<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>The objective of this analysis is to examine political party leadership with reference to the rules and results of its selection process in post-communist Poland. The exploration of these matters is based on qualitative and quantitative data concerning 16 different political parties and 80 selections they conducted in the years 1990-2013. The comprehensive research methods employed for this study ranged from in-depth analysis of particular election results to analysis of constitutional and structural party variations. This extensive investigation enables the reader to draw conclusions about Polish intra-party politics and to understand the vetting processes that Polish politicians must undergo. The findings indicate that political parties tend to address wider selectorates; and that the rules of selection are transparent, democratic, and empirically predictable.</abstract>

The Selection of Party Leaders in Poland: Democratisation of Rules and Predictability of Results

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>As interdependence grows, economic issues are increasingly political in their nature and impact, and political issues are increasingly economic. The interdependence is acute in issues that relate to international trade, and especially in the case of landlocked countries. Nepal is one such land-locked country, being between India and China, whose economy depends on the trade relations with its neighbouring countries. Two-thirds of Nepalese trade depends on India. The article presents a summary of Nepal-India trade cooperation, primarily the Nepalese dependence in trade and transit route to India and its effects. It also presents an overview of the trade pattern between the two countries and focuses on the trade embargoes by India. The article analyses the reason behind the embargoes of 1969, 1989 and 2015 and how the situations have been resolved. The embargoes imposed by India on Nepal seem to be more political in nature and their impacts are both political and economic. The Indian embargoes in Nepal follow an objective of compliance, deterrence and subversion. By analysing India’s pursuance of trade embargoes against Nepal, the article reaffirms that landlocked nations such as Nepal are susceptible to manipulation by geopolitical threats since neighbouring countries adjust trade ties or use trade ties to fulfil their political, security and economic interests.</abstract>

Trade Embargo as a Geopolitical Tool: A Case of Nepal-India Trade Relations

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>The main aim of the article is to present the relationship between urban policy and the marketing activity of the presidents of Wrocław, Wałbrzych, Legnica, and Jelenia Góra during the period of the 2014 local government election campaign. Analysis of the marketing activity of the presidents, conducted via chosen social media, enables presentation of the most important conditions and reasons for using urban policy in the competition for the support of citizens – potential voters. First, it will show that the marketing actions of a president during an election campaign are not the means of creating the image of a city but gaining the support of voters. Second, the analysis will prove that the election message constructed by presidents is based on the actions conducted in the various areas of urban policy.</abstract>

Urban Policy in Election Campaigns – The Case of the Presidents of the Biggest Cities of Lower Silesia

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Scholars have long debated the normative rationality, the temporal and legal aspects, and finally the limits and modern practices of parliamentary immunity. Therefore, this study does not insist on these classical interpretations anymore, but seeks to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the conceptual history of <italic>parliamentary immunity.</italic> Embracing two schools of thought, the Koselleckian interpretation and the Skinnerian variant, this paper aims to establish and clarify in detail the story of the concept of parliamentary immunity in order to elucidate, in a Socratic fashion, what we really mean when we say that a senator or a deputy benefits from legislative immunity. This inquiry will help us emphasise how this concept leaves behind its abstract notion and becomes an institution with strict rules and practices. In addition, considering the importance of this concept in the modern legislative and rhetoric histories and the frequency with which it is used, this study will question the meanings of <italic>parliamentary immunity</italic> in the light of different historical settings and will eventually trace out a single, coherent, and unified conceptual matrix. My contention is that once <italic>parliamentary immunity</italic> – seen as a conceptual construct only adjusting the balance of power between the executive and the legislative powers – becomes an institution with strong practices, it enforces the parliament as a unified and independent body and creates the prerequisite conditions for the democratic development.</abstract>

From the Concept to the Practice of Parliamentary Immunity<xref ref-type="fn" rid="fn1_w2aab2b8c10b1b7b1ab1aaAa">1</xref>

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>This article focuses on attitudes towards Russia in Bulgaria and Hungary — two EU and NATO countries with special relations to Russia — in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and military intervention in support of separatists in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine in 2014 and onwards. We begin by putting the relations to Russia in a historical perspective. We then set out to account for support for Russia with the help of survey data from the Post-Crimea Barometer (2015) — a unique survey focusing on geopolitical orientation (East versus West) and attitudes towards Russia in Latvia, Hungary and Bulgaria in a post-Crimea setting. Latvia is a special case because of its large Russian minority population; we therefore confine our comparison to Bulgaria and Hungary. The findings suggest that long-term attachment to Russia is decisive in Bulgaria. In Hungary, long-term attachment to Russia is important, but not sufficient to account for post-Crimea attitudes towards Russia.</abstract>

In the EU and NATO but Close to Russia — Post-Crimea Attitudes in Bulgaria and Hungary

