The first and the second reform of federalism in the Federal Republic of  Germany – the amendments of the Basic Law of 2006 and 2009 in order to the legislative powers and financial relations of the Union and Länder

The text contains description and analysis of changes of 2006 and 2009 in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany concerning legislative powers and financial relations of federation and länder. The text begins with a description of advancing for over 50 years “process of policies’ merging”, described already in seventies of 20th century as a “trap”. Therefore, it was important to try to resolve the problem by two large amendments of the German constitution in 2006 and 2009 (i.e. the 1st and the 2nd reforms of federalism). The author describes assumptions and instruments applied by the first reform, ie. strengthening of legislative competences of the Union and länder, reducing the number of cases towards which the Bundesrat may apply the absolute veto, limiting so-called “mixed funding”, making “blocking up” of the Union and the countries through new regulation of matters more difficult by requiring the approval of the Bundesrat, as well as the adjustment of the Basic Law to the challenges of membership of Germany in the European Union. In this context the second reform of federalism was also the subject of analysis. The reform amended the system of mutual financial relations of the Union and countries and introduced a so-called “debt brake” (Schuldenbremse) but also limited some solutions which had been introduced three years before.

Human and citizen rights as moral and political indicator of German Federal Republic legal system

The end of Nazism lawlessness, proved – beyond reasonable doubt – that values which are sustainable and unbreakable exists. These values are getting older – as everything in this world, but does not become outdated. As a starting point shall be taken joint and individual experiences from National-Socialists period, which cannot be forgotten, especially from perspective of historical context: the state and society were impact by ideological experiment. The experiment had a common meaning – individuals disregard and cult of masses. Never individualism did not mean so few. And never the freedom of individual was so deficit commodity. When thinking deeper on this subject, it is – without any doubts, possible to assumed, that these past experiences had strong and thorough influence on authors of German constitution from 1949. It shall be emphasized that the opening word of the German Basic Law is: „The human dignity is irrebuttable”. From the point of legal system, it is striking, because in typical (and – commonly used in other democratic systems) opening constitutional provisions, we can read, to whom the power in the state is dedicated, or what is the legal form of state.

Celem artykułu jest analiza zależności pomiędzy procesami migracyjnymi zachodzącymi na obszarze państwa a jego „otwartością”. Poziom „otwartości” zostaje zdeterminowany, w zaproponowanym ujęciu, ściśle określonym układem relacji zachodzących na linii religia – społeczeństwo – państwo, które prowadzą do ukształtowania jednego z trzech porządków: asymetrycznego (Polska), pozasymetrycznego (Czechy) i symetrycznego (Niemcy). Zestawienie oraz porównanie trzech sąsiadujących ze sobą krajów członkowskich Unii Europejskiej (metoda komparatystyczna i systemowa) pozwala na uchwycenie i potwierdzenie obustronnych zależności. Pokazuje, że skala i dynamika procesów migracyjnych staje się predyktorem „otwartości” współczesnych systemów demokratycznych. Zdecydowanie najwyższym poziomem tak definiowanej „otwartości” cechują się Niemcy, będące, z jednej strony, przykładem symetrycznego układu relacji religia – społeczeństwo –państwo, a z drugiej, architektem europejskiej polityki wobec masowych ruchów ludności z Bliskiego Wschodu i Afryki Północnej.

Zarówno w wyborach do Bundestagu, jak i parlamentów krajów związkowych, frekwencja na wschodzie Niemiec jest niższa niż na zachodzie. Jest to jedna z pochodnych innego rozwoju tej części państwa (obszar byłej NRD), a zarazem dowód na „niedokończone zjednoczenie”. W artykule porównano frekwencję wyborczą w obu częściach RFN, próbując nakreślić przyczyny rozbieżności.
Mimo upływu lat różnice w poziomie frekwencji są widoczne. Należy to wiązać z innym wzorem zachowań politycznych na obszarze byłej NRD, innym postrzeganiem roli państwa w demokracji, demograficznymi następstwami zjednoczenia, jak i wyższym poziomem bezrobocia. Z kolei rozbieżności nie są zauważalne w wyborach do Parlamentu Europejskiego, co należy tłumaczyć mniejszym zainteresowaniem wyborców dla tego rodzaju elekcji.

