Massive student protests in South Africa in the past few years, largest since the times of the anti-apartheid struggles, raised several questions for political scientists. Are we witnessing a generational change? Or are they a sign of a broader global shift towards “assertive citizenship” present in advanced democracies and democratizing countries? To answer these questions, this paper examines the levels of political support and nature of political participation among the young generation.
The paper also points out that generational change is not immediately visible in public opinion polls but is a process of a gradual narrative construction. Protests brought with them a challenge to the founding narrative of a united Rainbow Nation and reconciliation with the past, leading to a fracture in democratic stability. For the democratic project to succeed, it is essential that the national project in South Africa does not fall apart.

It is difficult to characterize Ukrainian society as fully active or passive, as, on the one hand, public participation and involvement in political life as well as large mobilization in situations where civil interests are violated are clearly visible, and, on the other, we can notice a decrease of political activity as a consequence of these events. The aim of the present work was to analyze and explain the specificity of the functioning of Ukrainian society in the years 2000 – 2012. The study was conducted with the author’s own designed tool based on the concept of ideal types developed by Max Weber. The analysis of political apathy used a dissonant category of political activity and the conclusions were drawn on the basis of whether the legislation of Ukraine promotes an active attitude of society and the extent to which the provisions of the law are reflected in real involvement of Ukrainian citizens in political matters. The results show that participation of Ukrainian society in different forms of political activity does not entail its full realization, while the fact that Ukrainian citizens got involved in public affairs excludes the recognition of Ukrainian society as fully apathetic. Thus, in the case of Ukraine, we are dealing with a hybrid society characterized by political activity with elements of political apathy.

Niniejszy artykuł traktuje na temat społeczeństwa obywatelskiego jako potencjalnego instrumentu mogącego wpłynąć na podniesienie jakości demokratycznego systemu politycznego. Ukazanie źródeł sfery obywatelskiej oraz wskazanie na czynniki ją sankcjonujące, poprzez wykorzystanie koncepcji kapitału społecznego, umożliwia pogłębioną analizę relacji społecznych w wymiarze społecznym, jak i politycznym. W tym celu należy odwołać się do szerokiego dorobku badaczy z zakresu nauk społecznych, których efektem będzie modelowa analiza zjawiska tworzenia się społeczeństwa obywatelskiego oraz jego potencjalnych efektów dla całego systemu politycznego.

Celem analizy jest stwierdzenie czy zmiany, które zostały wymuszone regulacjami ustawowymi, rekomendacjami skierowanymi do partii politycznych lub zmianami świadomości społecznej, polegające na zwiększeniu liczby kobiet w parlamentach, wpłynęły na wzrost liczby żeńskiej części społeczeństwa w innych sferach reprezentacji politycznej. Czy przekładają się na zwiększenie liczby pań nie tylko w parlamencie, lecz i na wiodących stanowiskach, takich jak funkcja prezydent, premier czy ministerialna? Przegląd piśmiennictwa, raportów i danych z wybranych państw Europy dowodzą, że wprowadzenie przymusu czy zachęt ze strony państwa skierowanych w stronę podmiotów polityki zaowocowało co prawda zwiększeniem reprezentacji kobiet w polityce, lecz nie wpłynęło w równie dużym stopniu na powierzanie paniom stanowisk kierowniczych w resortach. Dociekania czy i dlaczego kobiety są rzadziej zatrudniane na eksponowanych stanowiskach wydają się być istotne. Choćby z uwagi na fakt, że od wprowadzenia przepisów czy wytycznych dotyczących zasad wyrównywania szans płci w wielu państwach minęło sporo lat, a ich oddziaływanie nadal wzbudza kontrowersje.

Changes in Social and Political Order and Their Impact on the Democracy

This article analyzes the rise and diffusion of the radical changes in the fields of international relations and social security that pose a challenge for capitalist representative democracy. This concept reflects the simple idea that the era characterized by strong global economic influences, worldwide aging population, longevity and longer life expectancy, changing labor markets, migration, technological and communications developments, mobility and transportation gives no reason to believe in representative democracy as the future of the world. This article suggests a new point of view on the discussion of the factors that mostly influence social order, social security, labor markets and democracy.

The Right to Participate. Introduction to the Analysis of Constitutional Solutions in the Third Polish Republic in the Context of the Concept of Open Democracy

One of the basic elements that distinguish open democracy is civic participation, understood quite broadly, as it covers all civic activities, including non-election activities. Such a wide range of participatory rights was also included in the 1997 Constitution of the Republic of Poland. However, while in the case of open democracy, there were postulates referring to participation as an obligation of citizens towards the community, in the basic law it is limited to civil rights. The aim of the article is to present the characteristics of the phenomenon on both planes.

The article analyzes how personality determines the civic activity of young voters in Poland. To check this, empirical research combining Big Five traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, intellect) and, unlike other studies, four types of civic activity (social commitment, political participation, electoral participation, individual political activity) was conducted. The OLS regression analysis revealed a significant effect of extraversion on most manifestations of civic activity. Those who score higher on this trait were more likely to involve in individual political activity, social commitment, and political participation. Moreover, intellect was associated with individual political activity, while emotional stability had no significant impact on civic activity. The study also discovered some dependencies with the other Big Five traits. Agreeableness positively influenced social commitment and electoral participation, while conscientiousness increased political participation.