„Nowi” i „starzy” w Urzędzie Ochrony Państwa. Część II: ciągłość i zmiana kadr w świetle analizy ilościowej
"New" and "Old" Officers in the Office of State Protection. Part II: Continuity and Change of Personnel in Light of Quantitative Analysis

Summary/Abstract: The Office of State Protection (1990–2002), the first and, at the time, most significant intelligence service of the Third Polish Republic, remains a controversial institution among certain segments of the public. Arguably, the most important aspect of these controversies concerns continuity and change in terms of personnel. There is a widespread view that, after 1989, it was both justified and feasible to implement the so-called „zero option” within the Polish intelligence services or, at the very least, to intensify hiring efforts and expedite the removal of former Security Service officers from their ranks. In this article, which constitutes the second part of a two-part study, I conduct a quantitative analysis of the Office’s subsequent senior management reshuffles. I measure the significant staff turnover resulting from ongoing political disputes, analyse struggles related to the institution’s post-communist origins, and explain the factional divisions within the Office. I present the problems associated with the rapid, election-driven replacements of the service’s heads and directors, and indicate how the intensification of political rivalry has negatively impacted the stability of the service responsible for Poland’s internal and external security.

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