- Author:
Jacek Wojnicki
- Institution:
Uniwersytet Warszawski
- Year of publication:
2014
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
115-135
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2014.03.05
- PDF:
ppk/19/ppk1905.pdf
Original solutions of government systems on the example of the Vietnam
System of political Democratic Republic of Vietnam (official name state) from 1946 year after world war is in result of imposing from under French occupation on it two factor begin forming – liberation and conquests of authorities by communist group. It model on regulations in constitutional solutions from other states of people’s democracies dating. Year was turning point in history of Vietnamese state systems 1976, which has been set reunification of Vietnam. New state has accepted modified solutions of hitherto existing constitutions only – Socialist Republic of Vietnam easily. Authoritarian character of state belongs to have in mind functioning political system analyzing and in state apparatus of Communist Party of Vietnam predominating role.
- Author:
Radosław Marzęcki
- Institution:
Uniwersytet Pedagogiczny im. KEN w Krakowie
- Year of publication:
2017
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
130-147
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/athena.2017.55.07
- PDF:
apsp/55/apsp5507.pdf
W niniejszym artykule autor przedstawia problem kryzysu legitymizacyjnego współczesnej demokracji. Dane empiryczne wskazują, że obywatele wielu skonsolidowanych demokracji stają się dzisiaj coraz bardziej nieufni (cyniczni) wobec wartości, jaką jest demokratyczny system polityczny. Okazuje się, że problem ten dotyczy dzisiaj młodszych pokoleń obywateli. Autor próbuje odpowiedzieć na pytanie o to, jak młodzi ludzie (studenci) postrzegają i oceniają system polityczny w Polsce, także stara się przedstawić szerszy społeczny kontekst legitymizacji demokracji. Dlatego też analizuje związek pomiędzy preferowanym modelem władzy a poglądami na skali przekonań autorytarnych/demokratycznych.
- Author:
Sebastian Kubas
- E-mail:
sebastian.kubas@uj.edu.pl
- Institution:
Uniwersytet Jagielloński
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0024-6679
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
343-363
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.02.18
- PDF:
ppk/54/ppk5418.pdf
The Decline of the Postwar Constitutional Paradigm: Review Article of Constitutional Democracy in Crisis?, eds. M.A. Graber, S. Levinson, M. Tushnet, ISBN-13: 978-0190888985, ISBN-10: 0190888989, Oxford University Press, New York 2018, pp. 738
“Constitutional Democracy in Crisis?” published in 2018 by Oxford University Press significantly enriches contemporary debate on constitutional topics. This review article briefly outlines the volume edited by M.A. Graber, S. Levinson and M. Tushnet. What makes this book distinctive is its critical approach to the present status of constitutional democracy, which I associate with the influence of the editors whom I count among the most inspiring current constitutional thinkers. Moreover, this is a truly collaborative effort, not just a collection of papers. An impressive array of contributors produced a detailed study on the apparent weakening of many constitutional democracies around the world. Deeds and refusals to obey the law were written down which makes this volume a chronicle of the erosion of democracy during the first two decades of the 21 st century. I argue that the book also shows the decline of the postwar constitutional paradigm and the crisis of the academic reflection about the constitutional law. In this sense the book is like a snapshot of the transitional moment between the discredited past and an unknown future. I expand this theme in the second part of the review drawing on authors such as U. Mattei and L. Nader (the illegality of the rule of law), M.F. Massoud (the use of law to maintain power), F.J. Urbina (a critique of proportionality and balancing), A. Sulikowski (the tension between the constitutional thinking and the modernity), L.M. Seidman (the constitutional disobedience), M.P. Markowski (the damaging role of values in the political process), J. Dukaj (the politics in the era of post-literacy).
