30/12/2023 last update: 30.12.2023 15:41

Volume 22, Number 1

World of Ideas and Politics

Volume 22/2023, Number 1

Studies and analyses

Artur Lipiński
Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu
At the roots of the post-communist division. The programmatic discourse of the Centre Agreement in the 1991 parliamentary elections

Abstract: The negotiated rejection of the authoritarian system and the transition to democracy involves not only a change in the institutional structure of the former regime, or its personnel composition, but entails taking a stand on its legitimizing formula, traditions and symbols. Disputes over the nature, scope and pace of transformation during the transition period become an important stake in political divisions, reinforcing the persistence of political identities formed on the basis of attitudes toward the ancien regime. The case of the Polish party system provides an excellent exemplification of the importance of political divisions over the past regime and how to settle accounts with it. They influenced the semantic scope of the left-right division, as well as the structure of inter-party competition.
The task of this text is to reconstruct the discursive mechanisms of division-building by means of references to communism, as well as the way of defining the situation and related proposed tools for repairing the status quo. The sample contains programmatic documents adopted by Centre Agreement during the party’s First Congress in March 1991, as well as the programmatic documents of the coalition actor, the Centre Civic Agreement, distributed during the 1991 parliamentary election campaign.
Keywords: anticommunism, right wing, political division, political manifesto, elections, political parties, Poland

Patryk Tomaszewski
Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu
Environmental issues in the programs of Polish political circles in the election campaigns in 2015 and 2019

Abstract: The article structures the research problems related to ecological issues in the electoral programs of political parties and circles. The author tries to answer the question of where ecology ends and where the ideological approach to environmental protection known as ecologism begins. He also tries to determine whether ecologism is right-wing or left-wing in nature. The essence of the article is an analysis of the election programs of 2015 and 2019 in relation to the content of environmental protection. For the purpose of analysis, the author used the technique of desk research and discourse analysis by applying keyword-based retrieval.
As a result of the analysis, the author came to the conclusion that Platforma Obywatelska (Civic Platform) and Koalicja Obywatelska (Civic Coalition) did not talk about healthy food and organic farms. This problem was most often raised by Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Justice), and then by Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (Polish People’s Party) and Nowoczesna (Modern Party). Platforma Obywatelska and Koalicja Obywatelska also did not comment on the care of state forest resources or the issue of GMOs. In 2015, PiS, Kukiz’15, and Zjednoczona Lewica (United Left), which included Partia Zielonych (Green Party), expressed their opposition to the latter issue. On the other hand, in 2019 the Left did not raise the issue of GMOs. The only group that raised this issue in the above-mentioned elections was PiS.
Keywords: ecologism, ecology, environmental protection, political parties’ programs, election programs, political thought, political discourse

Julia Lewandowska
Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego w Bydgoszczy
Implementation of the smart city concept in the area of quality of life – comparative analysis of cities from Poland and the Netherlands

Abstract: Smart cities attract tourists, investors, and future residents. They have many advantages, but they also face many barriers to the implementation of innovative solutions, including low use of open data, lack of spatial planning, and insufficient involvement of citizens in city management. The evolution of cities towards a smart city is constantly progressing, which may be due to the fact that this concept addresses the major issues facing the modern world, such as population growth, climate change or an unstable economic system. The importance of these changes is the high quality of life of the inhabitants and the ability to meet their very diverse needs. The purpose of the article and the research problem is to present the concept of a smart city and to examine the degree of its implementation in the area of quality of life in selected cities in Poland and the Netherlands. A comparative method was used, which consisted in comparing the capitals of the countries, i.e. Warsaw and Amsterdam. The research was also based on a review of literature, documents, websites, and press articles. Qualitative content analysis was also applied.
Keywords: smart city, smart city, quality of life, Warsaw, Amsterdam

Michał M. Kosman
Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego w Bydgoszczy
About Rapallo. Reflections on German-Russian relations 1918–1922

Abstract: The subject of this article is the relationship between Germany and Soviet Russia – two countries that felt excluded from the postwar international order established by the Treaty of Versailles. In defeated Germany, after the suppression of attempts at revolution, there was a clash of different visions of foreign policy, including policy toward Russia. The victory of the Bolsheviks in the civil war and the strengthening of their power in Russia meant that pragmatism and the desire for closer political cooperation, which would also allow the implementation of Germany’s economic interests, prevailed in German policy towards that state. The inclination of both countries to strengthen cooperation was also reflected in the decision on Germany’s neutrality during the Polish-Soviet War in 1920, which in practice favored Russia. The Treaty of Rapallo of April 1922 became a symbolic confirmation and at the same time the beginning of the intensification of Soviet-German cooperation. The article uses the method of document and literature research based on studies in Polish, German, Russian, and English.
Keywords: Germany, Soviet Russia, the Bolsheviks, the Treaty of Versailles, the Treaty of Rapallo, the interwar period

Marcin Zaborski
Uniwersytet SWPS
An interrupted life. Children in the narrative line of exhibition at the Estonian Jewish Museum

