Czasopisma 2017
Perspectives on Terrorism, no 3, s. 41-53
This article argues that the Islamic State’s cyber jihad, fully launched in 2014, is currently undergoing a regression that is demonstrated by the weakening of its quality, coverage and effectiveness. Comparing the character, major forms and popularity of Daesh’s releases from 2014 and 2015 with its most up-to-date productions, one can notice evident alterations signaling the long-awaited, but limited as yet, impairment of the “Caliphate’s” propaganda machine, composed of such specialized cells as the Amaq News Agency, al-Furqan Media, al-I’tisam Foundation, al-Himmah Library, or the al-Hayat Media Center. This transition is caused by a multitude of factors, with both offline and online origins.
Problems of Sustaiable Development vol. 12, no 1, p. 55-6
The article raises the issue of presumption as the increasingly widespread pattern of consumer behaviour leading to independence or the significant reduction of the use of some types of services and products on the market principles. It indicated the pro-ecological conditions of this group of consumer behaviours and their importance for the practical realisation of the concept of sustainable development. It reviewed the existing approaches concerning presumption and sustainable development. Taking into account the current state of knowledge, the concept of the prosument product was proposed, which can be treated as the involvement of citizens in the potential spheres of prosument actions to achieve sustainable development and providing the tangible and intangible benefits to people involved in its creation. It has also paid attention to the key areas of prosumption which impact the natural environment, also the potential courses of action were indicated, which should be taken by the state policy makers and the non-governmental organisations for the development of prosumer activity.
Polish Sociological Review, nr 2, p. 189-201
This paper examines the relation between „directiveness” and levels of religiosity (conceptualized as the three dimensions of „closing-opening,” „clericalization-secularization,” and „dogmatism-permissiveness”). The model used has been empirically verified and is a consequence of previous studies proving that religiosity in itself generates both pro-social attitudes (especially in regard to an individual’s own religious group) and attitudes of aggression toward „outgroups.” Researchers have also demonstrated that religion can be a factor that inhibits actual aggression through values such as self-control of negative emotions or impulsive acts. This study finds that the model presented is statistically significant in terms of dimensions such as „closing-opening” and clericalization- secularization: higher directiveness makes it possible to predict higher „closing” and clericalization. This finding makes it possible to discuss directiveness as a foundation for real aggression and attitudes of discrimination against individuals or groups that pose a symbolic or real threat to the unity of the Roman Catholic community.
Religio c. 1, s. 43-68
The specific role of Roman Catholicism in Poland is associated both with over a thousand year’s history of communion between religion and the state and with contemporary events, including, e.g., the collapse of communism, systemic transformation, and the selection of Karol Wojtyła as the pope. Because of these events, the sacred and secular spheres in Poland are not autonomous and often overlap. What is interesting, despite the commonly stressed religious homogeneity of Polish society, our research shows various internal paradoxes within that segment. This fact inspired us to carry out the presented research, aimed at verifying the internal coherence of the segment of people identifying as Roman Catholics, and at determining – on the basis of potential differences between them – the models of religious functioning in Poland. Due to the overlapping of the spheres of religion and politics in Polish history, we analysed the relations between the identified models and the desired types of socio-political order in the country. The analysis was influenced by anticipations concerning the impact of the model of religious functioning on the desired socio-political order in Poland, which may refer to the needs and values generated by the sphere of the sacred in different ways. Empirical findings show that generally in Poland there are three models of coexistence of the religious and secular orders: protesters, inclusionists, and fundamentalists. The outcome clearly proves the existence of strong relations between the models of religious functioning and the socio-political orders.
Central European Journal of International and Security Studies, 2017, Iss. 2, s. 84-105
This articlecontributes to the discussion about the multidimensional consequences of the crisis and conflict in Ukraine. It focuses on the rarely discussed subject of the implications of the events in this country since 2013 for Polish-Ukrainian relations from Warsaw’s perspective. This article has three major goals: firstly, to present the historical determinants influencing contemporary Polish-Ukrainian relations; secondly, to characterize the reaction of Poland to the events in Ukraine since 2013; and finally, to point out major implications of the crisis and conflict for bilateral relations from a Polish standpoint. The paper concludesthat,contrary to many domestic official statements, the Ukrainian crisis and conflict brought more challenges and dilemmas than tangible benefits for Poland. Obviously, bilateral contacts with Kiev are nowadays much better than a few years back, but this does not mean that Warsaw profits greatly from this situation. Moreover, new and rather unexpected challenges emerged in these relations, concerning, among others, Ukraine’s historical policy, the activities of right-wing extremists andthe lack of prospects of joiningthe EU and NATO, which is a long-term Polish ambition for her neighbour.
Politics in Central Europe, nr 2/3, s. 53-72
The specifi city of local elections supports the idea that there is signifi cantly more chance of developing political identity at the local level. Given the social specifi city of local elections, we propose three hypotheses with the aim of ascertaining whether (i) the greater signifi cance of these elections, (ii) the specifi city of their political programmes and/or (iii) the proximity of voters to candidates lead to a stronger sense of individual political identity. These hypotheses are verifi ed from a comparative perspective by reference to local elections in Poland and Slovenia.
Baltic Journal of European Studies, Vol. 7, iss. 2, (2017), s. 84-106
Initially, before the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty, differences in integration between members of the European Communities (EC; later the European Union) were relatively few and usually temporary in nature. The Schengen Agreement, the Maastricht Treaty and the Treaty of Amsterdam, and the possibility of establishing enhanced cooperation meant that the problem was becoming more and more important in the functioning of the EU – both in theory and in practice. The objective of the paper is to show that for several years, along with the stagnation in the deepening of integration between all the EU Member States, differentiation of integration in the EU is progressing very rapidly. The progressing differentiation in the EU is a consequence of mainly two processes: the development of enhanced cooperation and reforms in the eurozone, which are strengthened by the widening of the EU. The article covers the issue of the categorization of differentiation of European Union integration, which constitutes the theoretical framework for further considerations. Specified processes which contribute to increasing the differentiation of the EU are discussed, showing the development of enhanced cooperation in the EU and presenting the reforms of the eurozone. The article concludes with the identification and the consequences of differentiated integration, both those that have already occurred and those that may occur in the future.