The paper’s aim is to present key findings of the analysis of the discussion on the abortion issue on Polish Twitter. Social media are believed to be a tool serving the political periphery to participate in political discourse and with the COVID- 19 pandemic they have become crucial in our everyday communication. In this context, the Twitter discussion on abortion issue and Women’s Strike protests that took place in October 2020 in Poland was analyzed. The discussion on the abortion issue itself in many countries brings broader questions on the state of public discourse and democratic processes, and the protests brought even more inquiries about freedom of speech or the right to protest. In total, 68,716 tweets were collected from October 20 till November 15, 2020, and analyzed with MAXQDA software to answer two main research questions: RQ1: Who was shaping the discussion in the analyzed period? RQ2: Were the two sides of the conflict represented in the discussion? The analysis showed great potential that Twitter has for Polish public discourse, but also many obstacles, problems, and even social cleavages manifesting in the analyzed discussion.

The aim of the paper is to study the role of Facebook as a source of political information for Polish media users. The study combines a survey, a content analysis of Polish-language news items disseminated through Facebook, and computational methods. Findings revealed that Facebook has already gained a position as a crucial agent of political communication across generations in Poland. Most Poles use social media for acquisition of information about politics at least once a day and Facebook is the most popular source among them, what is especially apparent among young people (18–25 years old). Friends and family play also an important role in this process as either gatekeepers or opinion leaders. Additionally, our study revealed that topic (politics) and context (elections) matter when it comes to news consumption and news sharing on social media.

The present article provides an original typology of Polish parliamentary parties according to the religious criterion, i.e., the attitude towards the Catholic Church and its postulates (prohibition of abortion, legalising IVF and civil partnerships). The analysis covers the parties which have had at least 10 seats in the Sejm since 2001. First, the parties were classified according to the program criterion (membership in party families), then their views in the axiological sphere were analysed, and finally, the party typology was determined. The following types of parties were distinguished: quasi-religious, referring only to Christian values, axiologically moderate, secular.

The analysis aims to reconstruct, explain and evaluate the position of the Polish government on the essential elements of the EU migration and asylum policy proposed by the European Commission in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. Thus, the article discusses the potential priorities and objectives of the EU migration and asylum policy from the point of view of the Polish government, articulated both during the ongoing work on the EC document (2018–2020) and after its publication in September 2020. However, the article is not intended to present the Polish government’s position on the particular, detailed solutions contained in the legislative proposals of the EC due to the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. Although, it allows identifying what the Polish side considers desirable, tolerable and acceptable, and what is utterly unacceptable in terms of the proposed changes to EU migration and asylum policy. Therefore, the main priorities of the Polish government regarding the reformed policy are indicated and explained. The first two concern counteracting irregular immigration by enhancing the protection of external borders and intensifying cooperation with third countries (in particular as concerns readmissions and returns), which means approving the postulates of the EC. At the same time, the third priority opposes the EC’s proposal addressing asylum issues.

Polish diplomatic representatives in Romania in the years 1918–1940 Part II 1923–1940

Polish representatives in Bucharest in the interwar period were – what is obvious – executors of the Polish government’s foreign policy, formulated by the successive Ministers of Foreign Affairs. They had to act within that framework. In exceptional circumstances were Linde and Koźmiński, who happened to act in conditions of nonexistence of a single center shaping Polish foreign policy and they often had to demonstrate creativity, without any directives coming from the top. To a certain extent in a similar situation was Raczyński, who also had to act independently, in a state of necessity – as he claimed – ignoring the supremacy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs interned in Romania. Effective professionals efficiently performing the tasks allocated to them were Wielowieyski, Szembek and Arciszewski. Jurjewicz was perceived as much less energetic. His relatively low activity on the position of the envoy, however, was largely derived from minister Seyda’s passive policy towards Romania. Undoubtedly, the most prominent Polish diplomat in Bucharest was Alexander Skrzyński. He not only performed his duties of the representative of the Republic of Poland with the invention but he also showed his own initiative, when Poland was in extremely difficult war situation in 1919–1920.

