STUDIES AND ANYLYSES

Between cooperation, the game of independence as a conscious opposition. Historical policy in government-selfgovernment relations – selected aspects

Grzegorz Radomski
Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika

Summary: The aim of this article is to analyse the role of the local historical policy in the context of government/self-government relations. Referring to Max Weber’s category of ideal types, it is assumed that three types of relations can be discerned in the relations between government and self-government in the context of the above-mentioned policy: cooperation, striving for independence on the part of self-government and conscious opposition. I have assumed that it has an integrative, legitimising, ideological promotional character. It can also be used as one of the factors limiting the omnipotence of the central government. Drawing conclusions is made more difficult by the fact of the diverse activities undertaken by self-governments and the dynamically changing interactions between central government and self-government. The analysis of legal acts, selected examples of the policy of remembrance pursued by local authorities and the journalism leads to the conclusion that local historical policies are carried out in cooperation with the state administration. Recently, however, the dispute over sites of remembrance has been used to emphasise the independence of the self-government. Conscious opposition exists at the ideological level and is connected to a different vision of the past presented by self-governments dominated by political parties opposed to the government.
Keywords: self government, historical policy, government / self government relations, political parties

Political extremism in the attitude of Anders Behring Breivik – an attempt to analyze the influence of psychological factors

Mateusz Gąsiorowski
independent researcher

Summary: Terrorist attempts carried out on 22nd of July, 2011 by Anders Behring Breivik in Oslo and on Utoya island, targeting members of the Norwegian left-wing Labour Party, are the embodiment of “lone wolf ” terrorist acts. Anders Breivik became an ancestor and a symbol of modern terrorism and was a model for the next terrorists, for example Brenton Tarrant followed his tips to prepare his own terrorist attack in New Zealand. We can analyze the reasons for the attack on many levels, from political – his criticism of the left-liberal European authorities and his passion for conservative doctrines, particularly monarchy, criticism of Marxism, radical feminism and the influence of the Frankfurt School on contemporary centers of science. On the social level – his xenophobic and racist attitude against dissenters, ethnic and national minorities is analyzed through the issues of dysfunctional systems of internal, national and international security. In his manifesto – 2083 A European Declaration of Independence, he motivates his actions with passivity and even with the consent of the contemporary European authorities, to the mass migrations of Muslims, which according to him, threatened the Christian unity of Europe. However, the literature of the subject often ignores psychological factors, which, as the analysis below shows, played a significant role in molding the authoritarian, xenophobic and extremist personality of the Norwegian. The main goal of the article is to analyze the biography of the attacker and his manifesto in order to identify those psychological factors that influenced development of extremist attributes of the terrorist. One of the most important periods of personality formation is early childhood. Disruptions in this part of life undoubtably influenced the fate of Anders Behring Breivik.
Keywords: Anders Breivik, political extremism, narcisisstic personality disorder, authoritarian personality, paranoid schizophrenia

Musical tastes vs. political preferences of young Poles – research report

Wojciech Trempała, Anna Antonina Nogaj
Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego

Summary: In this article, the authors present a report of a quantitative empirical study devoted to the relationship between musical tastes and political preferences. The data collection process took place in 2019 on a sample of 831 students aged from 18 to 30. The respondents included in the measurements came from almost 50 academic centres across Poland. The research found a positive correlation between (1) preferred music genres and the level of acceptance of beliefs characteristic for an authoritarian personality; (2) preferred music genres and the manifested political orientation measured on the liberal-social vs. conservative-libertarian belief scale; (3) the level of acceptance of beliefs characteristic of an authoritarian personality and political preferences measured on the liberal-social vs. conservative-libertarian belief scale. Finally, it determined the probability at which the authoritarian personality and political preferences can be predicted based on the musical taste. The article also discusses the detailed extent of the determined relationships.
Keywords: music preferences, political orientations, authoritarian personality, cultural politics, political attitudes

Problems of national identity in Kazakhstan

Журасова Алтынай, Есеева Гульнара
M. Utemisov West Kazakhstan University

Summary: The article raises the thesis that in nationalising Kazakhstan, in addition to the Kazakhstani identity, the Kazakhstani identity is also claimed to be a national identity. At the beginning of the article the language policy, including the role and influence of the Russian language, and the dilemmas and difficulties of the transition to the Latin alphabet will be presented. In the second part, we will answer questions concerning religious policy. In the last part of the article we will analyze the Kazakh symbols, which are mainly focused on the past. These are historical images of Khans and/or figures of „Alash” party, historical events and historical homeland.
Keywords: national identity, religious identity, symbols, Islam, Kazakhstan, Kazakhs, Central Asia

Polish external security in the political concepts of League of Polish Families and National Movement

Tomasz Koziełło
Uniwersytet Rzeszowski

Summary: The aim of this article is to analyse the assumptions and objectives of Poland’s external security policy in the political concepts of the Liga Polskich Rodzin (the League of Polish Families) and Ruch Narodowy (the National Movement). These are two parties of the national camp, which during the Third Republic of Poland introduced their representatives to the parliament: LPR independently, while RN from the lists of Kukiz’15 and Konfederacja electoral committees. Both parties, thanks to their presence in the parliament, tried to change the reality by formulating and presenting to the citizens their vision of Polish politics from the point of view of national values. One of the elements of this vision was the concept of external security. LPR and RN considered the most important political principle for Poland to be guided by the national interest and the realization of certain postulates arising from this assumption. The article analyses the main and detailed goals that both parties set for themselves, the opportunities and threats that could facilitate or hinder their realization and the methods they used to achieve their aims. The article uses a testimonial analysis of political thought and a comparative method.
Keywords: League of Polish Families, National Movement, external security, political thought

