Polish Politics Of History In The Assessment Of The Contemporary National Movement

The aim of this article is to analyse the political thought of the contemporary National Movement in terms of politics of history. The main research hypothesis assumes that the National Movement promotes its own vision of politics of history. The properly shaped politics of history is primarily intended to shape national identity and facilitate the definition of boundaries of the national community. The actions taken by other political entities operating in Poland were assessed from this perspective. They were often accused of conducting anti-national activities. Liberals were criticised for ignoring history and accepting its critical form, while conservatives were accused of lacking organisational capacity and being submissive to competing models of the politics of history shaped by other nations. Hence the offensive character and the justification for using the language of disfavour or even hostility and hatred. The national interest, remaining the main category of political thought, often became an argument that made polemic or discussion impossible. Attempts to pass over uncomfortable historical events or to shift meanings were not avoided either. The differentiation of national groups facilitated discussion within the milieu, but it practically did not play an independent role within Polish political thought, reinforcing the message associated with the conservative model of politics of history and, in the political sphere, often supporting the activities of Law and Justice. Recognising the usefulness of politics of history, however, it was emphasised that it is not a shortterm political event-type activity but a long-term political work.

“Our lack of programme was in a sense also our programme” – political thought of the Free Trade Unions of the Coast

The Free Trade Unions of the Coast were one of the most important organizations of the pre-August opposition. The purpose of the article is to reconstruct the political thought of the organization and to answer questions about who its exponents were, how they perceived the reality of the Polish People’s Republic and how they planned to change it. The concepts built by the WZZ of the Coast have been contrasted with other programs of such organizations in Poland. Also pointed out are the programmatic themes of the WZZ that remain relevant today. The article uses an analytical method of abstracting individual ideas contained in the political output of the members of the organization in question and reconstructing them as a certain ideological whole. The conclusions recognize that the WZZ of the Coast had a primarily worker-oriented and practice-oriented character, which distinguished it from the more intellectual KOR and ROPCiO. Also important to the organization were the traditions of patriotic socialism derived from the Polish Socialist Party and the events of December 1970.

The Second Chamber of the Polish Parliament in the Concepts of the Polish People’s Movement

The objective of the article “The second chamber of the Polish parliament in the concepts of the Polish people’s movement” is to analyze the issue of the Second Chamber of the Polish Parliament in the political thought of the People’s movement. The People’s Party supported a unicameral parliament. The Second Chamber reappeared in the 1930s as a Chamber of Commerce or Local Government (similarly in the Third Polish Republic). However, in practice, they voted for the adoption of subsequent constitutions, in which the Senate was present. This was not the expression of their political thought, but of their ability to make compromises and put the interests of the state above party particularism.

Visions of external and internal security in the political thought of peasant parties in the Second Polish Republic

Polish political thought of the interwar period basically focused on the achievements of two political camps: the right-wing one centered around National Democracy and its leader Roman Dmowski, and the Belvedere camp led by Jozef Pilsudski. The other political currents, except for the extremes, presented less comprehensive concepts of state and regional security, and both external and internal security. All serious political currents, excluding the extreme and nationalist ones, were united by the desire to fight for Poland’s national security. The unfavorable geopolitical position of the country and the threat coming from the two strongest neighbors (Germany, the USSR) were demonstrated. High hopes were attached to the idea of collective security, in particular, the activities of the League of Nations or regional agreements. The dangers to Poland’s internal security arising from the nationality structure of society (about one-third are national minorities and a large part of them living in compact clusters), social differentiation, including material poverty (the influence of extreme ideologies), district differences (the effect of partitions), and political divisions, were seen as great for Poland’s internal security.