Constitutional Means of Protecting Systemic Order in Germany

Konstytucyjne środki ochrony ładu ustrojowego w Niemczech

Author(s): Jan Wiktor Tkaczyński / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 04/2015

Keywords: Germany; constitutional law; the political system

Durability of the constitutional status quo established after World War II must trigger the curiosity of a careful observer of the history of German constitutionalism. One must also wonder which new or newly defined institutions of the political system could ensure such stability. If we rely only on a reading of the constitutional regulations in this respect, the intention of the legislator to protect the substance of the Constitution through its built-in security immediately becomes clear. Apparently, this is an effective means, since Germans have lived under the current Constitution for the last 66 years, close to five times longer than under the Weimar Constitution.

The Federal Republic of Germany before the European Court of Human Rights in the Years 2006-2014

Republika Federalna Niemiec przed Europejskim Trybunałem Praw Człowieka w latach 2006-2014

Author(s): Elżbieta Kużelewska / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 04/2015

Keywords: Germany; human rights; court; judgment; complaint

Germany is a democratic state of law that respects human rights. As a member of the Council of Europe, in 1952 it implemented into its domestic law the European Convention on Human Rights - an international document on universal protection of human rights adopted by the Council of Europe. The aim of the article is to analyze whether and to what extent German citizens filed individual complaints to the European Court of Human Rights over the past nine years (2006- 2014). The article seeks to answer the question if the German system of human rights protection is effective. One of the indicators of effectiveness is the number of complaints brought from Germany to the ECtHR in relation to the number of inhabitants and also compared to the total number of complaints from the 47 member states of the Council of Europe. The analysis will cover statistics on the number of judgments in German cases before the Court in Strasbourg issued between 2006 and 2014. This will be helpful in determining the degree and the type of violations by the German state of the human rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.

Emotions from the Perspective of a Constructivist Theory of International Relations

Emocje w konstruktywistycznej teorii stosunków międzynarodowych.

Author(s): Pierre-Frédéric Weber / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 04/2015

Keywords: Germany; emotional culture; emotional regime, norm; change

Building upon A. K.Henrikson’s concept of mental mapping, the author proposes an interpretative framework to approach the European emotional landscape concerning Germany since 2010, when the symptoms of the European Union’s economic crisis became more visible. The main emotion considered here is fear in its broader sense. The analysis deals with collective emotions seen as a stabilized cultural element in international relations. The question of change in the dominating emotional regime is treated from a constructivist perspective as a norm change on the microsystemic level of the relations between given state agents and Germany, as well as on the macrosystemic scale of the international structure. Final remarks concern the reactivation of fear and its limits.

Between Gretchen and Valkyrie. The Pattern of Womanhood in the Concepts and Practice of the Union of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Maedel, BDM)

Między Gretchen a Walkirią. Model kobiecości w założeniach programowych i praktycznej działalności Bund Deutscher Mädel (1933-1945)

Author(s): Katarzyna Jedynakiewicz-Mróz / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 04/2015

Keywords: Bund Deutscher Mädel; BDM; Union of German Girls; pattern of womanhood in the Third Reich

The article presents one of the issues of the history of the Union of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel, BDM) in the Third Reich. It concerns the pattern of womanhood promoted by this organization, both in concepts and in practice. The notion “pattern” used in the text means an ideal image of the female sex and relationships between the sexes, both in adolescence and in adulthood. This image is presented from the perspective of the different aspects of the activity of BDM members. The bearings considered in the study include: motives for joining the organization, personal examples of the female sex, the role of the uniform and the rituals as an identification instrument, “female” and “male” forms of activity, as well as a specificity of BDM in the processes of indoctrination and sexualization of its members. The text presents also the problem of the paths of career of the Union`s functionaries (Führerinnen). The source base of the article were diaries of the former members of BDM, after their critical analysis according to the principles of historical methodology.

Nothilfe. German Support for the Starving Compatriots in Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s.

