Szkoły studiów politycznych Rady Europy a krzewienie kultury demokratycznej w Europie Wschodniej
Schools of Political Studies of the Council of Europein Relation to Promoting Democracy Culture in Eastern Europe

Summary/Abstract: Europe is currently undergoing a deep crisis of values. In today’s circumstanc-es, spreading basic democracy values, as well as presenting mature democratic culture is an important political task. An institution called for the purpose of supporting democracy development, human rights and lawful ruling in member states is the Council of Europe. One of its special activities is supporting young people’s contribution to public life, through creating schools of political stud-ies. The first school of political sciences was created in Moscow in 1992, set up by a group of civil society activists in order to promote democracy values. Its success encouraged others to create such schools in other countries of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Currently, there are nineteen schools operating, including two outside Europe, in Morocco and Tunisia. Seven of them were founded in newly independent countries, formed after the Soviet Union fell. The dynamic growth of political studies schools created the need of having a network of them (Network of the Schools of Political Studies (NSPS)). The network helps to coordinate tasks, to exchange experience, as well as to strengthen the schools’ education programmes in connection with the Council of Europe. Schools’ positive input the promotion of the Council of Europe democracy standards enabled plans to gradually widen the network into other countries. Schools definitely need greater support from international - including European - institutions. Schools are in need of politi-cal and moral programme support. Schools’ further development demands are mainly financial stability. Countries formed in the Soviet Union’s ruins are still struggling, building the basis of democracy. Their admission to the Council of Europe did not change that fact. Many of them have not yet dealt with the com-munist past and old practices. That is why political schools’ activities are still so important. It is also about the change of generations, about creating staff, a group of people who through their active participation in public, economic or social life would inform society about the ideas and values of democracy, its norms and the role each citizen plays in it.

• Details
• Contents