Poland’s Diplomatic Representatives in Romania, 1918–1940. Part 1: 1918–1940

Polish politicians had appreciated the importance of relations with Romania since the beginning of the independent Poland, indicating the need for close political and economic cooperation with that country which would serve to resist the Soviet expansion in Central and Eastern Europe. The establishment of official diplomatic relations between Poland and Romania proved to be a rather complex process. It was essentially affected by the lack of agreement between the two centers competing for leadership in Poland, that is the authorities in Warsaw and the Polish National Committee (KNP) in Paris. It was manifested by keeping in Bucharest their own representatives, more or less tolerated by the Romanian, the so-called Legation headed by Marian Linde and the delegate of KNP Stanisław Koźmiński. In the end, Alexander Skrzyński was appointed the envoy of the Republic of Poland and officially recognized by the Romanian authorities. The establishment of official diplomatic relations did not mean, however, immediate rapprochement between the two countries. It was a process lasting almost two years which, thanks to the merits of Alexander Skrzyński, was crowned by signing the Polish-Romanian alliance in March 1921. The next stage consisted of the efforts to strengthen and extend this alliance made by Skrzyński as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Paweł Jurjewicz – his successor to the position of chargé d’affaires, and then an envoy in Bucharest. The process was slowed down by the inept policy of Marian Seyda, the next foreign minister of Poland.

Ashes and foundations. What the Krakow Cathedral have looked like on 20 January 1320?

The paper focuses on the Krakow cathedral at the time of coronation of Vladislaus the Short (1320). The ceremony probably took place in the western choir of the old cathedral because the western part of the church had been demolished due to some unsuccessful building campaigns.

Remarks on the Shaping of the Ombudsman Institution in Poland and Mexico, 1990–2022

The ombudsman institution has become a barometer of implementing the rule of law, democracy and transparency system. Does the fact that the institution of the ombudsman was established in authoritarian countries influence its activities today? This question will be the subject of a comparative analysis of Poland and Mexico, in which there has been a democratic transformation in recent decades. In conclusion, it should be observed that despite the historical and political differences, we are dealing with a similar context and mechanism of functioning of the ombudsman institution. Both countries have an authoritarian past and both underwent a democratic transformation in the 1990s. and both struggle with contemporary forms of authoritarian forms of power.

In this article, the author argues that the introduction of measures in Poland to remedy violations of the rule of law, particularly regarding the judicial system, does not require so far referring to the principles of transitional justice. The author loosely refers to Ernst Fraenkel’s concept of a dual state which is sometimes used to describe the political reality in contemporary Poland. In a dual state, there are two parallel realities, and apart from politicized organs there may also exist institutions that have not yet been captured by the ruling party, i.e. institutions that do not recognise the current, unconstitutional legal order. Therefore, according to the author, the assessment of the legal legitimacy of certain institutions or persons (including judges), after the restoration of the rule of law in the nearest future, may differ from the classic transition from a completely non-democratic to a democratic regime.

The article is a review of the European approach to economic policy, taking into account the feature of gender, so-called gender mainstreaming. It analyses the legislative achievements of the European Union in this area and domestic solutions. There is also compared the situation of women and men in the European labor market, with particular emphasis on Danish and Polish examples, and the causes and consequences of gender inequality in economic decision-making. Identification of barriers to the implementation of gender equality in the social, economic and political aspects as well as possibile ways of their elimination is also attempted.

