Aleks Szczerbiak
Biographic Data
| ID | 4075238 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Aleks Szczerbiak |
| GIVEN NAMES | Aleks |
| FAMILY NAME | Szczerbiak |
| SIGNATURE | SZCZERBIAK A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Sussex |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4389-9557 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 44 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 690 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 42 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 2 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 13 |
Still a Key Political Actor? The Catholic Church and Politics in Post-1989 Poland
Solidification around the ‘post-transition divide: The October 2019 Polish parliamentary election
This paper argues that the Law and Justice party won the 2019 Polish parliamentary election by raising the electoral stakes for key groups of its core supporters encouraging them to vote out of fear that that the liberal-centrist opposition parties would water down or abandon its extremely popular social welfare programmes. The election saw the continued endurance and strengthening of Poland’s ‘post-transition divide’ which dominated the Polish p…
Euroscepticism and anti-establishment parties in Europe
This article explores the relationship between party-based Euroscepticism and parties taking anti-establishment positions in contemporary Europe to map the relationship between these positions.The paper reports on an expert-informed qualitative comparative classification (EiQCC) of parties in 30 European countries conducted 2018-2019 to present a classification of 77 parties as Eurosceptic and anti-establishment.With this, we show that there were…
Drivers of Consensus: Responses to Brexit in Germany, France, Ireland and Poland
Brexit was potentially a highly divisive issue for the EU27 with states having different relationships with the UK. And yet in the period from the UK’s referendum in 2016 until the exit of the UK in 2020, the EU27 maintained a remarkable degree of unity. This article examines relative EU27 unity in the face of the Brexit process. The article is based on interviews and other research on four selected EU member states: Germany, France, Poland and I…
Conservatism and ‘Eurorealism’ in the European Parliament: The European Conservatives and Reformists under the leadership of Poland’s Law and Justice
After the 2019 European Parliament (EP) election, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) party grouping experienced a major change in its representation and leadership, with the wholescale departure of its core British Conservative MEPs. Yet the ECR remained an important and coherent transnational party federation in Strasbourg, acting as a strong voice for conservatism in Europe as distinct from Christian Democracy and the radical right…
Centre-Right Parties in Post-Communist East-Central Europe
1. Introduction 2. Getting the Centre-Right Right in Central and Eastern Europe 3. The Czech Republic (focusing on the Civic Democratic Party) 4. Hungary (focusing on Fidesz) 5. Poland (focusing on Solidarity Electoral Action) 6. Slovakia 7. Conclusion
How is the European integration debate changing in post-communist states
To many citizens in post-communist states European Union (EU) membership represented a historical–civilisational choice: an end to the Cold War division of Europe and symbolic reuniting of Eastern Europe with a ‘West’ that they had always considered themselves to be part of culturally and spiritually. In fact, in spite of its multiple crises, there continued to be high levels of support for EU membership and ‘Hard’ rejectionist Eurosceptic discou…
Putting Brexit into perspective: The effect of the Eurozone and migration crises and Brexit on Euroscepticism in European states
This paper examines the link between recent EU crises and the development of party-based Euroscepticism across Europe. It draws on data from expert surveys with qualitative data to outline the way in which we can empirically see the link between the impacts of the crises in European states, and how far, and in what ways, Euroscepticism has been mobilized by political parties in those states. It identifies four main frames through which the EU is …
Communist-forgiving or Communist-purging: Public Attitudes towards Transitional Justice and Truth Revelation in Post-1989 Poland
While Poles generally supported a radical approach towards truth revelation, on its own the issue did not appear to be especially salient. Poles wanted to move on from debates about the communist past and felt that the process of achieving transitional justice was a potentially destructive one. However, they also felt that they had a right to know about the past of their political elites and that collaboration with the communist security services…
A Model for Democratic Transition and European Integration? Why Poland Matters
Poland is the sixth largest country in the EU and plays an increasingly important role in European affairs. Looking at its history and legacy, Poland has witnessed some of the most momentous events of the last century and in recent years has seen vast changes in its social, economic and political systems. Understanding developments in Poland can teach us important lessons about the past, present and future of contemporary Europe. Opposition to co…