Nothilfe – niemiecka pomoc głodującym rodakom w latach 30. XX w. na sowieckiej Ukrainie

Author(s): Robert Kuśnierz / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 04/2015

Keywords: Nothilfe; Soviet Ukraine

In this article I discuss the support for the starving German inhabitants of SoviIn this article I discuss the support for the starving German inhabitants of Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s by organizations from Germany. The German aid was provided both during and after the Great Famine. At the beginning, the recipients of the money were kulaks and the disenfranchised (lishentsy). With time, however, the circle of recipients of the Nothilfe gradually expanded and included not only the ordinary peasants, but even the Communists. From April 1933 to April the funds sent to Ukrainian Germans amounted to 1934 487,821 rubles in gold. Bolshevik authorities fought against German aid, regarding it as the “German fascists’ hostile activity” so they urged recipients of the aid to voluntarily renounce it. When this action failed, the Bolsheviks began to persecute the receivers of the aid. Repressions against people accepting the Nothilfe included open trials, deportations of German peasants from border areas to eastern Ukraine (1935) and then to Kazakhstan (1936) as well as some “improvement of the standard of living” in the late 1930s. All those measures ultimately extinguished the stream of the German help flowing to the USSR.et Ukraine in the 1930s by organizations from Germany. The German aid was provided both during and after the Great Famine. At the beginning, the recipients of the money were kulaks and the disenfranchised (lishentsy). With time, however, the circle of recipients of the Nothilfe gradually expanded and included not only the ordinary peasants, but even the Communists. From April 1933 to April the funds sent to Ukrainian Germans amounted to 1934 487,821 rubles in gold. Bolshevik authorities fought against German aid, regarding it as the “German fascists’ hostile activity” so they urged recipients of the aid to voluntarily renounce it. When this action failed, the Bolsheviks began to persecute the receivers of the aid. Repressions against people accepting the Nothilfe included open trials, deportations of German peasants from border areas to eastern Ukraine (1935) and then to Kazakhstan (1936) as well as some “improvement of the standard of living” in the late 1930s. All those measures ultimately extinguished the stream of the German help flowing to the USSR.

On the Role of "Spiritual Instigators" in Changes of Germany's Historical and Political Identity from Mid-1980s until the End of the 20th Century

O roli „duchowych podżegaczy” w przemianach tożsamości historycznej i politycznej Niemiec od połowy lat 80. do końca XX wieku

Author(s): Andrzej Denka / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 04/2015

Keywords: spiritual instigation;media scandal; German identity; debate of historians; mainstream transformations

Since mid-1980s certain significant changes of the political and national German identity can be observed. They became conspicuous after the reunification of Germany and even more pronounced at the turn of the 20th and 21st century. Starting with the debate of historians on the controversial claims of Ernst Nolte, there emerged in the public discourse views presented by various other intellectuals and writers which testify to their conversion from liberal-leftist positions to rightist and national ones. Often this transition had the form of a scandal in the media (Luhmann) making it possible to deal with social irritations and at the same time to propagate new opinions.

Motivations of Poles Migrating to Berlin in the Years 1980-2012

Motywacje Polaków migrujących do Berlina w latach 1980-2012 i ich tło ekonomiczne, społeczne i kulturowe

Author(s): Agnieszka Szczepaniak-Kroll / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 04/2015

Keywords: Poles; transmigrants; Berlin; Germany

Migrations are a result of the push and pull factors. The former are connected to the migrants’ country of origin while the latter to the country of destination. All the factors combine in a variety of configurations conditioned by the political-social-economic situation at a given time and place. However, the ultimate assessment of the push and pull factors is subjective, i.e. their perception depends on the personality traits of an individual migrant. The article presents the motivations of Poles who migrated to Berlin in the years 1980-2012 and their economic, social and cultural background.