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>University entrepreneurship is an idea that has gained a significant amount of support globally in the last 30 years and is seen as promoting reinvention, revitalisation, and simply remuneration for the universities themselves and their regions at large. But as universities begin to ramp up their technology transfer activities and start to commercialise their research, it is important to consider the regional context and the regional impacts that this can have. Technology transfer is important, but to truly transform economic “catch-up” regions to future leading regions, it cannot be the only goal of university entrepreneurship. As a result, larger perspective and more government, business, and university collaboration is needed. Using Poland as a focus area, this paper will summarise the concept and development of the entrepreneurial university and the policies needed for success, and show that the technology transfer activity of the university should be considered just one element of regional development strategies. It concludes with policy recommendations that may be useful for Poland and other regions.</abstract>

Entrepreneurial Universities and Regional Development: Policy Origins, Progress, and the Future, with a Focus on Poland

Report of the “Euarenas Conference on the Radical Side of Participation”, Wrocław, 22.09.2023

Book Review: “Leksykon Mediacji”, Edited By Magdalena Cetera &amp; Magdalena Tabernacka, Published By Difin Sp. Z O.O, Warszawa 2023 Isbn 978-83-8270-192-0

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The Belarusian minority in Poland is the second largest national minority, almost entirely concentrated in Podlasie. Qualitative research conducted by our team in 2020 allowed diagnosis of the reasons for the “invisibility” of Belarusians. The Polish state’s policy has always influenced the mood of Belarusians who, despite being passive in creating their own political representation, are often identified as the electorate of left-wing parties. Currently, eight years after the 2015 elections won by the PiS party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, Law and Justice), Podlaskie Voivodeship is sometimes referred to as a “bastion of the right”, especially of extreme right-wing forces. The aim of the paper is to determine the impact of the current political situation on the sense of identity of the Belarusian minority by referring to the results of the National Census of 2002 and 2011, as well as the circumstances and results of the 2021 census. The analysis pays attention to factors such as historical policy, religion, and axiology, which determine the “borderland identity”. The research method used is primarily a comparative method, but we also applied the results of interviews based on scenarios, conducted in selected Podlasie municipalities with at least 50% of Polish Belarusians.
</abstract>

Changes of Polish Democracy and their Impact on Polish Belarusians

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
This article explores some challenges of enforcing public accountability in Tanzania using secondary data. In so doing, the article employs the institutional perspective to identify and discuss five challenges within the institutional architecture that constrain enforcement of public accountability. The main argument is that most of the challenges facing enforcement of public accountability are resulting from the institutional architecture, which presents a paradox of two contradictory logics. One logic is that citizens are the principals with the power to hold their leaders accountable. The other logic is that the ability of citizens to hold their leaders to account must be restricted. Previous research offers explanations for accountability deficits in Tanzania. However, these studies under emphasize the contradictions in the legal framework and the role of political culture thereby obscuring an understanding of constraints to public accountability in Tanzania. This article expands this discourse by exploring the contradictions within the legal framework and between the formal and informal institutions in a way that subverts the ability of citizens to hold their leaders to account. The article also identifies the gap between the theory and practice of accountability to appreciate the role of political culture among citizens as a significant agency in enforcing accountability.
</abstract>

The Challenges of Enforcing Public Accountability: Experience from Tanzania

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The material scope of the research problem in the text encompasses selected issues concerning the content and sense of the elements characterizing the offense of establishing contact with a minor via ICT systems and telecommunications networks (also referred to as “grooming”) under Polish criminal law. In the legislation currently in force the offense of grooming is criminalized under Art. 200a §1–2 of the Criminal Code. The main purpose of the analysis is to perform a substantive criminal examination of the offense of grooming under Polish law, taking into account a practical case study. The analysis contained in the text is chiefly an overview, and includes mainly an institutional and legal analysis performed with the aid of textual, functional and doctrinal interpretations, which have been supplemented with the author’s own conclusions and opinions concerning de lege lata and de lege ferenda solutions. The institutional and legal analysis has been supplemented with an abstract case study of grooming. The presented abstract case study is helpful in considering selected legal problems, and ultimately in presenting example legal classifications of the described acts referred to as grooming.
</abstract>

Penal Policy on Combatting the Offense of Contacting a Minor Via ICT Systems and Telecommunications Networks in Poland

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The text provides a summary of several months of research on Russian false religious accusations against Ukrainians (Satanists, Satan) and actions (de-Satanization, Holy war, Jihad). Only the essential elements required for the conceptual analysis of the insufficiency of existing explications will be presented. The extensive evidence supporting the existence, falseness, and characteristics of the accusations will be supplied where necessary for the analysis. The analysis requires certain preliminary clarifications, namely: the evidence of the existence, falseness, and other attributes of the Russian accusations (section 1), the description and analysis of the most plausible explanations regarding the motives behind the accusations (section 2), and an argument highlighting the insufficiency of these explanations, which includes logical, factual, clinical, and interpretative objections (section 3). The underlying reason for the insufficiency of explanations can be attributed to various possibilities, some of which include the peculiarity of the phenomenon itself, particularly within the context of Russia, as well as the absence of applicable models for seemingly similar contemporary and historical phenomena such as a lack of democratic practices (section 3.2).
</abstract>