Party rules, party resources and the politics of parliamentary democracies: How parties organize in the 21st century
This article introduces the first findings of the Political Party Database Project, a major survey of party organizations in parliamentary and semi-presidential democracies. The project’s first round of data covers 122 parties in 19 countries. In this article, we describe the scope of the database, then investigate what it tells us about contemporary party organization in these countries, focusing on parties’ resources, structures and internal de…
Deepening democratisation? Exploring the declared motives for “late” lustration in Poland
Lustration was one of, if not the, most important and controversial transitional justice methods to be used in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe, and Poland is an archetypal case of late and recurring lustration. Many of the attempts in the literature to tackle such changes of lustration trajectory divide between those who focus on the partisan and electoral-strategic drivers of its protagonists, and those who ascribe more ideological-pro…
An anti-establishment backlash that shook up the party system? The October 2015 Polish parliamentary election
The October 2015 Polish parliamentary election saw the stunning victory of the right-wing opposition Law and Justice party which became the first in post-communist Poland to secure an outright parliamentary majority, and equally comprehensive defeat of the incumbent centrist Civic Platform. In addition to the fact that the outgoing ruling party could no longer rely on invoking the ‘politics of fear’, the main factor accounting for this was widesp…
Post-Communist Transitional Justice: Lessons from Twenty-Five Years of Experience
Taking stock of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the collapse of the communist regimes of Central and Eastern Europe, this volume explores how these societies have grappled with the serious human rights violations of past regimes. It focuses on the most important factors that have shaped the nature, speed, and sequence of transitional justice programs in the period spanning the revolutions that brought about the collapse of the communist dictators…
Coming in from the Cold? Euroscepticism, Government Participation and Party Positions on Europe
The focus of the article is to use the changed landscape of Euroscepticism to look broadly across a set of cases of government participation by parties holding Eurosceptical positions to examine whether government participation has an effect on their European positions and whether participation by Eurosceptic parties in government has had an effect on their European policy. In general, while there does seem to be a moderating effect of government…
May Contain Nuts’? The Reality behind the Rhetoric Surrounding the British Conservatives' New Group in the European Parliament
The British Conservative Party's decision to leave the European Peoples' Party‐European Democrats (EPP‐ED) group in the European Parliament and establish a new formation—the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)—has attracted criticism, much of it focused on the supposedly extremist politics and character of the partners with which the Conservatives have chosen to work. In fact, while those parties which have joined the Conservatives in the…
When in Doubt, (Re-)Turn to Domestic Politics? The (Non-)Impact of the EU on Party Politics in Poland
If one seeks it out, one can find limited evidence of EU influences, but in general terms EU accession has had little significant direct impact on Polish party politics. Moreover, there is no obvious linear relationship between party positions on European integration and the extent to which the EU impinged upon a party and the nature of that impact, although it appears to have been greatest in those parties that were members of the large European…
Opposing Europe ?: The Comparative Party Politics of Euroscepticism
The project of European integration now spans Europe, but in becoming bigger and broader the European Union has brought on itself significant criticism. As the EU becomes deeper, wider, and more ambitious, so opposition and scepticism become more prominent for citizens and more problematic for elites. Concerns about a ‘democratic deficit’ and the distance between European elites and publics have come to be a common feature of European politics. A…
The Birth of a Bipolar Party System or a Referendum on a Polarizing Government? The October 2007 Polish Parliamentary Election
The 2007 Polish parliamentary election is best understood as a plebiscite on the polarizing government led by the right-wing Law and Justice party and its controversial ‘Fourth Republic’ political project. The liberal-conservative Civic Platform opposition won because it was able to persuade Poles that voting for them was the most effective way of removing this government from office. The election also indicates that the ‘post-communist divide’ t…
Sticking Together: Explaining Comparative Centre—Right Party Success in Post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe
In this article, we attempt to explain varying patterns of centre—right success between 1990 and 2006 in three post-communist states — Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. Success is understood as the ability to construct broad and durable parties. Both macro-institutional explanations, focusing on executive structures and electoral systems, and historical—structural explanations, stressing communist regime legacies, have limited power to expl…