Normative and axiological dimensions of the European Union’s policy on the issue of Kosovo

Normatywny i aksjologiczny wymiar polityki Unii Europejskiej wobec kwestii Kosowa

Author(s): Mariusz Sulkowski / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 01/2016

Keywords: Kosovo; normative foreign policy; European Union; Russia

The article raises the issue of normative policy pursued by the European Union towards Kosovo. The article’s main thesis states that the EU’s normative policy towards Kosovo is ineffective, causes ethnical and cultural hegemony of Kosovo, violates the deepest foundations of international order on which the European Union has been trying to build its external policy for decades and impairs the existing image of the UE as a force acting for the good of the world (force for good). The EU, which builds up its international position as a normative power and rejects the logic of domination and power (realist power) is especially exposed to the dangerous consequences of disregard for the principles of international law and ethical rules. The situation becomes even more risky when it is the EU that becomes one of the main actors undermining the attempts to build an order based on law and values.

Towards a culture of welcome and recognition. Policy and law reform of the Federal Republic of Germany in the field of immigration

W kierunku kultury powitania i uznania. Reforma polityki i prawa Republiki Federalnej Niemiec w dziedzinie imigracji

Author(s): Izabela Wróbel / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 01/2016

Keywords: Germany; immigration country; immigration policy; immigration laws; culture of welcome and recognition

At present, every fifth resident of the Federal Republic of Germany has a migration background. This state is the first immigration country in Europe and the second in the world after the United States. German policy and legislation in the field of immigration have long been an expression of a defensive attitude. Their main goal was to stop the recruitment of foreigners to work and to regulate their influx. The issue of the integration of immigrants into the host society remained outside the field of interest of decision makers. After decades of neglect in this area the first government of Chancellor Angela Merkel counted challenges related to the integration of immigrants among its priorities. Nevertheless, not until the beginning of the second decade of the twenty-first century did it start officially to talk about the lack of culture of welcome and recognition in Germany and the need for its creation. The second government of Angela Merkel took up this task. The change it proposed in attitude to foreigners, however, was a selective expression of openness in guidelines and practice and as such did not constitute a sufficient response to the challenges for the German state and its society. After the first - successful, but cautious - step towards a new paradigm of integration policy, the third government of Angela Merkel has already followed this path decidedly. The aim of the article is to discuss and assess both the change in the immigration policy of Germany, in particular in its integrationpolicy, towards a culture of welcome and recognition observed in recent years and the first regulations which reflect a new approach to th admission of immigrants in this country.

Friedrich Nietzsche’s reflections on being a German

O byciu Niemcem w refleksji Fryderyka Nietzschego

Author(s): Marta Baranowska / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 01/2016

Keywords: nationalism; nation; nationality; Nietzsche; cosmopolitism

Friedrich Nietzsche, whose thought has had considerable influence on many thinkers over the last one hundred years, criticized nationalism and anti-Semitism. Nietzsche`s analysis of national identity was complex, nuanced and ambivalent. He claimed that identity was composite, hybrid, always in the process of being constructed by various experiences and encounters. In his opinion national identity is more an average level of culture, a cultural artefact, than biological identity. His fancied Polish ancestry was supposedly a part of his anti-German attitude, as he despised the German culture of his times, which advocated nationalism and racial hatred. The myth about Nietzsche's Polish roots has been rejected. Nietzsche maintained that Europe proceeds towards unification. The division into states will disappear, since both the individual and society have to overcome their national heritage. As a result of mixing different cultures a new European race will emerge. The main goal of his project of Great Politics is a superman (Übermensch), who is a cosmopolitan, because it is impossible to define him in terms of nationality. In the future, an elite of supermen will rule over the masses.