- Author:
Krzysztof Gawlikowski
- Institution:
Uniwersytet SWPS
- Year of publication:
2019
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
50-78
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ap201903
- PDF:
ap/22/ap2203.pdf
Some methodological difficulties in studying and analysing China
The study presents various factors which obstacles adequate description and analysis of Chinese realities in Western scholarly literature. The first factor presented in the article is the psychological mechanism of a “mirror”. As Lynn T. White suggested, since the 17th century, that Westerners look at China not through a ‘window’ but through a ‘mirror’, in which their own fears or most treasured ideals are refl ected, not China itself. Hence their descriptions of China refl ect first of all their state of mind. Peter Hays Gries and Stanley Rosen add to this metaphor another one, that of a procrustean bed. According to these authors, contemporary Western scholars procede like ancient Procrustes who made his captives fit his bed cutting their too long limbs or stretching these too short, in order to adapt Chinese realities to the Western schemes. Sebastian Heilmann and Matthias Stepan in order to explain Western mistaken views of China and expectations presented six wrong assumptions concerning developments in China. Their list is controversial, but it is true that on the Western side there are numerous wrong assumptions concerning China and other Asian states. Thus the Chinese realities are described in a wrong way, and the predictions of future developments are also false.
The Author put an emphasis on scientific categories and terms elaborated in Europe and the States and considered “universal”, which, however, are not adequate to the Chinese realities. Hence their use results in falsification of descriptions and makes previsions based on them – groundless. He distinguishes two essential kinds of categories and terms borrowed from the West but inadequate to the Chinese realities. The first constitutes the terms which significance does not fit to the Chinese realities, as “language”, “religion”, historical epochs such as “antiquity”, “,Middle Ages”, etc. The second constitutes the terms which meanings involve cultural values. Many of them are difficult to translate into Chinese and they acquire different meanings in the context of Confucian heritage. The Author analyses from this perspective: “human rights”, “democracy” and “freedom”.
Western scholars are also often mislead by Chinese sources. The study indicates another factor, which facilitates great misunderstandings. According to the cultural norm of the Confucian civilisation there is a “proper façade” presented in public, behind which there are hidden “internal realities”. Of course, such differences could be detected in each culture, but in highly ritualistic Confucian civilisation this distinction is essential, and both parts constitute “complex realities”, whereas Westerners presume that the façade constitutes a whole and complete reality. The Author presents as an example centralised, unitary Leninist state in Chin that is – in his opinion merely a false “public image”, whereas in reality there operate more or less innumerable quite autonomous units, which in fact are not subordinate. Under such circumstances all decisions must be consulted and negotiated among them, like in a federal system, although it does not operate formally. The Westerners also misleads themselves considering their peculiar civilisation as “universal”, whereas there are various civilisations, which will not amalgamate during the modernisation processes. Hence various societies function and change in their own ways, different from the western schemes and expectations.
The study indicates that the West still predominates and presents its civilisation as universal. However, its predomination faces growing resistance and numerous scholars recognise the existence of numerous civilisations, which will also develop in the future. The author enumerates the most significant concepts such as “dialogue among civilisations and cultures” adopted by the United Nations in 1989, Huntington’s warning against imposing western norms on other civilisations, which may result in their ‘clashes’, the concept of the Axial Age, of Multiple Modernities, and so on. The road to an equal status of all civilisations is long and tortuous. The elaboration of universal scientific categories and principles is even more difficult, and it is, perhaps, a task for future generations of Asian scholars.
- Author:
Ryszard Balicki
- E-mail:
ryszard.balicki@uwr.edu.pl
- Institution:
University of Wrocław
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9192-908X
- Year of publication:
2020
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
159-166
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.06.12
- PDF:
ppk/58/ppk5812.pdf
Elections are nowadays treated as a symbol of a democratic order. However, this view is not true. The institution of elections also occurs in states that are far from being a democracy. However, their course and functions significantly differ from the elections carried out in democratic countries. As it has been shown in the article, the analysis of the title issue becomes particularly important due to the growing group of countries referred to as hybrid regimes.
- Author:
Rafał Czachor
- E-mail:
rczachor@afm.edu.pl
- Institution:
Krakowska Akademia im. Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5929-9719
- Year of publication:
2021
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
261-276
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2021.03.17
- PDF:
ppk/61/ppk6117.pdf
Russia’s Constitutional Reform of 2020
In 2020 took place the most serious constitutional reform in the Russian Federation. The amendments result in the strengthening of the President in the political system, enable V. Putin to maintain power until 2034 and introduce some other significant changes. The aim of the following paper is to present the circumstances of the reform, the contents of the amendments, and their overall summary. Particular attention was paid to the following issues: relations among main institutions of state power, the place of international law in the sources of Russia’s law and other amendments related to constitutional identity and axiology. The reform results in strengthening the position of the President, even though still within the semi-presidential model of the political system, the diminished role of the Parliament, local self-government and deprivation of the autonomy of the judiciary.