Why Is There No Christian Democracy in Poland — and Why Should We Care
Despite the fact that almost all Poles are Roman Catholics and that religion has played an important part in contemporary Polish politics, no self-declared Christian Democratic party has been successful in post-1989 Poland. None of the currently successful Polish centre—right parties profile themselves as Christian Democratic, nor can they be labelled as such objectively. While, superficially, Poland looks like fertile ground for Christian Democr…
Social Poland’ Defeats ‘Liberal Poland’? The September–October 2005 Polish Parliamentary and Presidential Elections
The 2005 Polish parliamentary and presidential elections were held on separate days, but the two campaigns ‘contaminated’ each other and the presidential contest largely overshadowed the parliamentary. The dominant issue during much of the campaign was probity in public life, and parties competed on their ability to tackle corruption effectively. The conservative Law and Justice party and its presidential candidate Lech Kaczyński emerged as unexp…
State party funding and patronage in post-1989 Poland
The level and scope of state financial support for Polish parties have expanded progressively since 1989, making it the main source of income for a number of them. This becomes even more evident when one considers the allowances paid to party-based parliamentary caucuses and individual parliamentarians. Appointments to state and quasi-state bodies also appear to be an important source of patronage for Polish parties. The Polish party funding regi…
Explaining lustration in Central Europe: A ‘Post-Communist Politics’ Approach
Lustration, the vetting of public officials in Central Europe for links to the communist-era security services, has been pursued most systematically in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Prior attempts to explain the pursuit or avoidance of lustration focused on the differing experiences of communist rule or transition to democracy. A closer examination finds that although the three countries in question had very different histories, there w…
Democratic government in Poland: Constitutional Politics Since 1989
George Sanford. Palgrave‐Macmillan: Basingstoke, Hants., 2002. xix+256 pp., £50 hbk; ISBN 0333774752
Contemporary Euroscepticism in the party systems of the European Union candidate states of Central and Eastern Europe
This article examines party‐based Euroscepticism in the candidate states of Central and Eastern Europe. In an attempt to develop comparative lessons from the different cases, it presents research into the location, electoral strength and type of Euroscepticism in the party systems of these countries. The data is then used to examine six propositions about the relationship between party‐based Euroscepticism and left‐right ideological spectrum, par…
Party rules, party resources and the politics of parliamentary democracies: How parties organize in the 21st century
This article introduces the first findings of the Political Party Database Project, a major survey of party organizations in parliamentary and semi-presidential democracies. The project’s first round of data covers 122 parties in 19 countries. In this article, we describe the scope of the database, then investigate what it tells us about contemporary party organization in these countries, focusing on parties’ resources, structures and internal de…
Putting Brexit into perspective: The effect of the Eurozone and migration crises and Brexit on Euroscepticism in European states
This paper examines the link between recent EU crises and the development of party-based Euroscepticism across Europe. It draws on data from expert surveys with qualitative data to outline the way in which we can empirically see the link between the impacts of the crises in European states, and how far, and in what ways, Euroscepticism has been mobilized by political parties in those states. It identifies four main frames through which the EU is …
Coming in from the Cold? Euroscepticism, Government Participation and Party Positions on Europe
The focus of the article is to use the changed landscape of Euroscepticism to look broadly across a set of cases of government participation by parties holding Eurosceptical positions to examine whether government participation has an effect on their European positions and whether participation by Eurosceptic parties in government has had an effect on their European policy. In general, while there does seem to be a moderating effect of government…
Explaining lustration in Central Europe: A ‘Post-Communist Politics’ Approach
Lustration, the vetting of public officials in Central Europe for links to the communist-era security services, has been pursued most systematically in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Prior attempts to explain the pursuit or avoidance of lustration focused on the differing experiences of communist rule or transition to democracy. A closer examination finds that although the three countries in question had very different histories, there w…
Dealing with the Communist Past or the Politics of the Present? Lustration in Post-Communist Poland