In the last years, as a result of climate changes, plenty of transformations have taken place in the High North. Consequently, ice cap of the Arctic is melting at a very fast pace, and that means significant rise of sea levels as well as decreasing animals’ habitats. On the other hand, disappearing Arctic ice is opening new areas of exploitation for humans. The Arctic might also soon become the world’s most important reservoir of clean water and food. The warming is leading to changes in ecosystems, arousing a number of enquiries about territorial division of the region, its preservation and utilisation. The changes taking place in the Arctic pose a challenge on many levels: economic, social, security, and environmental protection. First of all, economic (access to probably the biggest deposits of oil, gas and precious metals in the world) and ecological (environmental protection) interests are clashing there. The North Pole, although with varying intensity, is becoming present in foreign policies of many countries. On the Old Continent, it has been noticed by the whole European Union as well as particular countries. One of them is Germany. Germany is interested in the region from the economic and ecological perspective.

Axiological determinants of the attitudes presented by students of aiding courses aimed at the elderly. The case of Poland and Germany – an intercultural perspective

Functioning in a culturally diverse world has become an everyday reality. European integration, globalisation, and migration of people have become contributing factors in this regard. In this context, a key role is played by intercultural education aimed at identifying, understanding, and supporting diversity. This article is empirical in nature. The survey objective was to diagnose and describe the attitudes and system of values of students of the helping professions towards older persons in Poland and Germany. The diagnostic survey was the research method used. Kogan’s Attitudes Towards Older People scale (Kogan OP Scale) and Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ) were used in the survey. The survey was conducted from October to December 2018. German students (200 persons) constituted the main group, while Polish students (167 persons) were the comparison group. The survey results revealed statistically significant differences between Polish and German students in their attitudes to older persons.

Organized crime in Italy and its impact on organized crime in some European countries

This article presents some Italian criminal organizations that have expanded their activities outside Italy. The factors influencing the shaping of criminal groups are also presented and the history of selected groups of this type is described. The origins of the word mafia were made. Types of organized crime were presented. The directions of emigration of Italian groups were indicated.

EU – Ukraine: Around Kiev’s European Aspirations. Selected Aspects from a German Perspective

The goals of the article are to discuss Ukraine’s aspirations for rapprochement with the European Union, especially after the „Orange Revolution” in 2004, and in the context of the conflict with Russia over Crimea and eastern Ukraine that began in 2014. In addition, to outline of Germany’s position toward the conflict and Ukraine’s relations with the EU. The author attempts to resolve the problem of Ukraine’s chances of joining the Union in a predictable perspective. First of all, scientific and press publications, as well as European Union documents were used.

A Good Start, but Still Far from the Podium. About the First Statutory Lobbying Regulations in Germany at the Federal and National Level

On January 1, 2022, two German laws on the regulation of lobbying entered into force. While the Bavarian law is the third regulation of this type adopted in the Länder, the German-wide statutory lobbying regulation is a novelty. The aim of this article is – apart from presenting the latest German lobbying regulations, which have not been described so far in the Polish scientific literature – to answer the question about their assessment against the background of the standards developed in the legislative and scientific achievements in the world. Do the latest German lobbying regulations meet these standards or, on the contrary, do they duplicate the errors repeatedly described in the literature? Or maybe these regulations also contain innovative solutions that should be copied in the lobbying regulations of other countries? Finally, do Länder laws differ from federal laws and how? The assessment of the German lobbying laws is ambiguous. On the one hand, it looks like their authors got acquainted with the literature on the subject, in which the model of optimal regulation was formulated, and German laws contain even innovative solutions. On the other – the shortcomings of the regulation outweigh its advantages – which was already signaled at the stage of legislative works. The laws deserve revision, but are a good start on the way to effectively regulate and scrutinize lobbying activities in Germany.