- Author:
Ryszard Balicki
- E-mail:
ryszard.balicki@uwr.edu.pl
- Institution:
Uniwersytet Wrocławski
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9192-908X
- Year of publication:
2022
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
13-24
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2022.03.01
- PDF:
ppk/67/ppk6701.pdf
Shuttling to and From. The Polish Experience of Democracy
In many European countries, a crisis of the democratic model of exercising power is noticeable today. This phenomenon is also noticeable in Poland. In the article, the author presents the Polish road to democratic shaping of one’s own, referring to historical experiences from the times of the II RP and PRL. It also draws attention to the moment of a specific breakthrough, which took place in 2015. Since then, the rulers have taken steps to overcome the constitutional mechanisms that inhibit the arbitrariness of exercising power and are striving to centralize governments within one political camp.
- Author:
Szymon Wasielewski
- E-mail:
szymonwasielewski@gmail.com
- Institution:
Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego w Bydgoszczy
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3691-6451
- Year of publication:
2019
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
316-332
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/siip201917
- PDF:
siip/18/siip1817.pdf
Mother of God, Banish Putin. Feminists Against Authoritarianism in Russia
The events that took place in Russia at the end of 2011 – the rigged parliamentary elections and the nomination of Vladimir Putin as presidential candidate, his return to the Kremlin after four years, caused numerous protests on a previously unknown scale. According to various estimates, tens of thousands of dissatisfied citizens took to the streets of Moscow. They were led by Alexei Navalny and Boris Nemtsov, who was later murdered in 2015. The public support of the authorities and the condemnation of the protesters by Patriarch Cyril – the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, was met with a reaction from a now outraged society. On February, 21 2012, the famous feminist group Pussy Riot, staged a performance in the building of the Council of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. The performance was to be a form of protest against the informal alliance of „the throne and the altar”. This informal alliance has been present in Russia for many years, it obliges both sides to mutual support, especially in times of crisis. The trial of the three members of the Pussy Riot group – Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Ekaterina Samucevich and Maria Alokhina was strictly political, despite strict efforts of judges and prosecutors to change its character. Under the pretence of offending religious feelings, a political lynch was carried out against the three women. The real reason for such harsh actions, was disobedience against the head of the Russian state and standing in opposition to the authoritarian form of government. The phoney trial was treated as a warning to the system’s opponents, for them to think twice before undertaking any actions against the state authorities. Pussy Riot’s performance and its consequences have provoked many questions about the condition of the rule of law in Russia and the durability of Vladimir Putin’s regime. The article describes the earlier activities of Pussy Riot, background of the events preceding performance in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, a trial and the world’s response to the verdict. The research area durability and stability of political system in Russia during the presidency of Vladimir Putin and what it guarantees. The main hypothesis is the assumption that any manifestation or insubordination to the existing order in Russia is treated as an affront, and every person undertaking such action must be severely punished and stigmatized. The research method used in the article is an analysis of written sources.
- Author:
Ryszard Ficek
- Institution:
The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
- Year of publication:
2022
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
87-104
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.15804/athena.2022.75.05
- PDF:
apsp/75/apsp7505.pdf
The article analyzes the specificity and distinctiveness of authoritarian regimes operating in a global network of complex and multidimensional international relations. The author of the article asks the question: to what extent the dynamically changing paradigm of authoritarian ideology is responsible for the occurrence of various types of tensions, rivalries, and antagonisms caused by authoritarian regimes, the effects and consequences of which affect not only national and regional political conditions but also cause severe international repercussions? The applied research method allows exposing the complex particularity of authoritarian regimes in the context of the multidimensional dynamics of recent geopolitical changes. It is crucial when a number of modern ideological trends often downplay the brutal nature of many authoritarian systems and even treat the “authoritarian model” – especially in the form of socialist autocracies – as a “specific historical phenomenon” trying to resolve many complex and multiple political and economic issues.
- Author:
Paweł Przybytek
- Institution:
Badacz niezależny
- ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4694-6670
- Year of publication:
2022
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
322-358
- DOI Address:
https://doi.org/10.5604/cip202218
- PDF:
cip/20/cip2018.pdf
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.