THE QUESTION OF HOW TO DEAL with a previous non-democratic regime's former functionaries is not unique to the post-communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. All newly emerging democracies face a similar challenge of how to deal with what Huntington calls the 'torturer problem and in recent years various forms of purge have accompanied most political system transformations.2 The new post-communist democracies also had several options availab…
Polish Public Opinion: Explaining Declining Support for EU Membership
This article examines the changing patterns of support for EU membership in Poland, the largest of the central and east European applicant states. It argues that we should not be surprised that Poles have become increasingly cynical about EU membership since accession negotiations began and examines the particular concerns that underpin Polish Euroscepticism. However, the overall level of support remains high, and it is apathy and low turnout tha…
Social Poland’ Defeats ‘Liberal Poland’? The September–October 2005 Polish Parliamentary and Presidential Elections
The 2005 Polish parliamentary and presidential elections were held on separate days, but the two campaigns ‘contaminated’ each other and the presidential contest largely overshadowed the parliamentary. The dominant issue during much of the campaign was probity in public life, and parties competed on their ability to tackle corruption effectively. The conservative Law and Justice party and its presidential candidate Lech Kaczyński emerged as unexp…
Sticking Together: Explaining Comparative Centre—Right Party Success in Post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe
In this article, we attempt to explain varying patterns of centre—right success between 1990 and 2006 in three post-communist states — Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. Success is understood as the ability to construct broad and durable parties. Both macro-institutional explanations, focusing on executive structures and electoral systems, and historical—structural explanations, stressing communist regime legacies, have limited power to expl…
An anti-establishment backlash that shook up the party system? The October 2015 Polish parliamentary election
The October 2015 Polish parliamentary election saw the stunning victory of the right-wing opposition Law and Justice party which became the first in post-communist Poland to secure an outright parliamentary majority, and equally comprehensive defeat of the incumbent centrist Civic Platform. In addition to the fact that the outgoing ruling party could no longer rely on invoking the ‘politics of fear’, the main factor accounting for this was widesp…
Why Is There No Christian Democracy in Poland — and Why Should We Care
Despite the fact that almost all Poles are Roman Catholics and that religion has played an important part in contemporary Polish politics, no self-declared Christian Democratic party has been successful in post-1989 Poland. None of the currently successful Polish centre—right parties profile themselves as Christian Democratic, nor can they be labelled as such objectively. While, superficially, Poland looks like fertile ground for Christian Democr…
The Politics of European Referendum Outcomes and Turnout: Two Models
This survey briefly examines the EU accession process for the countries included in this collection and considers the distinctive features of this set of referendums, particularly the comparatively high levels of Yes vote and low levels of turnout. It argues that, although they represent a distinctive sub-type of European referendum, they can be used as a basis to draw at least tentative comparative and theoretical conclusions. Consequently, it t…
The Birth of a Bipolar Party System or a Referendum on a Polarizing Government? The October 2007 Polish Parliamentary Election
The 2007 Polish parliamentary election is best understood as a plebiscite on the polarizing government led by the right-wing Law and Justice party and its controversial ‘Fourth Republic’ political project. The liberal-conservative Civic Platform opposition won because it was able to persuade Poles that voting for them was the most effective way of removing this government from office. The election also indicates that the ‘post-communist divide’ t…
Conservatism and ‘Eurorealism’ in the European Parliament: The European Conservatives and Reformists under the leadership of Poland’s Law and Justice
After the 2019 European Parliament (EP) election, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) party grouping experienced a major change in its representation and leadership, with the wholescale departure of its core British Conservative MEPs. Yet the ECR remained an important and coherent transnational party federation in Strasbourg, acting as a strong voice for conservatism in Europe as distinct from Christian Democracy and the radical right…
Euroscepticism and anti-establishment parties in Europe
This article explores the relationship between party-based Euroscepticism and parties taking anti-establishment positions in contemporary Europe to map the relationship between these positions.The paper reports on an expert-informed qualitative comparative classification (EiQCC) of parties in 30 European countries conducted 2018-2019 to present a classification of 77 parties as Eurosceptic and anti-establishment.With this, we show that there were…
