The subject of the discussion below refers to the political situation in present-day Spain in the context of a broad systemic crisis (economic, political, values, leadership, discourse etc.). Moreover, it covers the media’s impact on the administrating elite who are also subject to the crisis. Th e research questions concern the nature of the interactions among the trifecta of political actors, the media and public opinion. The fundamental question is to what extent the crisis of political elites is a result of systemic dysfunction (a so called de-democratisation of political life) or an eff ect of the media’s activities, which have disclosed and publicised some of the dysfunctions of the above elites. This article will attempt to verify the hypothesis of the aforementioned de-democratisation process in Spain, the extent of the media presence in political life, and the mediatisation of their politics.

Polish and Spanish way of democratisations seems to be similar; however, nowadays Spanish government has to face up to the economic crisis. The main idea of the article is to compare political systems, especially how the local government invests money in so-called tourist attractions. As well as being useless, many of those objects are too expensive to be maintained. It is worth mentioning that some Polish local governments try to implement Spanish ideas (so-called “Bilbao effect”) to their environment, which is not only risky, but also unsuccessful.

The migrant crisis in Europe, which reached its zenith in 2015, made EU politicians realize the urgent need for a more effective migration policy that would rely more on supranational cooperation. Absence of this policy triggers migrant influx to Europe, in particular of unqualified labour force, and enhances illegal migration from which organized criminal groups profit enormously. Moreover, uncontrolled migration processes give rise to a number of social, economic, political and cultural problems all across the EU, and thus nurture the Eurosceptic mood. This leads to societal negation of the European integration project and provides fertile soil to the spread of radicalism and xenophobia. The aim of the study is to capture the position of European Parliament on recent migrant crisis. The Parliament, a democratically legitimate body, which claims the right to represent European societies, advocates adoption of systemic EU approach to migration which should be based on the respect of human rights and creation of legal migration pathways for refugees and workers needed by Europe. The solution of the present migrant crisis is sought by the EP in moving towards a common, comprehensive European immigration policy and enhanced solidarity of EU member states in response to increased influx of refugees from conflict zones.

The paper reports the conference on Australia, organized by the Polish research association based in Cracow (Australia, New Zealand and Oceania Research Association, ANZORA). The 2020 edition was already the 12th conference entitled Australia in the Time of Crisis: Climactic, Cultural, Economic, and Political Solutions. This year, the co-organizing unit was the University of Łódź, as every year, ANZORA promotes Pacific Studies at different Polish universities. The hosting faculty was the Faculty of International and Political Studies, with its Chair of British Studies and the Commonwealth Countries, as well as the “Australian Studies” Scientific Association. The panelists came from numerous disciplines and eight academic institutions from Poland and three from abroad. In total, there were 21 presenters: young scholars, experienced academics, independent researchers as well as enthusiasts of the Australian continent. Besides the University of Bergen in Norway, foreign speakers represented the Université de Bourgogne in France and the Australian Embassy in Poland. Three diplomatic missions have taken the honorary patronage over the event. Those were the Australian Embassy, the Embassy of New Zealand, and the Polish Embassy in Australia. The supporting institutions were the University of Bergen, the Polish Geopolitical Society, and the Academy of European Careers Foundation.

European Union Activity Against the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ukraine

The article is an attempt to look at the activity of the European Union against the COVID19 pandemic in Ukraine. The purpose of the research is to demonstrate successes and failures of the EU’s activity in this area. The main research question posed in the article is: How did the EU’s activity affect the course of the pandemic in Ukraine? The main research hypothesis is statement that the EU’s activity has caused a significant mobilization in implementing reforms in Ukraine, but so far it has not resulted in a decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country. The research has been based on a qualitative methodology, with the document analysis strategy. The research material consisted of primary acts of the EU’s institutions, government data of Ukraine and internet portals devoted to the issue. Research shows that the EU’s activity against the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine has proved successful in terms of the need to finance actions to overcome the negative effects of it.

The aim of the paper is to present strategies for minimising negative effects of the crisis caused by COVID-19 by state authorities of non-European countries in the first months after the announcement of the pandemic. The focus is on employment and labour market policy instruments. The research is comparative in its nature and was conducted using the desk research and discourse analysis methods. The source/unit in the analysis were the rapid assessments of the employment impacts of COVID-19 submitted to the International Labour Organisation. The study did not cover European Union Member States. Among the instruments and countermeasures typical of employment and labour market policies, few innovative solutions were identified, tailored to local specifics and taking into account the effects of the pandemic – the ecological crisis and the emergence of technological unemployment. The results achieved implicate a number of further questions relevant for public policy research. Research shows that COVID-19 contributes to deepening of the polarisation of society and existing labour market policy instruments in countries will not be sufficient to stop social exclusion due to unemployment especially in countries with a predominantly informal economy. Meanwhile, a category of people has emerged, due to the suspension of business activities and internal migration, whose status is also “suspended” (liminal) between work and unemployment.

