Political Modernization in Poland after 1989 – Dissertations on the Origin and the Factors of Transformation

Abstract

This paper concerns the issue of the external and internal factors influencing the process of political modernization in Poland after 1989, including Europeanization as the very important and complex paradigm for the politics of reforms in Poland. Dissertations that were carried out refer to the following scope of changes: political and system changes, economic and social changes. Among the internal determinants of changes, the initial situation (as the consequence of the Second World War, the occupation and the legacy of the Communist era), the continual changes of the new country and political parties, the changes in legislation, the voice of Solidarity movement, the attitude of Catholic church, economic issues and public feeling, were pointed out and discussed. As far as the external determinants are concerned, the attention was focused on the demise of the Communist Bloc, the reunification of Germany, the change in the international position of Poland, the global politics of Russia, the Polish accession to NATO and to the European Union, the opening of Poland to world markets and the inflow of international capital and new technologies.