May Contain Nuts’? The Reality behind the Rhetoric Surrounding the British Conservatives' New Group in the European Parliament
The British Conservative Party's decision to leave the European Peoples' Party‐European Democrats (EPP‐ED) group in the European Parliament and establish a new formation—the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)—has attracted criticism, much of it focused on the supposedly extremist politics and character of the partners with which the Conservatives have chosen to work. In fact, while those parties which have joined the Conservatives in the…
The Polish centre-right's (last?) best hope: The rise and fall of Solidarity Electoral Action
Poland's Unexpected Political Earthquake: The September 2001 Parliamentary Election
The September 2001 parliamentary election represented a political earthquake that may lead to a major restructuring of the party system. The communist successor formation, the Democratic Left Alliance, was returned to office after a four-year gap, and the post-Solidarity groupings that had formed the previous governments were soundly beaten. Very few commentators had foreseen such a result, or certain other surprises. The biggest of all was the s…
Interests and Values: Polish Parties and their Electorates
The distribution of power between leaders and members, relationships with the state and civil society and whether or not they seek to enrol and mobilise their supporters are obviously all important issues to consider when determining what kinds of political parties are emerging in post-communist Eastern Europe. However, in some ways a more fundamental and basic question is: what is the nature of these parties' links with their electorates? Before…
History Trumps Government Unpopularity: The June 2003 Polish EU Accession Referendum
This analysis explains why Poles voted overwhelmingly to join the EU and how the 50% turnout requirement was achieved fairly easily. It argues that most Poles appeared to accept the historical significance of the referendum and de-coupled the issue of EU membership from that of confidence in an extremely unpopular government. This occurred because most key political and social actors, including the opposition parties, called for a Yes vote, while…
Conclusion: Towards a Model of (European) Referendums
This conclusion evaluates the causal models set out in the introduction to this collection and considers whether, in the light of the 2003 accession referendums, they require modification. On the basis of this examination we argue that the results of EU accession referendums appear to demonstrate that the key factors determining the results are the consequences of: (a) underlying mass attitudes in combination with (b) cues provided by elites. The…
Testing Party Models in East-Central Europe: Local Party Organization in Postcommunist Poland
This article seeks to relate hypotheses about how party structure and organization will develop in postcommunist East-Central Europe to empirical research conducted at the local level in Poland. The parties' membership bases and degree of local implantation are examined, together with their local organizational infrastructure and the pattern of local-national relations, particularly in the case of local parliamentary candidate selection. The rese…
When in Doubt, (Re-)Turn to Domestic Politics? The (Non-)Impact of the EU on Party Politics in Poland
If one seeks it out, one can find limited evidence of EU influences, but in general terms EU accession has had little significant direct impact on Polish party politics. Moreover, there is no obvious linear relationship between party positions on European integration and the extent to which the EU impinged upon a party and the nature of that impact, although it appears to have been greatest in those parties that were members of the large European…
Party Structure and Organizational Development in Post-Communist Poland
Detailed empirical examination of the institutional dynamics of the main parties and political groupings that have emerged in post-communist Poland, utilizing the theoretical models developed in the contemporary West European party literature, leads to the conclusion that the new Polish parties are strong at the level of state institutions and appear capable of fulfilling their role in terms of structuring elections, institutions and recruiting e…
State party funding and patronage in post-1989 Poland
The level and scope of state financial support for Polish parties have expanded progressively since 1989, making it the main source of income for a number of them. This becomes even more evident when one considers the allowances paid to party-based parliamentary caucuses and individual parliamentarians. Appointments to state and quasi-state bodies also appear to be an important source of patronage for Polish parties. The Polish party funding regi…
Electoral politics in Poland: The parliamentary elections of 1997
The Polish parliamentary election of September 1997 demonstrated the further consolidation of democracy in the years since the fall of communist rule. On a fairly low poll, the governing centre‐left coalition was defeated by a new coalition of parties and groupings from the previously deeply fragmented right. The number of parties and groupings was significantly down on previous elections, with only five winning parliamentary seats. The winner wa…
