public sphere. The reference point is an argument made by Joseph Uscinski and Joseph Parent. They provide evidence that conspiracy theories are more popular among election losers in the United States. Data presented in the article shows a limitation of the argument and the special role of anti-system party in the Polish parliamentary election of 2015. Therefore, the more comprehensive understanding of conspiracy theories within the field of political science is discussed.

conspiratorial distrust conspiracy theory anti-system party election political support Poland

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The Formation of Local Self-government During the System Transformation Period in Poland and the Former GDR: A Comparative Study

  • Author: Adam Jarosz
  • Institution: University of Zielona Góra
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 679-693
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018407
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018407.pdf

This paper presents changes that have occurred at the local level in Poland and new German federal states during the process of the post-communist system transformation. The stages of rebuilding the local self-government and its structures are analyzed. The experiences of Poland and Eastern Germany – two states where the system transformation took different courses – were compared. At the same time, both countries have different constitutional orders of the unitary state and federal state, and this context are interesting fields for a comparative analysis. This paper also confronts the two methods of institution building – the importing of well-established institutions and developing them in the evolutionary way, where in both cases path a dependency can be well observed. In Germany this is considered a special case (Sonderfall) of institutional transformation, in which the key role was played by the transference of institutions, personnel and financial means. This was also done much quicker and in a more structured and comprehensive way than in Poland. In the case of Poland, the creation of local self-government structures or shaping the political actors was a grassroots and evolutionary process. This article points out the most important factors that had a crucial significance in the course and results of the transformation and explains different ways of developing the system of democratic local self-government.

Poland Germany post-communist transformation

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The Ukrainian Crisis as a Case Study of Different Policymaking Styles of Russia and China

  • Author: Michał Lubina
  • Institution: Jagiellonian University in Kraków
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 694-705
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018408
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018408.pdf

The Ukrainian crisis of 2014 has been a popular theme of journal and media articles for obvious reasons. Its “Chinese”, or rather Sino-Russian dimension has been less so, though the Chinese reaction to the Ukrainian crisis and the implications of this reaction represent interesting political phenomenon. This article tries to fill this gap and uses the description of Russia and China policies during the crisis as a case study of Moscow and Beijing political behavior on the international scene in general. Its thesis is that the Ukrainian crisis represents a great case study of these behaviors. Moreover, this case is also a supplement to the general discussion in the field about the state of Russia-China contemporary political relations.

China Russia the Ukrainian Crisis

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Citizenship, the Vector of Present? Considerations de lege lata Based on the Polish Domestic Law

  • Author: Małgorzata Babula
  • Institution: WSPiA University in Rzeszów
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 709-721
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018409
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018409.pdf

The modern world is opening up to a series of innovations, differences and broadly understood diversity. The pace of changes becomes a peculiar substructure of creating patchwork nations. The variety of races, colors, religions and cultures. All of the above contain a point which, like an electron, resembles an omnipresent “variant”. This constant value is a human being. We are accompanied by a sense of belonging to a specific place, culture and values. On this basis, we expect something (e.g. having rights and freedoms). Citizenship seems to be a binder that puts us in a clearly narrowed community with certain values and often allows us to distinguish our own “self”. Created by history, absorbing presence, citizenship is an important element of our affiliation to the country, to culture and to the values hidden behind them. In the world of diversity, it seems to be a desirable and important element. The purpose of this article is to discuss the contemporary role assigned to citizenship, as well as to show the citizenship as a factor shaping the position of the individual and justifying the distinction made in specific areas of human functioning in the state.

Citizenship individual rights Constitution of the Republic of Poland

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The Born Frees as Assertive Citizens? Student Protests and Democratic Prospects in South Africa

  • Author: Dagmar Kusá
  • Institution: Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 722-741
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018410
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018410.pdf

Massive student protests in South Africa in the past few years, largest since the times of the anti-apartheid struggles, raised several questions for political scientists. Are we witnessing a generational change? Or are they a sign of a broader global shift towards “assertive citizenship” present in advanced democracies and democratizing countries? To answer these questions, this paper examines the levels of political support and nature of political participation among the young generation.
The paper also points out that generational change is not immediately visible in public opinion polls but is a process of a gradual narrative construction. Protests brought with them a challenge to the founding narrative of a united Rainbow Nation and reconciliation with the past, leading to a fracture in democratic stability. For the democratic project to succeed, it is essential that the national project in South Africa does not fall apart.

transition generational change political participation post-apartheid political support South Africa identity

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The Protection of the Right to Education in Minority Language: the Council of Europe’s Standards

  • Author: Hanna Wiczanowska
  • Institution: Adam Mickiewicz University
  • Author: Łukasz Szoszkiewicz
  • Institution: Adam Mickiewicz University
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 742-751
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018411
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018411.pdf

There is neither consensus whether the category of linguistic rights shall be distinguished, nor international agreement on the catalogue of such rights. Nevertheless, access to education in mother tongue constitutes a core element of most of the international and national frameworks of minority protection. Academic and legal disputes are particularly absorbing in Europe, where linguistic policies frequently intertwine with politics (e.g. Cyprus, Moldova, Ukraine). Thus, it is essential to pose the question, whether the right to education in mother tongue is always granted the equal scope of protection or is such protection differentiated by any additional criteria. Most of all, it shall be considered whether the analyzed right has an independent character or its protection is associated with perception of other fundamental rights and freedoms. This paper investigates the scope of the protection of this right within the framework of the Council of Europe.

linguistic rights right to education ECHR minority rights UDHR

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Reflections on the Proposal to Introduce a Term Limit for Elected Officials Effects and Implications

  • Author: Joanna Marszałek-Kawa
  • Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 752-761
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018412
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018412.pdf

The problem of the lack of “generational replacement” in Poland is particularly evident on the local self-government level. For years, there has been an ongoing public debate on the adoption of legal solutions introducing term-limits for the office of commune head, mayor and president of the city. Politicians of Law and Justice returned to their idea from 2005 and, shortly before the local elections of 2018, decided to prepare new regulations in this respect. They argued that the adopted solutions create real prospects for implementing projects by young politicians and activists. However, the issue was hotly debated and the initiators’ motives were put into question. There is no doubt that a two-term limit in local selfgovernment units has always stirred up emotions. A lot of self-government officials perceive it as a regulation which violates the provisions of the Constitution of the RP. The aim of this paper is to present the public debate on the adopted solutions and discuss their assumptions.

political system Poland elections term limit local government

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International Politics and the Chinese Reforms

  • Author: Emilia Woźniczko
  • Institution: University of Silesia in Katowice
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 765-768
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018413
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018413.pdf

Book Review: Peng Sen, Zhang Xiaochong & Jin Chuntian, Reformujac Chiny. Uwarunkowania międzynarodowe. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek Publishing House 2015 (pp. 495). ISBN 978 – 83 – 8019 – 254 – 6.

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Polish Media on Religion

  • Author: Kamila Rezmer
  • Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 769-773
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018414
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018414.pdf

Book Review: Jacek Lindner, 12 469 dróg do absolutu. Polskie media o religii po 1989 roku, Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2017, pp. 414.

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Integration Processes and Organizations in the Asia-Pacific Region

  • Author: Michał Dahl
  • Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Source: Show
  • Pages: 774-777
  • DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018415
  • PDF: ppsy/47-4/ppsy2018415.pdf

Book Review: Marcin Grabowski, Rywalizacja czy integracja? Procesy i organizacje integracyjne w regionie Azji i Pacyfiku na przełomie XX i XXI wieku. Kraków: Księgarnia Akademicka 2015 (pp. 321). ISBN: 978 – 83 – 7638 – 601 – 0.

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