President of the Republic of Poland – reflections on the 100th anniversary of the institution

The author presents the historical regulation of the President in the Polish constitutional law of the period 1918–1939. He shows the evolution and specific features of the institution, from the office of the Chief of State in years 1918–1922, through the limited regulation of the President in the Constitution of 1921 and its amendment of 1926, to the original concept of the head of state in the polish Constitution of 1935. The author notes the visible, sometimes negative impact of personal conditions on the regulations contained in the constitutions of the Second Republic, as well as the importance of Polish tradition for the process of creating and the content of the currently binding Constitution of 1997.

A signpost at the crossroads. The life and thought  of Józef Karol Potocki (1854–1898) of Józef Karol Potocki (1854–1898

Józef Karol Potocki vel Marian Bohusz (1854–1898) was very important and influential although forgotten thinker. His ideas of evolutionary socialism and ethnic nationalism were fundamental for both main Polish political formations of the 1st half of 20th century: Polish Socialist Party (and broader Piłsudski’s camp) and National Democracy. The very fundament of Potocki’s world-view was idea of any “cosmic energy” as prime mover of evolution. The evolution leads towards broader and broader, deeper and deeper integration, towards more complex societies. In opinion of Potocki socialism (as a system based on cooperation) would be natural result of this evolution. Historical and cultural heritage transform society into nation – community bonded by biological ancestry, economic cooperation and culture. This ethnic meaning of the Polish nation excluded Jewish minority. On the other hand, the real nation are the working people (especially peasants), not ruling classes. Nation needs an independent state as instrument of autonomous development, therefore Potocki was bitterly anti-Russian. Potocki tried to propagate the idea of a common front of socialists and nationalists for independence. Polarization of Polish public opinion in the end of 19th century made his efforts unsuccessful.