The function of public debates is crucial these days. Experts believe that presidential debates may decide the final election results. All that matters is what each candidate will say and the way in which they will present themselves. Public debate is a tool for creating common knowledge, thus knowledge about the knowledge of others. Performed in accordance with understandable and accessible rules, it is the foundation for legitimizing actions taken in presidential elections. The method of organizing the debate has therefore fundamental value for public management. Shaping the conditions and simplifying the interaction processes between participants of the public debate is the idea of public management. Observations on public discourse are usually disciplinary in nature, as they relate to phenomena occurring in the field of politics, sociology and media communication2. The aim of the paper is therefore to define and assess what conditions for the presidential debate in 2020 have been met and what issues and whether they were rightly raised in it. The following hypothesis was adopted for the paper: „The public debate in the 2020 presidential elections in Poland did not concern important issues for Poles, but focused only on secondary, rather unimportant aspects”. The paper formulated the following research questions: what is the essence and scope of a public debate?, what issues were touched upon during the 2020 presidential debate in Poland?, how does the presidential debate translate into society’s evaluation of a presidential candidate? Secondary sources were used in order to achieve the expressed aim of the paper, The literature on the subject, including issues related to the analysis of public discourse, scientific publications, research reports and websites can be classified as secondary sources. The methods that will be used for research in the paper will be: a method of examining documents and descriptive methods. The technique of examining documents is based on examining the already existing source materials and usually takes place in the field of formalized groups. Typically, such research is carried out in organizations or enterprises, where the foundation of operation are legal acts, regulations defining the profile and method of activity, and official documents. Such a technique finds wide application in various fields due to its versatile nature. In fact, every available document can be the subject of research and, at least in a specific part, present a given situation. The paper consists of three parts. The first allows getting acquainted with the topic of public discourse in theoretical terms. In addition, the basic elements of public discourse between representatives of the political elite are also presented here. The second part describes the public debate before the first round of presidential elections in 2020 in Poland. The main issues discussed during the debate and the candidates’ statements were described, with particular emphasis on the responses of Andrzej Duda and Rafał Trzaskowski. Efforts were also made to present elements and issues that were missing from the public debate. The third part is a complementary part and is a short description of the public debate before the second round of the 2020 presidential elections in Poland. The ending summarizes the whole work, which is a summary of conclusions that have been drawn from own research and theoretical considerations included in the theoretical division of the work.

Why is it so good when it is so bad – integration activity of local government units in agglomerations in the Czech Republic and Poland

When pursuing the aim of the paper – to determine the sustainability of cooperation between local governments in agglomerations – an attempt was made to establish: What is the future of cooperation between agglomerations in the Czech Republic and Poland? Do partnerships under Integrated Territorial Investments foster a culture of cooperation? What kind of barriers must be overcome by local governments in connection with integration activities in agglomerations? The paper uses the comparative and diagnostic survey methods (an online survey in the Czech Republic and a postal survey in Poland). The empirical research was conducted among the members of the structures of Integrated Territorial Investments. It was found that integration problems in agglomerations include: financial difficulties of smaller municipalities, dominant position of the main city/cities, leadership style, trust, authorities’ fears about limiting their independence in the field of cooperation, influence of political views on relationships.

Sexuality education in Poland and in educational systems in selected countries – model solutions and international initiatives

The article is aimed at the analysis of literature, international documents, legal regulations and research reports on the implementation of formal sexuality education in selected countries. There are many contradictions among researchers about the definition of sexuality education, its scope, the age from which it should be taught and learnt, people who should be its providers, its content and forms. These discrepancies are also present in the public sphere, where two strongly polarized discourses (the conservative and liberal) exist. National policies regarding sexuality education vary in the European Union. In some countries sexuality education has the status of a compulsory subject, is regulated by relevant acts, similarly to teachers training for this subject. In others, sexuality education curricula lack solid legal and theoretical basis. The analysis of selected documents and acts shows that the most effective type is the holistic sexuality education, which being part of the cultural sensitivity approach, addresses the development of knowledge and skills of education recipients, as well as the elaboration of appropriate attitudes towards positive sexuality and sexual and reproductive health. The existing research indicates also that the availability of data on sexuality education should be improved and further analysis is needed to enable better assessment of the situation, to ensure the evidence-based policy creation and strengthen the best identification practices.