Russian False Religious Accusations of Ukrainians

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>The aim of this article is to analyse the role and importance of leaders in the Czech populist parties and movements, as well as determining significant factors which condition their institutionalisation. The main focus will be placed on the role of leaders in establishing their respective parties, their formal position and intraparty selection processes in VV, ANO, SPD and ÚPD. Examples of actions taken by the leaders of ANO and SPD show that building populist parties on the foundation of the strong, formal and official position of the leader in their party as well as becoming open to more members prove effective when it comes to the discussed issues...</abstract>

Party Leaders in the Czech Populist Parties and Movements

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>The article discusses conceptualisation of populism, Lithuania’s party system and electoral dynamics and their relation to the sustainability of populist parties. Special attention is given to Party Order and Justice, a former populist and protest party, and its leadership, namely to the issues related to scope and competencies of a leader’s intra-partisan power, leadership selection rules and history, development of leaders’ political careers and their electoral activity. The L ithuanian party system now exhibits moderate fragmentation without centrifugal tendencies. Voter volatility is still relatively high, yet the share of new parties has dropped to zero. The protest and populist parties in Lithuania went into the margins of political establishment. Popularity of the Order and Justice party has long been connected to the formerly impeached president Rolandas Paksas. His long-term leadership in the face of plummeting electoral support and an emphasis on his political martyrdom resulted in poor electoral performances, ensuing internal squabbles and his departure. Party Order and Justice’s internal regulations, however, remained favourable to strong leadership.</abstract>

Populist Parties in Lithuania: Curious Case of Party Order and Justice and its Leadership

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>This study examines how populist politicians made sense of the issue of fake news. They generally consider fake news as a valuable propaganda tool for their political interests. According to the Reuters Digital News Report in 2018, Turkey ranks first on the list of countries where people complain about completely made-up stories. The study researched how fake news is helping facilitate the rise of populism in Turkey. There is plenty of fake news aired by pro-government media. Therefore, the Turkish government is emerging as a suspect behind the fake news cycle. The fact is that most of the fake news is published for the benefit of the government. Research shows that, paradoxically, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is regarded as one of the most important populist politicians in the world. These two different indicators can be valuable data in revealing the relationship between fake news and populist politicians. The aim of this paper is to consider the significance of this apparent relationship between fake news and President Erdogan. In order to do this, a critical discourse analysis method was based on the fake news about the pastor Brunson case, because Turkish readers came across a huge amount of fake news regarding his case in pro-government media.</abstract>

Fake News as a Tool of Populism in Turkey: The Pastor Andrew Brunson Case

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>This article scrutinizes the position and the role of the party leader in two populist parties in Belgium: Vlaams Belang (VB) and Partij van de Arbeid — Parti du Travail de Belgique (PVDA-PTB). Following Mudde’s definition, populism is understood as a people-centered and anti-elitist ideology. The article argues that, if one accepts the notion that parties will organize themselves in line with their ideological beliefs, then one should expect populist parties to exhibit three main characteristics: leaders are directly elected by the party members, they have extensive powers with only minimal intra-party institutional checks, and they feature strongly in electoral campaigns. Applying this argument to the two Belgian populist parties, the article finds only limited evidence for the argument that populist parties mirror their ideology in the role and position of their party leader.</abstract>

Populist Party Leaders in Belgium: an Analysis of VB AND PVDA-PTB

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Rarely do twins play active and significant roles in politics. Yet in 2006 President of the Republic of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, designated his twin brother Jarosław to be prime minister. The aim of the current publication is to analyse the political activity of Lech and Jarosław Kaczyński in the context of the founding of PiS and its functioning. Their position inside the party is undisputed. Moreover, as there is no opposition inside the party and Jarosław Kaczyński achieves spectacular electoral results, his legitimisation as autonomous leader of the party is strengthened even further.</abstract>

Twins In Power. Jarosław Kaczyński and Lech Kaczyński as Leaders of Law and Justice

Referee's Report

Submission Guidelines

Open Access Policy

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Polish Political Science Review

Polski Przeglad Politologiczny

The Polish Political Science Review (PPSR), or Polski Przegląd Politologiczny, is an online, peer-reviewed (double-blind review process), open-access journal. All articles are published...

MNiSW

The Polish Political Science Review (PPSR), or Polski Przegląd Politologiczny, is an online, peer-reviewed (double-blind review process),...

Polish Political Science Review

Polski Przeglad Politologiczny

All Volumes and Issues in this Journal