The paper examines the conflict over the control of the integration of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal (CT) that evolved into a constitutional crisis in October 2015 - and has extended for more than two years. It identifies issues that help understand how the Polish Democracy does not impede the erosion of constitutional democracy as the conflict has undermined the CT and the function of judicial review (JR). The article examines issues of legitimacy that emerge from the crisis; it also examines the extent to which the institutional settings condition the operation of the JR function; in particular, it looks at the role of executive actors (the Government and the President), and the role of the political/parliamentary party in bridging the separation of powers.

In the context of democratic discourse, civil society is given a decisive role in the formation of power and influence on power. However, between the authorities (state and self-governing) and public organizations, as representatives of the interests of civil society, mostly subject-object relations are established, where the subject is the government. The article is devoted to finding an answer to the question: can the model of subject-subject relations between the government and civil society, where both social institutions are equal participants in the political process, have practical application? Analysis of social changes in Western Europe and Ukraine gives grounds to support the point of view of those scholars who consider civil society the basis of the state, a factor that gives a specific character to each state formation, regardless of the generality of democratic processes. At the same time, attention is drawn to the heterogeneity of civil society, which is a barrier to its consolidation and strengthening of subjectivity. There is a noticeable increase in competition between the state and civil society in terms of influencing society, as well as the manipulation of public movements by public authorities to achieve political goals. However, a fairly high level of public confidence in public organizations and the potential for their advocacy allow the use of public influence to activate the population and strengthen the position of civil society in relations with the authorities.

Migration processes in Sub-Saharan Africa

The peculiarities of migration flows in Sub-Saharan Africa, the appearance of conflicts and the process of their arrangement are described in the article. The author examines the main migration trends, reasons, directions, specific features of migration in this region, attempts to show the intercommunication between migration and conflict on the example of the region and determines the degree of mutual influence. The author focuses on the fact that Sub-Saharan Africa is a complex structural system consisting of politically independent elements that frequently interact according to the orderly process. The elements of the system such as states, IGOs, NGOs and politicians cooperate with each other in public relations, create its structure and strengthen the system’s integrity.