The Legacy Of Jaroslaw Kaczynski Mateusz Morawiecki And The Pis Party In Poland A Dictatorial Government Facilitating Rule Of Law Violations Attacks On The Media And Disregard For Human Rights

With Poland's populist far-right government orchestrating rule of law violations in the EU's backyard - including the violation of judicial independence and media freedom - the EU has triggered Article 7 against Poland. To restore democracy and fundamental rights, Poland's political leaders need to improve and reinvent themselves; especially PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski - Poland's undisputed de facto leader - who handpicks ministers and makes strategic decisions from his party office in a ramshackle building in central Warsaw. Otherwise Poland must be kicked out of the European Union; which would give Poland's government the privilege of receiving their marching orders from Moscow again; like in the old days, when Poland was part of the Soviet Union. Critical, but also deeply sensitive and humane, this book explores social scientific, ethical and Christian approaches, so that rule of law can be restored in Poland. Social challenges - such as abuse of power and Islamophobia - are also explored in this work.

The Sustainable Governance Indicators (SGI) 2011 make up the second and latest edition of this major study, and they build upon the work of the successful and widely acknowledged first edition, from 2009. The study examines 31 OECD countries and their performance during the period between May 2008 and April 2010, which witnessed the height of the global financial turmoil and economic crisis. In addition to the 2011 findings, this volume also includes essays on the project's conceptual framework and methodology as well as summaries and strategic forecasts for each of the countries.

The Palace of Culture and Science is a massive Stalinist skyscraper that was "gifted" to Warsaw by the Soviet Union in 1955. Framing the Palace's visual, symbolic, and functional prominence in the everyday life of the Polish capital as a sort of obsession, locals joke that their city suffers from a "Palace of Culture complex." Despite attempts to privatize it, the Palace remains municipally owned, and continues to play host to a variety of public institutions and services. The Parade Square, which surrounds the building, has resisted attempts to convert it into a money-making commercial center. Author Michał Murawski traces the skyscraper's powerful impact on 21st century Warsaw; on its architectural and urban landscape; on its political, ideological, and cultural lives; and on the bodies and minds of its inhabitants. The Palace Complex explores the many factors that allow Warsaw's Palace to endure as a still-socialist building in a post-socialist city.

This open access book provides an in-depth look into the background of rule of law problems and the open defiance of EU law in East Central European countries. Current illiberal trends and anti-EU politics have the potential to undermine mutual trust between member states and fundamentally change the EU. It is therefore crucial to understand their domestic causes, context conditions, specific processes and consequences. This volume contributes to empirically informed theory-building and includes contributions from researchers from various disciplines and multiple perspectives on illiberal trends and anti-EU politics in the region. The qualitative case studies, comparative works and quantitative analyses provide a comprehensive picture of current societal, political and institutional developments in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Through studying similarities and differences between East Central European and other EU countries, the chapters also explore whether there are regional patterns of democracy- and EU-related problems.

How has European identity been shaped through its colonial empires? Does this history of imperialism influence the conceptualisation of Europe in the contemporary globalised world? How has coloniality shaped geopolitical differences within Europe? What does this mean for the future of Europe? Postcolonial Europe: Comparative Reflections after the Empires brings together scholars from across disciplines to rethink European colonialism in the light of its vanishing empires and the rise of new global power structures. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to the postcolonial European legacy, the book argues that the commonly used nation-centric approach does not effectively capture the overlap between different colonial and postcolonial experiences across Europe.

Discussing Italian Fascism, scholars start with the year 1922, not just the last years of the system, including the 1938-1943 racial laws. It appears that it takes some time for a fascist system to establish itself (Lyttelton, 2004). Therefore, it is essential to recognise the early warning signs of fascism to avoid its emergence in full bloom.Clerical fascism is a specific type of fascism. It is a nationalistic political system rejecting liberal democracy considered hostile to the 'Christian tradition', social changes, including women's rights and sexual liberalism, and a notion of 'restoring' Western culture (Pollard, 2007, p. 434).This publication argues why it is justifiable to consider the Poland of Andrzej Duda and Law and Justice as a multi-party clerical fascist state, where many parties exist, creating an impression of pluralism, but the ruling parties are ideologically identical in practical terms. Establishing what the system is and how it works will help to address the source of the problems and the outcomes it produces, e.g. through internal awareness of the situation and pressure from the international community.It also attempts to present a brief case study of a modern fascist state and how it operates. It explores various aspects of the state, particularly the troika of crucial actors: the far-right propagandists, the powerholders, and the Roman Catholic Church. While religious fundamentalism and authoritarianism is important, money also plays an important part in the regime, including lucrative contracts and prestigious jobs.The timescale examined in this publication is the recent past, from 2015 until the date of publication. The language is simplified for the purpose of accessibility. Sources are of highest possible quality.The publication also calls for more research on modern fascism. It also serves as a warning to democracies to keep and create safeguards protecting people and institutions from abuse of power.

The economic crisis of 2008–2009 signaled the end of the Post-Washington Consensus on restricting the role of the state in economic and development policy. Since then, state ownership and state intervention have increased worldwide. This volume offers a comparative analysis of the evolution of direct state intervention in the economy through state-owned companies in Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Turkey, Singapore, and Slovenia. Each case study includes substantial explanations of historical, cultural, and institutional contexts. All the contributors point to the complex nature of the current revival in state economic interventions. The few models that are successful cannot hide the potential problems of excessive state intervention, linked to high levels of moral hazard. State-owned enterprises are primary tools of market and price manipulation for political purposes. They can be used outright for rent seeking. Yet state-owned enterprises can also play important roles in prestigious national initiatives, like major public works or high-profile social and sports events. The authors conclude that after the uniform application of democratic market economic principles, the 2000s witnessed a path-dependent departure from standard economic and political operating procedures in developed countries.