One of the most crucial principles of democratic regime is the concept of civil society. The implications of such concept are also visible within the area of labour law as the right to strike has been perceived as its core element. The primary purpose of the presented article is to consider whether the application of the doctrine of civil society automatically disables for a recognition of lockout for the employers’ organizations within the Polish legal system as well as international standards. The presented paper will mainly rely upon the legal dogmatic analysis of the provisions of Polish Constitution from 1997 and international regulations. The author will also use the elements of the comparative analysis between Polish standards amd norms enacted by the Council of Europe and the European Union. The innovative approach of the paper is the complex analysis of the Polish solutions from the intenational perspective in terms of equality between labour and the capital.

An integral part of social discourse is discussions concerning the issue of how to motivate citizens to actively build civil society. Scholars search for the factors that develop and promote pro-civic attitudes. The discussions mostly refer to young citizens, as they are the ones that determine the direction of changes. This article presents a study following the trend of searching for psychological determinants of young people’s civic engagement. The researchers found that the determinants include two motivational variables: the sense of self-efficacy, and dispositional optimism. They also diagnosed the structure of values of individuals with different levels of civic engagement.

In recent years, nation branding attracts interest of scholars and academic environment. In the era of globalisation, the need to care for propoer image and perception of a state in international environment becomes even more apparent. Soft power resources are a vital element in creating a strong nation brand. The aim of the article is to verify hipothesis stating that civil society can be perceived as a soft power resource used in building the brand. Therefore, the proposed research is conducted by analysing most significant branding rankings with respect to the positions reached by Sweden, used as a model state with strong civil society.

Artykuł jest analizą roli budżetu partycypacyjnego w procesie partycypacji społecznej. Przedstawione trzy modele jego funkcjonowania prezentują różny ich wpływ na jakość kapitału społecznego, czyli cechy społeczeństwa objawiające się wysokim poziomem zaufania, współpracy oraz więzi społecznych między obywatelami. W celu przeprowadzenia analizy zostanie zastosowana koncepcja kapitału społecznego i wspólnot obywatelskich Roberta Putnama.

Uznaje się, że polityka jest częścią życia społecznego, dlatego jest również częścią kultury. W drugiej połowie XX w. kultura polityczna stała się obiektem analiz politologów w świecie oraz w Polsce. W związku z tym zaczęto postrzegać kulturę polityczną, jako komponent kultury w dosłownym znaczeniu przez pryzmat ogółu materialnych i niematerialnych wytworów życia społecznego. Stało się to asumptem do rozszerzenia się definicji kultury politycznej o takie składniki, jak instytucje polityczne oraz system socjalizacji oraz edukacji politycznej. Celem tego było wzmocnienie demokratycznego systemu politycznego poprzez przesunięcie z elementów indywidualnych na ogólnospołeczne.

Political Elites and Their Role in Society in the Context of Constitutional Civic Values

In the general consciousness, political elites make a significant contribution to both shaping civic attitudes and consolidating democracy. Hence it is very important source of their recruitment, the authority enjoyed by (or not) in society, and finally determined the directions of its development, the principles of the political system and the measures taken to civic and political participation. The quality of the elite, their condition, on the one hand, is a reflection of the state of society, but on the other hand, it is a source of best practices for citizens. One can risk the thesis that political elites are a signpost of political behavior, whose source lies in civic values defined not only in the political culture of Poles, but also in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of April 2, 1997.

The Territorial Self-Government and the Division of State Powers under the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997

Territorial self-government is an institution deeply entrenched in the fabric of civil society. As a result, the state should guarantee that institution’s right to evolve naturally, following the development of and attainment of successive maturity stages by Polish civil society. Consequently, according to the constitution-maker’s intentions, the constitutional regime of territorial self-government should not be an inhibitive factor for the natural processes accompanying the civil society’s development within self-governing communities, but it should allow for the ossification of such processes in territorial self-government laws. In this paper, the possibility of implementing the above assumption and the powers of territorial self-government are considered through the prism of the principles of the division of state powers and decentralization of public authorities. The considerations lead to the conclusion that there are systemic foundations for the separation of self-government authority within the vertical division of state power.

