SOCJOLOGIA POLITYKI – ARTYKUŁ DYSKUSYJNY

Author(s): Anna Gąsior-Niemiec / Language(s): Polish Issue: 06/2009

The paper is dedicated to political sociology – its genealogy, status as a scientific discipline, its functions, agenda and methodological scope. The discussion of these issues is tuned towards didactic goals, facilitating students’ orienteering in the problematic, functions and requirements of political sociology as a part of political sciences. The paper consists of three parts. The first part, entitled „The origins and genaology of sociology political”, emphasizes historical continuity of reflection pertaining social conditions of politics. There, a project of scientist sociology and basing on its critiqs projects of Verstehen sociology and interpretative sociology are presented as well. It is also stressed that critical reflection over political relations and their social context involves an intermingling of emprical and normative aspects. The second part of the paper, enitled, „Debates and controversies pertaining contemporary political sociology”, outlines major axes differentiating positions taken by sociologists representing dominant methodological streams within this discipline of science nowadays. These axes are crystallized around a few issues that raise most controversies, incuding 1) an issue of institutional positioning of political sociology; 2) an issue of the subject matter of this discipline of science, and 3) an issue of the relationship between the discipline and its subject matter. The third part of the paper, entitled „An overview of major methodological conceptions and problems in contemporary political sociology”, discusses in some detail the main methodological approaches within the discipline as well as a tendency to broaden both the horizon of issues covered by contemporary political sociology and increase the scope of analytical approaches to research them. These tendencies are cliamed to result inter alia from empirical and theoretical insights provided by research into Europeanization and globalization. Subsequently, a basic structure of a course in political sociology is presented, leading analytical categories to be used while teaching the course are specified, and objectives inscribed in the university-level course of this discipline are listed.

POSTDEMOKRATSKE KRITIKE DEMOKRATIJE: TRANSFORMACIJA ILI URUŠAVANJE DEMOKRATIJE

Author(s): Đorđe Pavićević / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 4/2016

The article reconsiders analytical value of the concept of postdemocracy. The thesis of the article is that significance of the concept of postdemocracy lies in its ability to be used as a tool of conceptual criticism, not in its informative value for criticism of democratic regimes. The question is: whether it is possible, from post-democratic perspective, to claim that realistic judgment on particular „democratic practices” could be wrong judgement on democracy? Three different conceptions of postdemocracy are offered as answers to the question. They are considered as reaction to self-proclaimed „triumph” of democracy and universalization of minimalistic conception of democracy. The first is the conception of English sociologist Colin Crouch which is based on criticism of participation failure and electoral policies of existing democracies. The second is Sheldon Wolin’s conception which is suspicious of representativeness of representative democracy. Third conception is based on Jacques Rancière’s critique of legitimacy scheme of liberal democracy. These three critiques suggest that democracy is in bad shape as well as that the meaning of the notion of democracy is hooked by economic and political elites. The conclusion is that the concept of post-democracy is more useful as a platform of critical reconsideration of democracy than more frequently used concepts of crisis, deficit, decline or transformation. The question of adequacy of particular conceptions of post-democracy is not raised in this article.

MINUTA ŠUTNJE PREDRAGU MATVEJEVIĆU JE UVRJEDA JE HRVATSKOM NARODU

Author(s): Nenad Piskač / Language(s): Bosnian Issue: 89-90/2017

Hrvatski sabor je na poticaj SDP-ova zastupnika Nenada Stazića početkom veljače minutom šutnje odao počast Predragu Matvejeviću. Kad sam još na svoje uši čuo i oči vidio način na koji je HTV popratila Matvejevićev odlazak na Božji sud, te u nevjerici čuo vijest da je predsjednik Vlade poslao brzojav sućuti, shvatio sam da su me Sabor, Vlada i HTV uvrijedili, ponizili i zapravo zaprijetili mi matvejevićizacijom hrvatskoga društva. Prijetnja je ubrzo postala bjelodanom! Milu Pešordu osokoljeni je jugos napao onako kako je to radio Matvejević u svojim najboljim lustratorsko- klevetničkim danima.

Zagrożenia wynikające z jednoczesnego wdrażania inicjatywy lokalnej i budżetu obywatelskiego

Author(s): Bartłomiej Biga / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2016

This text is embedded in the concept of social participation implemented through the formal mechanisms of cooperation between local government units and residents (and their associations). The aim of the study is to identify the risk which arises from the simultaneous implementation of a local initiative and a participatory budget. The text offers solutions designed to minimize the risk of adverse incidents in this context, too. This is the result of experience with the implementation these instruments in various municipalities. The essential problems in this area is the lack of trust between administration and citizens (in both directions). Moreover, participatory budget gives a chance for a society to achieve specific goals with less self-involvement. Therefore this instrument cannot be implemented in a competitive manner with local initiative. Thus, the text contains a proposal for a complementary coexistence of these instruments.

