The concept of raison d’état (reason of state) is very popular in Poland, and it will apparently remain relevant as long as the Polish state exists. The idea is commonly used in official statements by politicians, political journalism, and in various government documents. Raison d’état is an ambiguous concept, which results from simplified and often popular opinions on what is and what is not the raison d’état. Conceptual chaos, intuitive judgments and notions appear to be the reason why political scientists are discouraged from systematized and in-depth studies on this political category. The paper is divided into three parts. The first part discusses definitions of raison d’état and the accompanying problems. The second one deals with the theoretical aspect covering the subjective, objective, temporal and spatial scopes of the concept. Two new definitions of raison d’état were mentioned which diminish the importance of the nation-state at the expense of international organizations. The third part presents methodological approaches in studies on raison d’état understood in two ways: as a system of vital interests of the state and as a category of political thought.

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.

Autorzy ukazują obszary badań z zakresu myśli politycznej analizowane przez polskich naukowców. Szukają przy tym odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy polskie badania nad myślą polityczną odbiegają od trendów prezentowanych w krajach anglosaskich. Artykuł ukazuje różnorakie spojrzenia na samą definicję myśli politycznej i kategorii pokrewnych, jak doktryna czy też ideologia. Analizując różne ujęcia badań nad myślą polityczną w Polsce, autorzy starają się odpowiedzieć na pytanie, czy możliwe jest uporządkowanie metod i technik badawczych na tyle, aby stanowiły uniwersalny model, którym mogą się posługiwać badacze. W polskim dyskursie naukowym w ostatnich latach mocno zaznacza się potrzebę wypracowania takich metod w obszarze nauk społecznych, które pozwolą unikać interpretacjonizmu. W artykule przyjrzano się wybranej i ograniczonej liczbie publikacji z obszaru badań nad myślą polityczną i ideologią w krajach anglosaskich, aby porównać, z jakimi problemami badawczymi mierzą się naukowcy w Wielkiej Brytanii czy też w USA. Autorzy zaprezentowali własną propozycję konceptualizacji w ujęciu linearnym etapów myślenia politycznego. W podsumowaniu stwierdzili, że odnosząc się do treści artykułów naukowych, można dostrzec podobieństwo analizowanych problemów zarówno w Polsce, jak i w krajach anglosaskich. Skonkludowali, że nie istnieje uniwersalny model badań myśli politycznej. Zdaniem autorów w Polsce nadal będzie się toczyła dyskusja na temat przedmiotu zainteresowania myśli politycznej, a także będą trwały poszukiwania definicji odróżniającej myśl polityczną od ideologii i doktryny politycznej.

Artykuł zawiera argumentację na rzecz wykorzystania w nauce o stosunkach międzynarodowych metod badawczych opartych na analizie struktur sieciowych. Wychodząc od ogólnej definicji sieci jako struktury złożonej z połączonych relacjami elementów, ukazuje jej odpowiedniość do opisu procesów i zjawisk o charakterze transgranicznym. Idąc dalej, rozważa komplementarność sieci w stosunku do kategorii badawczej systemu międzynarodowego i metody analizy systemowej, która przedstawia się jako szczególny przypadek szerszej klasy sieciowych metod badawczych. Analiza dotychczasowych, udanych prób adaptacji w naukach społecznych matematycznej teorii grafów, pozwala na zaproponowanie ogólnego modelu analizy sieciowej, który może okazać się użyteczny przy badaniu stosunków międzynarodowych.

Aktualnie antropologia pedagogiczna staje się integralną dyscypliną w procesie edukacyjnym. Człowiek jest badany z punktu widzenia historii i kultury, w okresie przemian politycznych i ekonomicznych oraz na każdym poziomie rozwoju społecznego. Współczesny świat jest niezwykle różnorodny i niejednoznaczny. Narastają nierówności społeczne na wszystkich poziomach, rośnie liczba ubogich, pojawiły się nowe światowe problemy migracji i uchodźców. Zobowiązuje to również antropologię pedagogiczną, aby pomagała pedagogom w szybkim i skutecznym rozwiązywaniu palących problemów związanych z edukacją i wychowaniem. Artykuł pokazuje, jak prace naukowe rosyjskiego filozofa Jerzego Szczedrowickiego mogą pomóc współczesnej antropologii pedagogicznej. Podano ogólną ocenę wkładu J. Szczedrowickiego w rozwój antropologii pedagogicznej i zwrócono uwagę na aktualność praktyk naukowych naukowca, które nie straciły aktualnie na znaczeniu i mogą być wykorzystywane zarówno w pedagogice, antropologii pedagogicznej, jak i edukacji międzykulturowej.