Territorial self-government as a pillar of the democratic state – reflections on the idea of local self-government in the light of the self-governing traditions of the Second Republic of Poland

Territorial self-government has been widely analyzed in Polish literature of the interwar period. At that time, its three theories were formulated: naturalistic, state and political. The first one contrasted the self-government with the state, stressing that municipality is historically older than the latter and, as a result, independent; it is the state that derives its powers from the municipality, and not conversely. The second theory advanced a thesis that state power is exercised by state authorities, including through local communities with a separate legal status. Self-governance was thus to be expressed in the idea of decentralizing public authority. Although it identified self-government with state administration, the third theory demanded that self-governmental powers be exercised by independent officials, regarding their independence as a guarantee of effective exercise of the powers attributed to self-government. Investigations made at that time into the essence, nature, and form of self-government remained valid until the present day, determining democratic values as the basis for territorial self-government’s status in the current Constitution of Poland.

The rebellion of the young – the liberating role of the bicycle

The text is a story about a group of boys who, by following the pedagogy of adventure, change not only themselves but also a fragment of space. Institutions of power, and society itself, expect subordination within the space in which we function. It is the authority (in whatever shape) that determines the spatial development (laws, regulations, resolutions). The same is done by people who claim the right to be called the guardians of social space, that is, the validity of the social order they postulate in the place they “occupy” (house, street, district). As a result of the interference of such people, we are dealing with a “soft” variety of a total institution. The example of young cyclists from Dirt park KrossKiller in Szczecin can show this process and the form of resistance on the part of the oppressed. It is therefore about a micro-community, which through its action, can be defined as a rebellion against the so-called guardians of space who want to create their own place on Earth, they experience an adventure, by their actions, they fit into the framework of the pedagogy of adventure. While filming and writing the text, the method of observation was used.

Civil society in the Republic of Estonia

There is a noticeable development of civil society in Estonia, which has also contributed to its accession to the EU. After the Republic of Estonia gained independence in 1991, social organizations were weak, and the lack of trust in them was, among other things, a consequence of the Soviet period and disappointment with the results of transformation. In the following years, the associations consolidated their position as professional activists with organizational experience appeared. Currently, social activity is becoming more and more popular, new organizations are being created, the number of their members is also increasing and the scope of their activities is expanding. A big problem in Estonia was also the low level of public trust in state institutions and NGOs, but these attitudes are changing. The aim of this article is to analyze the circumstances of creation of the civil society and its activity in the Republic of Estonia.

The Principle of the Common Good as a Source of Civil Society in Poland

The article concerns the constitutional sources of civil society in Poland. Although the Polish Constitution does not refer directly to civil society, it expresses its key values and assumptions in numerous provisions. The constitutional principle of the common good should be regarded as the basis of civil society in the Republic of Poland. The article indicates the links between the principle of the common good and the constitutional model of civil society. The axiological convergence of both categories mentioned is based, inter alia, on the respect for civic rights and freedoms, but also on the emphasis on the duties that the individual-citizen performs for the state. It is for this reason that the principle of the common good in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997 combines elements of the individualist and communitarian conception of the civil society.

This article discusses the modern concept of civic education and its history, which dates back to ancient times. Civic education is perceived as the process of educating individuals about their rights and responsibilities as members of a society and preparing them to participate in the democratic process. One of the key objectives of civic education is to promote active citizenship and engagement in the democratic process. The article highlights the interdisciplinary nature of civic education and its connection to a well-constructed educational system, as well as detects the biggest challenges for the process. The purpose of the article is to introduce the importance and development of civic education and to analyze its state in Poland, noting the changes that have taken place over the course of the 21st century. To accomplish this objective, the author decided to compare various reports on both the state of democracy and education in Poland. Furthermore, the author sought to underscore the significance of the individuals responsible for educating society, as well as the methodologies employed in civic education, which significantly influence the formal civic education of young individuals. Such ideas were also presented in the recommendations.

Decisions and motives of young female teacher candidates to participate in the October 15, 2023 parliamentary elections

In this article we present the results of the author’s research, conducted immediately after the parliamentary elections of October 15, 2023. The purpose of the research was to identify the electoral activity of people who are studying preschool and early childhood education, and preparing for the teaching profession. We consider their activities as a priority in developing pro-social attitudes of their charges. The study used the method of diagnostic survey. For the analysis presented here, we used the part on the questions of participation of female respondents in elections and sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents. The survey was conducted among 265 female students aged 18 to 26 (the average age was 21.4), in the teaching faculty in all five years. The study notes significant differences in the election declarations of respondents, compared to the general population of Poles with active voting rights. For the most part, respondents have made a choice of different ideas represented by specific electoral committees than the electorate of their parents, or people from the local environment. The voter turnout and the choices of the respondents give hope for an appreciation of democratic values and the laying of the foundation for building a civil society.