Trade unions in Poland have not built the stable and long–term relations with political parties as are observed in Western democracies. By analysing the historical and symbolic background of the transformation to a democratic civil society and free market economy, political preferences of working class, trade union membership rates, and public opinion polls, we argue that, in case of Poland, the initial links between political parties and trade unions weakened over time. Polish trade unions never had a chance to become a long–term intermediary between society and political parties, making the Polish case study a double exception from the traditional models. 

Western Europe of the early 21st century is going through a process that is sometimes referred to as “the arrival of the Third Wave civilization”, that is the information civilization. The civilizational transformations result in two “revolutions” – post-national and post-industrial. Just like the 19th-century national and industrial revolutions, they involve deep social changes and consequently provoke resistance and a wave of counter-mobilisation against the upcoming “new order” – global, post-national, and post-industrial. The basic assumption of this article is that the classical theoretical schemes developed by Stein Rokkan and Seymour Lipset may come as analytical tools useful in explaining contemporary political phenomena. Rokkan’s theory seems to be the analytical model that is still helpful in explaining the election behaviours as well as political conflicts and divisions present within current political systems, and its heuristic power is high.

Transformacja współczesnego społeczeństwa związana z przejściem do tzw. społeczeństwa informacyjnego skutkuje kształtowaniem się nowych podziałów społecznych. Można wskazać na kilka najważniejszych linii podziałów i konfliktów oraz na ich polityczne konsekwencje. W artykule autor stara się wskazać najważniejsze podziały społeczne politycznie doniosłe (social cleavages), które są efektem dwóch „ponowoczesnych” rewolucji: „postindustrialnej” i „postnarodowej”. Analiza nowych podziałów socjo-politycznych pozwala na lepsze zrozumienie sukcesów ruchów antyestablishmentowych.