Protestantism - the Welsh way. Religious aspects of the national and cultural identity of the Welsh people in the nineteenth century

Protestantyzm po walijsku. Religijne aspekty tożsamości narodowej i kulturowej Walijczyków w XIX wieku

Author(s): Martyna Jones / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 01/2016

Keywords: Wales; Anglicanism; Nonconformism; national identity; religion

The article discusses Welsh national identity in the nineteenth century, an identity of which religion was an important aspect. Firstly, the article summarises the history of Christianity in the Principality from Roman times to the Reformation and the adoption of Anglicanism until the nineteenth century. It was during this century that an increasing number of people rejected the established Anglican Church in favour of non-Anglican Protestant churches (known as Non-Conformist churches). In light of these developments, issues discussed in the article include the attitude of the Welsh to England and the Church of England, the attitude towards Catholic Ireland and the impact of non-conformism on Welsh politics, education, and the literary and musical traditions. Taken together, these lead to a discussion on the influence of Non-Conformity on Welsh patriotism.

Scottish independence referendum as a defeat and triumph of the Scottish National Party

Referendum niepodległościowe w Szkocji jako klęska i triumf Szkockiej Partii Narodowej

Author(s): Tomasz Czapiewski / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 01/2016

Keywords: independence referendum; regional party; Scotland; United Kingdom; General Election

This article aims to explain the seemingly paradoxical process of the strengthening of the Scottish National Party in the period immediately after the Scottish independence referendum in 2014. The main reasons are the processes of polarization and consolidation of the SNP and unionist parties around the binary choice - yes or no to independence. The most important circumstances contributing to the phenomenon include: growing aversion to the institutions of British democracy; crisis of the Scottish Labour Party in terms of organization, personnel and program; popularity of the new leader and the effective change of leadership within the SNP, as well as far-reaching effects of the Unionists' campaign referred to as "Project Fear". Additionally, we can also mention: surge in civic activism as a result of the referendum campaign, a more favorable attitude of the media, austerity policies of the Tory government in London, country-level crisis of the Liberal Democrats and tactical considerations: a widespread expectation of a House of Commons without a one-party majority and the territorial distribution of electoral support for the SNP - beneficial in the context of a majoritarian system. 2015 is the year when the political momentum in Scotland changed, and it clearly favoured SNP and supporters of independence. The results of the independence referendum were only for a short time widely regarded as conclusive for decades. When making predictions one should remember that Scottish possibilities of independence are determined not only by factors such as national identity and constitutional disputes, but also by assessment of the functioning of political parties and public policies, and increasingly by the international context (United Kingdom European Union membership referendum).

Ukrainian party system from Orange Revolution to Euromaidan. An institutional-legal perspective

System partyjny Ukrainy od Pomarańczowej rewolucji do Euromajdanu. Perspektywa instytucjonalno-prawna

Author(s): Piotr Lechowicz / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 01/2016

Keywords: Ukrainian party system; institutionalization of party system; democratic transition

In the process of democratic transformation, the creation of political parties and development of a party system are essential aspects of building a new political order. Therefore, the shaping of a party system which enables free competition between political parties affects the functioning of the political system as a whole. In the case of post-soviet Ukraine, stabilization of democratic rivalry, which is the core of an institutionalized party system, is hampered by permanent changes in the constitution and electoral system. The progress of Ukraine’s democratization from 2004 to 2013 is very often referred to as both revolutionary and evolutionary. And violent political changes exert an impact on the triad: transformation of political regime, electoral systems and institutionalization of political parties. All three ultimately determine the institutionalization of the entire party system on the path to democratic consolidation. It can be observed that the conflict in Eastern Ukraine has impeded this process. Despite a dynamic development of the present political situation, previous experience helps us to predict the implications of the currently implemented systemic solutions.