Religiousness and the sense of identity of students from the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia

The subject matter explored in the article include the issues related to religiousness of university students. This category comprises their denominational structure, their attitude to religion, their self-evaluation of the essence of religion in life, the frequency of participation in religious practices. These categories are shown in relation to their sense of identity. The research with the use of the survey method was conducted among students from the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia who live in culturally diverse territories. The research results show the ongoing changes in Polish and Slovak societies. Young people take advantage of the possibility of making choices and their choices concern not only education and professional paths, but also the beliefs, behaviour and activities in the religious sphere. The surveyed students’ freedom of choice is manifested, among others, in their sense of a multidimensional identity and in the consciousness of belonging to the Church. Among the surveyed university youth – in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia – one can observe the individualization of religiousness in the form of the departure from religious affiliation, as well as in “belonging without faith”.

The real system of government in Poland after the country’s accession to the European Union

The subject of research presented in the article is the system of government in Poland. The considerations concern the relationship between the normative solutions defined in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997 and the influence of the EU on the modification of political solutions in Poland. It was hypothesized that after Poland’s accession to the EU, the system of government in Poland changed in terms of political practice. It has been shown that functioning in the EU resulted in a departure from the characteristic rationalization of the system of government and bringing it closer to the parliamentary model. The prediction presents possible further directions of modification of the system of governance depending on the evolution of the EU. The research was based on the following methods: institutional-legal, systemic and comparative.

Romania and the alliance with Poland 1918–1921. The article presents Romania’s stance on the alliance with Poland in 1918–1921. Bucharest’s interest in concluding such an agreement resulted mainly from the assessment of the Soviet threat to Romania.

The aim of the paper is to analyze and assess the credibility of American military security guarantees for Poland in the context of the war in Ukraine. This applies to the actions taken by the United States to increase Poland’s security after the aggressions in 2014 and 2022, as well as the reality of using the US Armed Forces to defend Poland in the event of a possible attack by Russia. As part of the research, interviews were conducted with scientists and experts from research centers in Washington, D.C. and New York. Although the United States has not met all of Poland’s security expectations, it has so far fulfilled its allied commitments. Besides, the American authorities unequivocally ensure that they will defend every inch of NATO territory, including Poland, which is in line with the strategic interests of the USA and the belief of the vast majority of American researchers.

General Inspectorate of the UPR Army: Creation, institutionalisation, specifics of functioning (1920–1921)

The article reconstructs the process of creation and specifics of the activities of the Inspectorate (General Inspectorate) of the Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in 1920–1921, which became one of the important steps on the way to creating the institutional foundations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the modern era and increasing the level of combat readiness of its units. In September 1921, the commander of the 3rd Iron Rifle Division, colonel-general Oleksandr Udovychenko, was appointed to the position of inspector general of the UNR Troops, who was well acquainted with all the difficulties that the Ukrainian military had to face. Based on the results of his inspections of the camps, O. Udovychenko prepared reports in which he highlighted the actual condition of the internees (combat conditions of the units, living conditions, provision of clothing and food, moral and psychological condition and mood of the soldiers, the intensity of cultural and educational work in their environment, etc.). These reports were addressed to the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the Minister of War, allowing them to understand the real situation in the internment camps, and accordingly take the necessary measures to normalize it. During the entire period of internment, the

Specificity of political science research in Poland

The aim of the article is to examine whether and what are the characteristics of political science research and reflection conducted in Poland. To achieve this, two dimensions of specificity were distinguished, namely disciplinary specificity (features that distinguish political science from other disciplines, especially those within the social sciences) and local specificity (characteristic features of Polish political science compared to the discipline practiced in other countries, particularly Anglo-Saxon). The specificity of Polish political science was then analysed in four fundamental areas that determine the discipline’s identity: 1) the subject of research, 2) research methods, 3) subdisciplinary structure, and 4) structure of theories functioning within the discipline.

The paper proposes new models of neighbourhood governance and their typology, which enable to understand, categorise and compare the neighbourhood governance structures in the urban areas. The models were based on the institutional and functional setting, in which the bodies created, their competences and instruments for their implementation, along with the amount of financial means at their disposal define the character of the model. As a result, three alternative models were created (administrative, intermediate, and participative). The second part contains the results of research conducted in 66 Polish county cities. Their neighbourhood governance systems were categorized and put into the frames of the proposed models. It was proved that only Warsaw implemented the administrative model, and most of the cities practice the intermediate and participative models.