The impact of the 1998 local elections on the emerging polish party system
The October 1998 Polish local elections were the first in the post‐communist period to be dominated by national political groupings rather than locally brokered coalitions. As such, they provide us with a unique opportunity to identify shifts in the level of support for each of the main parties and groupings and to make judgements about the future shape of the party system. Despite the difficulties in identifying the precise implications for each…
Interests and Values: Polish Parties and their Electorates
The distribution of power between leaders and members, relationships with the state and civil society and whether or not they seek to enrol and mobilise their supporters are obviously all important issues to consider when determining what kinds of political parties are emerging in post-communist Eastern Europe. However, in some ways a more fundamental and basic question is: what is the nature of these parties' links with their electorates? Before…
Testing Party Models in East-Central Europe: Local Party Organization in Postcommunist Poland
This article seeks to relate hypotheses about how party structure and organization will develop in postcommunist East-Central Europe to empirical research conducted at the local level in Poland. The parties' membership bases and degree of local implantation are examined, together with their local organizational infrastructure and the pattern of local-national relations, particularly in the case of local parliamentary candidate selection. The rese…
Explaining Kwasniewski's Landslide: The October 2000 Polish Presidential Election
The Polish presidential election of October 2000 represented a tremendous personal and political triumph for the incumbent, Aleksander Kwasniewski. It was the culmination of a sophisticated and very thorough long-term political strategy based on promoting Kwasniewski as the guarantor of stability, inclusiveness and political consensus. The election result also contained important signals about the future shape of the Polish political scene. Howev…
Party Structure and Organizational Development in Post-Communist Poland
Detailed empirical examination of the institutional dynamics of the main parties and political groupings that have emerged in post-communist Poland, utilizing the theoretical models developed in the contemporary West European party literature, leads to the conclusion that the new Polish parties are strong at the level of state institutions and appear capable of fulfilling their role in terms of structuring elections, institutions and recruiting e…
The Polish Peasant Party: A Mass Party in Postcommunist Eastern Europe
The Polish Peasant Party: A Mass Party in Postcommunist Eastern Europe
Polish Public Opinion: Explaining Declining Support for EU Membership
This article examines the changing patterns of support for EU membership in Poland, the largest of the central and east European applicant states. It argues that we should not be surprised that Poles have become increasingly cynical about EU membership since accession negotiations began and examines the particular concerns that underpin Polish Euroscepticism. However, the overall level of support remains high, and it is apathy and low turnout tha…
The new Polish political parties as membership organizations
Poland's Unexpected Political Earthquake: The September 2001 Parliamentary Election
The September 2001 parliamentary election represented a political earthquake that may lead to a major restructuring of the party system. The communist successor formation, the Democratic Left Alliance, was returned to office after a four-year gap, and the post-Solidarity groupings that had formed the previous governments were soundly beaten. Very few commentators had foreseen such a result, or certain other surprises. The biggest of all was the s…
Dealing with the Communist Past or the Politics of the Present? Lustration in Post-Communist Poland
THE QUESTION OF HOW TO DEAL with a previous non-democratic regime's former functionaries is not unique to the post-communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. All newly emerging democracies face a similar challenge of how to deal with what Huntington calls the 'torturer problem and in recent years various forms of purge have accompanied most political system transformations.2 The new post-communist democracies also had several options availab…
Old and New Divisions in Polish Politics: Polish Parties' Electoral Strategies and Bases of Support
This article attempts to shed light on the evolving Polish party system and the changing relationship between Polish parties and their voters. It examines both party electoral strategies (whom they were trying to get to vote for them) and their bases of support and electoral profile (who actually voted for them). The focus is on the six parties and groupings that secured parliamentary representation following the September 2001 election: the SLD-…
The Polish centre-right's (last?) best hope: The rise and fall of Solidarity Electoral Action
Introduction: Understanding the Politics of the Right in Contemporary East–Central Europe
(2004). Introduction: Understanding the Politics of the Right in Contemporary East–Central Europe. Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics: Vol. 20, Centre-Right Parties in Post-Communist East–Central Europe, pp. 1-8