Characteristics of an authoritarian unit (Erich Fromm), with authoritarian personality (Theodor Adorno), with hard personality (Hans Eysenck) and dogmatic (Milton Romeach) and common features for these theoretical constructs

This article addresses the subject of Erich Fromm, Theodor Adorno, Hans Eysenck and Milton Rokeache theory characterizing personality particularly susceptible to the influence of authoritarianism, personality that combat democracy. In its first part there is the characteristics of these personalities, specifically authoritarian units (Erich Fromm), with authoritarian personality, hard personality (Hans Eysenck) and dogmatic (Milton Rozeach). The second part of this article is trying to find common features for these theoretical constructs. Mostly, however, it is a criticism of erroneous (in my opinion) thinking when creating these theories. I noticed that the creators of the majority of them not only describe personality types particularly susceptible to the influence of authoritarianism, but above all they condemn them. In practice, this comes down to attacking the extreme right. However, attention should be paid to several important issues that negate this attitude. With authoritarianism, only the right can be identified. The division of the right/left is not very sharp. In turn, authoritarianism does not always mean a lack of humanitarianism, intolerance, and persecution. Most of the above theoretical constructs indicate, in my opinion, it is wrong that the political features of a person acquire under the influence of the environment, the environment. However, they are not somehow inherited, genetically conditioned. In addition, I think that only a certain, smaller part of society has specific political views. And only among them there is a group of people with authoritarian tendencies. This part of a society that has unspecified political views can be a business – related political option, even authoritarian, if this option provides its benefits. The assumption that the political actions of society result from the internal features of individuals is another point with which it is difficult to (me) agree. In fact, the effectiveness of the ruling team decides.

Organizations and institutions in Munich for refugees – selected aspects

Russia’s war in Ukraine has been ongoing since 2014, but initially Russian actions took the form of a hybrid war. Ukraine was in peaceful relations with the rest of the world when Russia seized Ukraine’s Crimea without a declaration of war and waged war in Donbass. Its full-scale scope, launched on February 24, 2022, was unprecedented in post-war Europe and caused several million people living in the invaded country to leave Ukrainian territory. The purpose of this article is to show how organizations and institutions in Munich are addressing the influx of refugees into the city, including refugees from Ukraine. As a research hypothesis, it was assumed that in Germany, including Munich, the German experience of 2015 and subsequent years in accepting newcomers from the Middle East played a huge role in solving the problems of refugees from Ukraine after February 24, 2022. The basic research problems are contained in questions such as: what changes in asylum law have been made in Germany by the federal government; who in the city of Munich is entitled to assistance and what benefits does it cover?; what is the assistance to refugees provided by the Office for Housing and Migration in Munich?; what does the Office for the Prevention of Homelessness do?; what are the tasks of the Local Mediation Office?; what are the competencies of the so-called Social Service for the Deaf?; what is the scope of activities of the Office of Return Assistance?; what are the return offices in Bavaria?; what are the activities of the Office for Intercultural Work?; what is the scope of activities of the Foreign Qualification Development Service Center? The leading research method used in the research conducted is institutionallegal analysis.

“We enjoy frequenting seasonal resorts” – Polish travels to Prussian and German resorts (1850–1914)

This study examines written sources documenting Polish travels to German resorts from the the mid-19th century until the outbreak of World War I. The topic at hand encompasses multiple disciplines, including literary history and cultural anthropology. Among the resorts popular among Poles in the 19th century, Baden-Baden emerges as the most prominent German spa town which attracted the then elite of Europe. It gained its reputation due to the beneficial climate and hot springs as well as a diverse array of recreational activities. As the political situation deteriorated (the Kulturkampf, Prussian restrictions), Polish trips to German resorts came to be viewed in a political context. As a result, a campaign for boycotting „the baths” was launched in the Polish press. Written sources documenting Polish travels to German and Prussian resorts from the 19th and early 20th centuries provide insight into the historical context of the period, and offer a unique perspective on various political, economic, and social issues.