Dynamika wiedzy politycznej Polaków

Author(s): Marta Żerkowska-Balas,Mikołaj Cześnik,Mateusz Zaremba / Language(s): Polish Issue: 3/2017

The main objective of the present paper is to examine various aspects of political knowledge in Poland. First, we are interested to know what sociodemographic traits determine the level of political knowledge. Second, we want to describe the dynamics of political knowledge: we want to discover whether and how its level changes during democratic consolidation in Poland. Last but not least, we test the hypothesis related to political knowledge influence on propensity to vote.In the empirical part we use PNES 1997-2015 data. Due to numerous limitations of traditional measure of political knowledge – battery of questions about political facts– we test alternative measure of the phenomenon, based on the accuracy of estimating the political party’s position in the multidimensional space of political competition.Our results suggest that Poles’ political knowledge and its relationship with important socio-political variables does not change over time. What is more, the new index of political knowledge has proven to be an important determinant of electoral behaviour which increases a propensity to vote.

Słabości i niedostatki procedur demokracji deliberacyjnej

Author(s): Aneta Krzewińska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 3/2017

This article presents two main issues. Firstly, it shows the characteristics of democracy which are criticised by supporters of deliberative democracy. This perspective makes it possible to present the main attributes of deliberative democracy. The characteristics of this type of democracy refer to the procedures of deliberation, as a general reflection on important social, political, and economic issues. Secondly, the paper criticises deliberative democracy by showing the problems associated with the implementation of procedures, without considering the philosophical background of the issue under discussion. The article concludes with the presentation of an extremely rare application of the procedures of deliberative democracy in Poland, and the troubles connected with its realisation.

Trzy generacje polityczne regionalnej elity samorządowej

Author(s): Witold Betkiewicz,Michał Kotnarowski,Jacek Wasilewski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2018

The article presents the results of the empirical study on regional elite in Poland done from the theory of elites perspective. The sample consists of 400 councillors of the 2014-2018 term of regional (voivodships’) assemblies and town councils of big cities. Research questions relate to the exchange of elites (circulation-reproduction thesis) and the differences in structural characteristics and the ways of the recruitment into the regional elite between three political generations. The initial premise was that political generations formed in different phases of systemic change and having various tasks to perform would be significantly different. A distinction between three political generations has been drawn: transformational (started political activity before 1997), post-transformation (in 1997–2003) and the EU generation (2004 or later). The key findings indicate that an exchange of elites is limited. Moreover, there are relatively small differences between generations in both structural properties and the ways of recruitment into the elite. We hypothetically associate this with the fact that representatives of transformational and post-transformational generations do not reflect the characteristics of their generations during these generations’ formation period (before 1997 and before 2004, respectively). They reveal the features of only those who survived in the regional-political positions until 2017.

Determinanty przestrzennego zróżnicowania wyników głosowania w wyborach parlamentarnych z 2015 roku

Author(s): Wojciech Grabowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2018

This paper analyses the spatial differentiation of the results of voting in the 2015 Polish parliamentary election. Data of the National Electoral Commission at the level of municipalities (NUTS-5) as well as the indicators of the socio-economic development derived from the Local Data Bank of the Statistical Government are used. The aim of the empirical research is twofold. First, the impact of the economic, socio-demographic as well as historical and cultural factors on the level of support for the Polish parties is analysed. Second, the strength of the factors influencing political preferences of citizens of Polish communities (gminy) is investigated. The estimates of the parameters of the Dirichlet regression model indicate that economic variables, socio-demographic factors as well as location variables had significant impact on the results of the 2015 parliamentary election. Nevertheless, historical and cultural factors turned out to be the most important determinants. The main contribution of this paper to the existing literature is the finding that a distance between a given community (gmina) and its nearest large city has an impact on the voting attitudes of the former’s residents. The obtained results indicate that the phenomenon of spillover of liberal attitudes from the larger cities to the neighbouring communities (gminy) is present.

Idea państwa w świadomości młodych inteligenckich elit

Author(s): Piotr Kulas / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2018

The main aim of the article is to present and analyze the ideas of young Polish intellectual elites about the state. The article discusses the historical context of the relationship between intelligentsia and the state. I also pay attention to the related ambivalences. I argue that young intellectual elites are convinced of the semi-peripheral position of Poland. Simultaneously, their representatives speak for an active, inclusive state that, in their opinion, had not been built after 1989. Although the noticeable way of thinking that emphasizes the importance of the state is shared across generations, it is markedly present among younger generations. The basis of the presented analysis is several dozen in-depth interviews with representatives of young intellectual elites. The article contributes to historical and sociological studies on the consciousness of Polish intelligentsia.