Pandemia COVID-19 jest czynnikiem, który może w znaczącym stopniu zmienić sytuację na rynku pracy w Polsce. Obecnie – choć poza sporem pozostaje to, że takie przekształcenia nastąpią – można jednakże mówić raczej o pewnych prognozach co do przewidywanych kierunków i stopnia możliwych modyfikacji w tym zakresie, a finalny ich stan będzie efektem tak czasu trwania swoistego „zawieszenia” działalności szeregu firm, ale i pracowników, jak i efektywności podejmowanych działań – zarówno w sferze medycznej, jak i ekonomicznej, czy społecznej. Przedstawiony artykuł jest jednym z głosów w dyskusji na wskazany temat, toczącej się w przestrzeni publicznej, której celem jest nie tylko wskazanie potencjalnych wektorów rozwoju rynku pracy w trakcie i po trwającej pandemii, ale także zidentyfikowanie jego głównych problemów. Bowiem to właśnie w okresach znacznego pogorszenia koniunktury ujawniają się nieprawidłowości i zaniedbania, które mogą mieć istotny wpływ na rynek pracy i jego uczestników.

The migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border and its influence on the safety of Poland

Poland is under controlled migratory pressure on the border with Belarus. The influx of third-country nationals is supported by Belarusian state services. These activities are hybrid in their nature, and their aim is to destabilize the situation in Poland and the European Union. Although Poland has taken adequate measures to protect and defend its border, these events are a test of the effectiveness and efficiency of the functioning of the state security system. The purpose of this considerations is to present the events taking place on the PolishBelarusian border and their impact on the security of our state. In the methodological aspect, media and press reports, analysis of source materials and observation of the development of the situation were used. The result of the above is the fact that the migration crisis has not ended and continues to generate serious threats to Poland.

The notion of non-liberal democracy has become an inseparable element of the debate on the crisis of liberal democracy. For some scholars and journalists, non-liberal democracy is a consequence of the crisis of liberal democracy. It should be pointed out that when indicating the causes of this crisis in the economic, political, and cultural spheres, researchers rarely address the issue of the legitimacy of identifying democracy as non-liberal and its characteristics. Moreover, no one has initiated a broad debate on the possibility of a retreat from non-liberal democracy and the conditions that must be met to return to liberal democracy. That is why this paper attempts to describe the phenomenon called nonliberal democracy and analyse the conditions which should be fulfilled, both in political and social terms. It is to enable the return to the idea of liberal democracy.

The freedom of the press is one of the basic guarantees of a democratic state and, at the same time, a guarantee of political rights. After 2008, when the great financial crisis occurred, the Member States of the European Union began to significantly limit the rights and freedoms of citizens, including freedom of the press. The introduced restrictions are characteristic of a neo-militant democracy. However, they sometimes become a tool in the hands of antidemocrats. The aim of the article is to check how and why over the years, between successive crises, i.e., financial crisis, the so-called refugee crisis, the coronavirus pandemic, freedom of the press was restricted in Ireland and Great Britain. These are the countries in which initially the political and social effects of the economic crisis were not felt, but later rapid regression was observed. By using content analysis based on reports from the Reporters without Borders and Freedom House organizations, the study uncovers how and why the restrictions of freedom of the press changed. It locates the political structures of Ireland and Great Britain between the ideal types of neo- and quasi-militant democracy, depending on the goal of the restrictions. The research hypothesis is as follows: The restriction of freedom of the press in Ireland and the United Kingdom after 2008 shows that states are using the media system to pursue their particular interests by introducing solutions characteristic of quasi-militant democracies.

Local government in the crises in the Third Polish Republic. An outline of the issue

During the majority of Polish crises, apart from the reaction of the central authorities, the responses of the local institutions were also noticeable. The very creation of local government in 1990 materialized under conditions of the profound political, social and economic crisis. In 1997, the flood revealed the weaknesses in the administration of the commune. In turn, the strength of frustration that was accumulated in many local communities, manifested itself during the agricultural protests in 1999. The global financial crisis (2008–2009) has had the mild impact on Poland, but it caused a breakdown in many communes. Similarly, the effects of social unrest during the pandemic and the wave of refugees from across the eastern border (2020–2022) were unevenly distributed. This article is an attempt to address the questions concerning its title: did the crises turn out to be more of a threat or an opportunity for local communities? To what extent have the crises revealed the specific functioning of local government? Were local councilors and municipality staff able to work effectively under the extreme circumstances? How to assess the crisis experiences in the context of legal and institutional changes.

The paper sets out to deconstruct two concepts featuring in the title. Firstly, a novel definition of the welfare state based on economic ownership is presented, used then throughout the paper to examine the facts behind the widespread view of the welfare state finding itself in a crisis. Upon scrutiny, it turns out that empirical evidence to support the thesis under investigation is weak at best; neither globalisation nor Europeanization bring about any significant quantitative or qualitative worsening of welfare parameters. In addition, it is imperative not to put all the welfare states into one bag, as they in fact represent a plethora of diverse social-protection regimes.