Abstract: The author analyzes the permanent exhibition of the Estonian Jewish Museum (Eesti Juudi Muuseum). Using the methods of visual studies (composition, content, material objects, and meanings), he tries to find out the place of the youngest victims of the Holocaust in the narrative line of the exhibition. He asks whether there are separate elements of the permanent exhibition devoted to them, or whether the children’s fates are “inscribed” in the general message about the events documented there. Do the museum’s creators focus on the tragic dimension of the children’s fates or do they present them through the prism of heroic deeds, showing the individuals who performed them? And finally, is there a place to present the survivors? The research, the results of which are presented in the paper, also aims to answer the question of whether the narrative line of the museum is dedicated to specific individuals or to a community of anonymous participants of war events. The research shows that the Holocaust story presented at the Estonian Jewish Museum focuses on the loss and suffering that resulted in interrupted lives. The perspective of the victims dominates the analyzed exhibitions. Civilian victims of occupation and genocide are at the center of the exhibition. They are not ‘heroic victims’, i.e. heroes who achieve a moral victory by dying in the fight for freedom or honor. It is death that becomes the key category present in the exhibition, even if it is not always expressed.
Keywords: Holocaust, war, museum, children, Estonia, Tallin

Jarosław Wiśnicki
Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu
Creating collective awareness in the context of the Russian Federation’s historical policy during the conflict in Ukraine in 2022

Abstract: The article seeks to identify social impact activities in the conduct of historical policy by the Russian Federation during the aggression against Ukraine in 2022. An analysis of the creation and spread of information threats as a result of the ongoing conflict in Russia is driven by the increasing impact of communication processes on global security. The content of the study highlights the impact of trends in the creation of information threats, which are the determinants of social risks. The article is an analysis of the historical policy conducted by the Russian Federation which takes into account the production and dissemination of information both in the field of whispered propaganda and with the use of traditional and modern media. The influence and role of the mass media in the formation of public opinion were presented, and the mechanisms of the formation of public opinion were revealed. Methods of system analysis and critical analysis of public discourse were used in writing the article.
Keywords: historical policy, information operations, disinformation, media, creating public opinion

Zuzanna Wronka
Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu
Women in Afghanistan. Challenges and problems of Afghan women as a consequence of the first Taliban rule

Abstract: In the 1990s, when the Taliban came to power as a result of the civil war, many social restrictions were imposed on women, including compulsory burqas. Increasingly fundamental, harmful, and abstract restrictions were also imposed in areas such as access to education, a ban on working as doctors for other women, and inadequate access to health care. In addition, a very strict law was enacted prohibiting women from appearing in public without a male guardian, such as a husband or male relative, literally condemning widows and their children to starvation. Such behavior by the Taliban government brought Afghanistan’s institutions and economy to the brink of collapse. Women and children were particularly hard hit by the impoverishment. The story of Afghan women came full circle when the United States of America and coalition forces withdrew from Afghan territory. Women again faced great danger and vulnerability with the return of the Taliban to power. The purpose of this article is to present various aspects of the lives of Afghan women and the difficulties and barriers they face on a daily basis as a result of Taliban rule, their fundamentalist approach to power, and the behavior of society itself due to Afghanistan’s complex traditions and culture. Newspaper articles, scholarly articles, statistical databases, and numerous online sources dealing with international relations and the history and traditions of Afghanistan were analyzed to gain insight into this multifaceted problem.
Keywords: Afghanistan, Taliban, Afghan women, women’s rights, terrorism, fundamentalism

Marek Bednarz
Uniwersytet Pomorski w Słupsku
The fourth industrial revolution and its impact on state security

Abstract: The aim of the article is to present a conceptual framework for studying the implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution for state security in the context of the labor market situation. The goal of the article is also to demonstrate the benefits and threats associated with the ongoing digitization of social life. To achieve the purpose of this article, a qualitative descriptive method based on a critical analysis of the subject literature and an analysis of published research reports were used. A review of identified threats to state security was also conducted, with particular emphasis on the labor market. The analysis of the information contained in the literature and research reports made it possible to identify selected benefits and costs associated with the ongoing processes of digitization, automation, and robotization, and to determine the consequences of these processes for state security in the context of the labor market. The current, but weakly scientifically recognized issue of fourth-generation industry and the impact of production changes on social relations was approached. The processes of automation and robotization have a significant impact on the form and functioning of the modern state and its ability to provide comprehensive security. A good example of this situation is the area of social security related to the functioning of the labor market, affecting both employers and employees. Knowledge of the peculiarities of technological changes and potential problems in the field of social security serves as a starting point for developing effective measures to overcome these difficulties. The article contributes to the discourse on the social changes brought about by advancing automation and robotization.
Keywords: fourth industrial revolution, industry 4.0, state security, social security, labor market

Paweł Malendowicz, Agnieszka Pazderska
Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego w Bydgoszczy
Research on the sense of security of local communities. Preliminary conclusions of the empirical part of the research project

Abstract: The subject of this article is the preliminary results of the empirical research conducted as part of the scientific project entitled Research on the sense of security of local communities in Polish cities of 250.000 to 500.000 inhabitants. The empirical research involved 2450 respondents from the cities of Białystok, Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, Katowice, Lublin, and Szczecin. The aim of the research was to identify the locations of threats and to determine the level of the sense of safety among the respondents who make up the local communities in the cities surveyed. The respondents from the six local communities feel relatively safe in their cities. However, hooliganism and traffic violations in particular are a source of concern. Depending on the specifics of the city, there may be other local threats. The respondents from the surveyed cities most often do not feel safe at train stations and stops, as well as in and around liquor stores. The safest places, according to the respondents, were universities and schools, as well as shopping malls. According to the authors, the policy of creating a sense of safety in cities should take into account numerous determinants of threats and objective safety. The information policy, which influences the opinion of the local population about the threats, is also important.
Keywords: city, local community, local security, empirical research