The position of Ukrainian oligarchs after the Euromaidan

Pozycja oligarchów ukraińskich po Euromajdanie

Author(s): Magdalena Karolak-Michalska / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 01/2016

Keywords: oligarchic system in Ukraine; the clans in Ukraine; a group of impact; Ukrainian oligarchs; clientelism

The author analyzes the position of the Ukrainian oligarchs after the events of the Euromaidan at the turn of 2013/2014. Attention is drawn to the specificity of the oligarchic system in Ukraine highlighting its transformation and turning points. The rest of the article examines the position of the oligarchs during the Ukrainian crisis, revealing the role of the "family" – a network of influences that the milieu created around President Yanukovych. It also analyzes the influence of oligarchs in the Ukrainian parliament and seeks to answer the question of whether there will be a real change in curbing the influential role of oligarchs in the "new" Ukraine. The author stresses that at present there is no indication that the new authorities could bring about a political change in Ukraine. The revolution at the Maidan did not upset the Ukrainian oligarchic system and parliamentary elections showed that the most powerful oligarchs have maintained the possibility to influence politics. It is expected that the oligarchs will remain influential players in Ukraine as long as they can use the state and corruption mechanisms in their business. Thus, the still strong oligarchic system will be one of the obstacles in reforming the state.

Greater Poland Yesterday and Today

Wielkopolska wczoraj i dziś

Author(s): Natalia Jackowska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 02/2016

Keywords: Greater Poland, Wielkopolska

The review of the contents of the issue dedicated to the subject of Greater Poland region

The cultural heritage of Greater Poland

Dziedzictwo kulturowe Wielkopolski

Author(s): Witold Molik / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 02/2016

The author discusses three selected elements of the cultural heritage of Greater Poland which can and should help the society of this region to cope with the challenges of the 21st century. He shows the role of Greater Poland in the cultural transfer from West European countries over a millennium of Polish history, from the reception of Christianity in the year 966 up to the 20th century. The second element of the cultural heritage of Greater Poland consists in the traditions of a civil society. In the 19th and the first half of the 20th century in this area a more modern society was shaped compared to other parts of Poland, a society aware of its goals and the advantages that follow from collective action. The opportunity to enhance the habit and skills of continued activity based on a thorough analysis of social needs and implementation of rational measures to deal with them gave rise in the 1830s to a gradually developed system of Polish economic, social, educational and other organizations which were only dismantled by the communist authorities in the first years after the Second World War. The third of the selected elements of the cultural heritage of Greater Poland described by the author is the contribution made to the region’s economic, social and cultural development by German settlers arriving in waves since the 13th century, as well as Jews, the Czech Brothers and other refugees from Bohemia and Moravia who arrived in large numbers in the second half of the 16th century.

German great landed estates in Greater Poland in the years 1815-1914

Niemiecka wielka własność ziemska w Wielkopolsce w latach 1815-1914

Author(s): Fryderyk Mudzo / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 02/2016

Keywords: Greater Poland; great landed estate; Prussian partition; Polish-German antagonism; Prussia, Junkers; gentry

A great landed estate is defined as a farmstead of a minimum area of 100 hectares, operating either as an independent enterprise or owned by the gentry or wealthy middle class. The functioning of such landed estates (in Germany and under the Prussian partition known as Rittergüter) was closely linked to the ownership structure of past times, when private ownership of land entailed a number of privileges and a high social prestige. The Poznań Province was an exporter of crops and agricultural produce and on account of its geographical and geopolitical location was perceived as part of the East Elbian economy (Ostelbien). At the same time it was an outlet for manufacturers of farming tools and machines from the neighboring provinces (mainly Brandenburg). At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the Greater Poland village was dominated by German great landed estates which within the span of a century managed to allegedly permanently link Greater Poland to Prussia and the German state. The participation of German landed estate owners in the economic and social life of Greater Poland in the years 1815-1914 must be assessed as a dynamic process of transformation of the entire Greater Poland within just one century. Those changes were still noticeable in the interwar period when a majority of the landed estate owners assumed Polish citizenship and actively contributed to the economic and political life of the Second Republic of Poland.