The Politics of European Referendum Outcomes and Turnout: Two Models
This survey briefly examines the EU accession process for the countries included in this collection and considers the distinctive features of this set of referendums, particularly the comparatively high levels of Yes vote and low levels of turnout. It argues that, although they represent a distinctive sub-type of European referendum, they can be used as a basis to draw at least tentative comparative and theoretical conclusions. Consequently, it t…
Contemporary Euroscepticism in the party systems of the European Union candidate states of Central and Eastern Europe
This article examines party‐based Euroscepticism in the candidate states of Central and Eastern Europe. In an attempt to develop comparative lessons from the different cases, it presents research into the location, electoral strength and type of Euroscepticism in the party systems of these countries. The data is then used to examine six propositions about the relationship between party‐based Euroscepticism and left‐right ideological spectrum, par…
History Trumps Government Unpopularity: The June 2003 Polish EU Accession Referendum
This analysis explains why Poles voted overwhelmingly to join the EU and how the 50% turnout requirement was achieved fairly easily. It argues that most Poles appeared to accept the historical significance of the referendum and de-coupled the issue of EU membership from that of confidence in an extremely unpopular government. This occurred because most key political and social actors, including the opposition parties, called for a Yes vote, while…
Conclusion: Towards a Model of (European) Referendums
This conclusion evaluates the causal models set out in the introduction to this collection and considers whether, in the light of the 2003 accession referendums, they require modification. On the basis of this examination we argue that the results of EU accession referendums appear to demonstrate that the key factors determining the results are the consequences of: (a) underlying mass attitudes in combination with (b) cues provided by elites. The…
Explaining lustration in Central Europe: A ‘Post-Communist Politics’ Approach
Lustration, the vetting of public officials in Central Europe for links to the communist-era security services, has been pursued most systematically in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Prior attempts to explain the pursuit or avoidance of lustration focused on the differing experiences of communist rule or transition to democracy. A closer examination finds that although the three countries in question had very different histories, there w…
Democratic government in Poland: Constitutional Politics Since 1989
George Sanford. Palgrave‐Macmillan: Basingstoke, Hants., 2002. xix+256 pp., £50 hbk; ISBN 0333774752
State party funding and patronage in post-1989 Poland
The level and scope of state financial support for Polish parties have expanded progressively since 1989, making it the main source of income for a number of them. This becomes even more evident when one considers the allowances paid to party-based parliamentary caucuses and individual parliamentarians. Appointments to state and quasi-state bodies also appear to be an important source of patronage for Polish parties. The Polish party funding regi…
Social Poland’ Defeats ‘Liberal Poland’? The September–October 2005 Polish Parliamentary and Presidential Elections
The 2005 Polish parliamentary and presidential elections were held on separate days, but the two campaigns ‘contaminated’ each other and the presidential contest largely overshadowed the parliamentary. The dominant issue during much of the campaign was probity in public life, and parties competed on their ability to tackle corruption effectively. The conservative Law and Justice party and its presidential candidate Lech Kaczyński emerged as unexp…
Opposing Europe ?: The Comparative Party Politics of Euroscepticism
The project of European integration now spans Europe, but in becoming bigger and broader the European Union has brought on itself significant criticism. As the EU becomes deeper, wider, and more ambitious, so opposition and scepticism become more prominent for citizens and more problematic for elites. Concerns about a ‘democratic deficit’ and the distance between European elites and publics have come to be a common feature of European politics. A…
The Birth of a Bipolar Party System or a Referendum on a Polarizing Government? The October 2007 Polish Parliamentary Election
The 2007 Polish parliamentary election is best understood as a plebiscite on the polarizing government led by the right-wing Law and Justice party and its controversial ‘Fourth Republic’ political project. The liberal-conservative Civic Platform opposition won because it was able to persuade Poles that voting for them was the most effective way of removing this government from office. The election also indicates that the ‘post-communist divide’ t…
Political science (44 works) · Law (41 works) · Political economy (39 works) · Politics (39 works) · Law (38 works) · Sociology (37 works) · Eastern European Communism and Reforms (24 works) · Economics (20 works) · Communism (18 works) · European Union Policy and Governance (16 works)