The conception of maritime security of the European Union

Artur Kończal, Witold Kustra
Sztab Generalnego Wojska Polskiego, Akademia Sztuki Wojennej

Summary: The navy of each democratic country is a very important and inseparable attribute of creating and implementing its security policy. Therefore, an efficient and modernly equipped naval force is important for at least two crucial reasons: first, from a multidimensional approach to the threats and challenges facing the fleet, and second, from a proper understanding of the concept of a state’s maritime security. The article is devoted to the issues of maritime security of the European Union, in particular the maritime security strategy and the operation of modern naval forces in the context of the maritime operational environment, as well as the functions and tasks of the maritime component. The article presents the characteristics of the assumptions of the maritime security strategy of the European Union, analyzes the maritime operational environment and its impact on the possibilities and nature of future activities of the maritime component.
Keywords: European Union, maritime safety, maritime component, strategy of the European Union, policy of the security and defense

Russian Strategic Thought

Piotr Krzykowski
Akademia Sztuki Wojennej

Summary: Russia’s great-power ambitions are reflected in strategic documents, which, depending on the events affecting its security. These documents evolved and took on a more confrontational character, emphasizing Russia’s desire to introduce a new architecture of international security. The actions taken by Russia clearly demonstrate its ambitions to change the world order and order created after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russian authorities use a number of different tools in their actions, and military power is not necessarily the key factor. The article presents the Russian strategic thought which defines the main directions of the Russian foreign and security policy. The reasons for changes in the approach to the post-Cold War international order in the light of which changes were made to the “Concept of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation” were presented. The main goal of the concept was analyzed, which “persuades” the West to make concessions, thanks to which it would enable the end of the conflict with Russia on its terms and the re-normalization of mutual relations. The issue of the Russian understanding of geopolitics and the geopolitical code of the Russian Federation was raised. Documents of military doctrines closely related to the conducted policy have been indicated. It should be emphasized that the new Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation is part of the entirety of Russian strategic thinking, which is aimed at revising the post-Cold War international order.
Keywords: Russian Federation, security policy, military doctrine, foreign policy concepts

Activities of the National Bank of Poland on the financial market in terms of interest rates in the face of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (March–August 2020)

Jolanta Kosman, Michał M. Kosman
Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego

Summary: The aim of the article is to discuss the outline of the National Bank of Poland’s interest rate policy in response to the economic crisis caused by the SARSCoV-2 virus pandemic in the period from March to August 2020, i.e. during the first wave of the pandemic. In addition, the actions of the Polish authorities, known as anti-crisis shields, were presented. A comparison was also made of the interest rates set by the central banks of other countries, especially in highly developed countries, but also, for example, in Venezuela, plunged in a deep political and economic crisis. The text uses the appropriate research methods: statistical, comparative and institutional and legal analysis.
Keywords: National Bank of Poland, Monetary Policy Council, coronavirus, pandemic, economic crisis, interest rates, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank

Polish social policy with regard to seniors. The law and sociopolitical-economic conditions

Marcin Skinder
Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego

Summary: The subject of the article is to present the conceptual, organizational and law issues of social policy in relation to seniors. The research problem and hypothesis were formulated as a question: what issues and problems of social policy are determined by the aging of the society and what actions are taken by the Ministry of Family and Social Policy and some local governments and whether they are effective. The author also is to find answers to questions about the development of senior policy as a public policy, its law, concepts, recipients, challenges and contexts. The practical goal was included in the conclusions as suggestions. The author analyzes the activities of the Ministry of Family and Social Policy and local governments in relation to seniors in terms of conditions related to demographic processes, psychological and sociological conditions, social activity, employment of seniors. Papers were used in the work, including Social Policy and Senioral Policy, as well as reports of the Central Statistical Office and the Supreme Audit Office. The author used a monographic method.
Keywords: social policy, seniors, Ministry of Family and Social Policy, activity of seniors, employment of seniors, senior policy

Positive discrimination against people with disabilities in the labor market

Mariusz Szweda
independent researcher

Summary: The purpose of the article is to present various aspects of the implementation of the concept of positive discrimination of disabled people in the labor market. The hypothesis that has been verified is as follows: Positive discrimination against people with disabilities in the labor market brings not only the benefits for themselves and for the whole society. The article defines the concept of positive discrimination and affirmative action. Then the legal meaning of the concept of disability was explained. Examples of solutions that fit into the concept of positive discrimination of disabled people in the labor market are presented, with particular emphasis on solutions adopted in Poland. Then, the benefits of implementing this concept were demonstrated. The last part of the article indicates the dangers of an incorrectly implemented concept of positive discrimination.
Keywords: disability, people with disabilities, positive discrimination, affirmative action, labor market policy towards people with disabilities

REVIEWS

Piotr Walewicz (rev.): Dominika Woźniak-Szymańska, Pozycja Polski w społeczności międzynarodowej, czyli jak wzrastać na peryferiach Europy?, Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Warszawa 2021

Marcin Wałdoch (rev.): Samir Puri, The Great Imperial Hangover. How Empires Have Shaped the World, Atlantic Books, London 2020

Nartsiss Shukuralieva (rev.): Vladimir Kvint, Strategiczne przywództwo Amira Timura. Komentarze do Kodeksu, Wydawnictwo Poznanie, Warszawa 2021