Colonel Harry Wade’s mission to Poland and the outbreak of the Greater Poland Uprising

Misja pułkownika Harry'ego Wade'a do Polski a wybuch Powstania Wielkopolskiego

Author(s): Dariusz Jeziorny / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 02/2016

Keywords: Greater Poland Uprising; British diplomacy; Harry Wade's mission; birth of the Second Republic of Poland

On 27 December 1918 an uprising against Germans broke out in Poznań, with a goal to lead to the incorporation of Greater Poland into the Republic of Poland which was just coming back to life after years of partitions. The moment of outbreak coincided with the presence in Poznań of British colonel Harry Wade, an attaché in Copenhagen, who was accompanying Ignacy Paderewski on his journey to Poland. The article answers the following questions: was Harry Wade sent to the capital of Greater Poland by the secret intelligence service; or was his presence due to the fact that London had granted a cruiser to transport Paderewski; did the colonel’s presence have an impact on the outbreak of the uprising; and how was his stay in Poznań assessed by the British authorities.

The city of Poznań’s mercantile and stock exchange institutions in historical perspective

Instytucje giełdowe miasta Poznania w perspektywie historycznej

Author(s): Wojciech Szymon Kowalski / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 02/2016

Keywords: exchange institutions; Cereals and Commodities Exchange in Poznań; Poznań Stock Exchange Ltd.

The article is an attempt to trace the evolution of the Poznań stock exchange and market institutions in a historical perspective. The highly regarded tradition of medieval St. John’s Fairs is one of the sources of the city’s exchange, but the actual origins of this form of trade must be seen in the Posener Börse, which was launched in mid-19th century. The institutional heritage of the 19th century significantly contributed in the next century to the “golden era” of the Agricultural Goods Exchange in Poznań, established in reborn Poland. In the interwar period Poznań was the seat of two exchanges: besides the foremost agricultural exchange there also functioned a stock exchange, much smaller than the one in Warsaw but with a leading position among the regional exchanges of the Second Republic of Poland located in Lwów, Łódź, Kraków, Wilno and Katowice. After the end of the Second World War attempts were made to reactivate commodities exchanges in Poland, among other cities also in Poznań. Soon it turned out that altered political circumstances thwarted the functioning of an institution which was a symbol of market economy, perceived as hostile to the system of socialist market economy. The systemic transformation of 1989/1990 led in 1991 to the reemergence, after over four decades of absence, of the commodities exchange in Poznań’s economic landscape. However, it did not return to its last pre-war and post-war headquarters at 3, Marcikowski Ave., but chose for its location an office block in the district of Winogrady at 3, Gronowa St. After a decade of promising development of the Poznań Stock Exchange Ltd., which was among others a pioneer in deposit stock transactions in Poland, its activity was terminated in controversial circumstances.

The origins and development of economic self-government in Greater Poland on the example of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Poznań

Geneza i rozwój wielokpolskiego samorządu gospodarczego na przykładzie Izby Przemysłowo-Handlowej w Poznaniu

Author(s): Robert Kmieciak / Language(s): English,Polish / Issue: 02/2016

Keywords: economic self-govenrment; entrepreneurship; Greater Poland; Chamber of Industry

Apart from territorial self-government a crucial role in the process of development of local administration falls to economic self-government which includes economic associations which support entrepreneurs. Economic self-government is a public law organization. In Poland for over a quarter of a century two different tendencies have been confused: the right to freedom of association and the right to manage one’s interests. Whereas the principle of voluntariness that follows from the right to freedom of association does not lead to any objections regarding associations, it is undoubtedly contradictory to the basic aspects that express the essence of public corporations. Economic self-government must therefore be treated as a democratically elected, general and preferably apolitical representation of the milieu of entrepreneurs which is a partner of both state administration and territorial self-government. And that is how it was organized in the interwar period. In Greater Poland economic self-government was for many years a particularly important representative of the interests of the milieu of entrepreneurs. It functioned within the framework of three structures: chambers of industry and commerce, chambers of crafts and trades and chambers of agriculture. Their dynamic development from the very onset of Poland’s independence resulted largely from the fact that the Polish employer used and creatively developed the Prussian experiences in this field. The text provides a detailed characterization of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Poznań.