Art and science of creating a questionnaires in quantitative research. New reality and new challenges

The text enriches the theoretical reflection on the standardization of measurement tools in the methodology of social sciences. The need for this text is also, to some extent, didactic and organizing the reflection so far. This article presents the original concept of analyzing questionnaire questions on three following levels: content-related, logical, and psychological. The substantive / content-related level refers to the division according to the way of construction - structure, format - questions and/or answers. On the other hand, the logical plane is a division according to the functions given questions or groups of questions fulfilled in a broader context, i.e. concerning the whole questionnaire. The psychological plane was distinguished due to the intended or unintended but unavoidable emotional reactions evoked by the respondent). In the last part of the text, a reflection on the most common errors in research tools is presented and recommendations for avoiding them are formulated.

The development of the “natural law” movement during the Enlightenment era has influenced European legal thought and provoked discussions on the law interpretation method. In the 19th century, French and German legal scholarship developed different methodological approaches referring to some historical, social, and multidimensional aspects and foundations of law. The article explores the evolution of the main scientific positions on the method of interpretation of the law which have appeared in French jurisprudence in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. In France, from the early 19th century, the positivist school of exegesis dominated legal studies. In the half of the century, a new trend of scientific research was developed. The representatives of the current have pondered pluralism of the methods applied in legal research. Then, in France, we observe the rise of the “free scientific research” initiated by François Gény.

Ethical standards of the work of historians in the specific context of historical cognition

The existing „Code of Ethics for Employees” in Poland, as well as other documents prepared by representatives of all sciences gathered in research institutes of the appropriate reputation, do not in themselves distinguish between the specific characteristics of particular fields, especially between the humanities and nature sciences, The scientist in itself based on the general ethical standards in force in the European cultural circle. The purpose of this article is to attempt to exemplify the ethical dangers inherent in its scientific activity, and which derives from the specificity of the theory of historical cognition, whose verification differs fundamentally from the verification of conclusions formulated by rigorous sciences or social sciences based on statistical methods. This task was also undertaken with an indication of differences in the intensity of problematic ethical issues depending on the intent and object of historical research.

Methodology of historical-military research in the modern era. Selected issues

The article focuses on selected issues relating to the methodology of military historical research of the modern era. The considerations revolve around the way in which this research is framed today, based on previous findings, with particular attention to gaps in the study of particular military actions, weapons, logistics, etc. This has been highlighted at the various Forums of Military Historians since the first meeting in 1994.

History, archaeology and ethnography as disciplines unsuitable for the study of Slavic beliefs according to Dariusz Andrzej Sikorski in his „Religions of the ancient Slavs”

For the author of the book presented below, the topic of Slavic beliefs is only a pretext for formulating writing technique-related postulates. A discussion with D.A. Sikorski should not take place in the field of methodology, or the field of the substance, and even less in the field of extra-academic research motivations. A historian should give voice to the source accounts (which does not necessarily mean considering them historically reliable), and this is made possible by appropriate methods. D.A. Sikorski, on the other hand, believes that the method is secondary, as long as it leads to results that are consistent with the ‘state of the facts’, which in practice have nothing to do with the sources. His proposal, however, is unacceptable for it is characterised by unreliability, one-sidedness, undermining of source testimony and replacing it with one’s own fantasies in accordance with a preconceived thesis that „it is not known how it actually was, but it is known that the Slavs did not have their own beliefs”. The result is a methodological trap: positivism has been taken to its ultimate consequences and turned upside down, becoming voluntarism within which you can undermine whatever you see fit.