Запажања о Манифесту Комунистичке партије из социјализма Трећег света

Author(s): Charles McKelvey / Language(s): English,Serbian Issue: 2/2018

Drawing from the cognitional theory of Bernard Lonergan and from anti-colonial movements, the paper maintains that universal understanding of social dynamics is approached through personal encounter with social movements of the dominated. Moreover, the paper sustains that Marx implicitly followed this method of cross-horizon encounter, thereby forging a significant advance in understanding. The paper points to the marginalization of Marx’s insights in Western universities and to the oversights of Western Marxism, stressing the significance of revolutionary political subjects that have emerged in the Third World. To overcome its limitations, Western Marxists ought to engage in sustained personal encounter with popular Third World revolutionary movements.

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN UNDERSTANDING THE POPULISM

Author(s): Marin DRĂMNESCU / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2018

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN UNDERSTANDING THE POPULISM

УЛОГАТА НА УСЛОВЕНОСТА И КОНТРОЛАТА ВО ПРАВАТА НА СОЦИЈАЛНА ПОМОШ

Author(s): Vesna Leskošek,Dušan Dragosavac,Srečo Dragoš / Language(s): English,Macedonian Issue: 14/2018

Conditionality in social assistance delivery secured a firm foothold in the social policies of EU countries and wider. And yet, the analyses of it indicates that the aim behind it was not to resolve the poverty issues and other social problems, but to reduce social expenditure. To integrate social policy into economic policy according to the labour market demands, a series of measures that underrate social complexity were introduced, for example, user motivation, “nudging” practices guiding the users towards desired choices, incentives and punishment for wrong choices. Changes in social policy affect professionalism in social services which is expected to adjust its methods to the new requirements and thus resorts to ever more controlling and punitive practices. The article presents the case of Slovenia which adopted the ideas of strong conditionality in 2005, during the first neo-liberal government. The study focuses on behavioural economics which has become part of public policies in general.

PRELUDIJUM ZA REFORMU SOCIJALIZMA

Author(s): Miodrag Ranković / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 1-2/1990

MINIMALISTIČKI KONCEPT DEMOKRATIJE JOŠ JE VALIDAN

Author(s): Zoran M. Avramović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 4/1999

In this article author deals with the analyses on the problem to classify the political system in Serbia established after 1990. On the theoretical-polemics approach, author dispute theses about lack o f the minimalistic criteria for determination democracy in Serbia. Author assert that basic condition for classification o f political system as democratic system are: institution o f parliamentarism, political parties, free elections. He point out that problem is not only in the existence institutions but on the manner its function as well as styles of political culture. In the article there is description o f twelve disfunctional elements o f democracy in Serbia.

TOTALITARNA VLAST I »MODERNIZACIJA« Novi prilog polemici sa Milićevskom neoboljševičkom školom

Author(s): Aleksandar Molnar / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 1/2000

In this article the author endeavours to give some reasons why the paradigm of totalitarianism is still of considerable importance for the contemporary social sciences. Thus he disagrees with the members o f the Milićian neobolshevist school (Vladimir Ilić, Todor Kuljić etc.), who are eager to deny any significance to the paradigm of totalitarianism. The author also polemicizes against the attempts o f Milićian neoblosheviks to glorify Tito 's political legacy and »modernizing« authoritarian government.

’stenkalapja, ’kréta rajta. Reflexió Timothy Snyder cikkére

Author(s): Zsuzsa Hetényi / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1-2/2019

The Center- Margin Dialectics in The Poetry of Emmanuel Fru Doh and Bill F. Ndi

Author(s): Edwin Nji Tem,Collins Amara Nnyigide / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2019

This paper focuses on the concept of the center-margin in relation to the selected poetry of Emmanuel Fru Doh and Bill F Ndi. A concept rooted in postcolonial studies focusing on the relationship between colonial power in relation to the colonized, the paper transposes this concept, in post independent Cameroonian society, to see how the struggle to give voice to those on the margin of society is given currency in the poetry of Doh and Ndi. The paper submits that after independence, the center has essentially shifted from the colonial authorities to the new elite. They in turn, have consolidated the socio-economic gains, creating a perpetual rift between the ruler and the ruled.

Hiperpolitika

Author(s): Halima Sofradžija / Language(s): Bosnian Issue: 1/2018

Trying to analyse what is recognized and revealed in the phenomenology of the political world, political practice has deprived us of understanding that politics has appeared only in an area that is conventionally called politics. Especially it is visible when modern technology irreversibly transforms the political field, strengthening the effects of political action, and expanding the space for new strategies

Fisurile doctrinei economice socialiste, semnalate chiar în epoca apariţiei sale (secolul al XIX-lea)

Author(s): Eufrosina Otlăcan / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 9/2016

Two French professors, Charles Gide and Charles Rist, published in Paris in the year 1909, an important treatise, with five books, under the title Histoire des Doctrines économiques depuis les physiocrates jusqu’à nos jours (History of Economic Doc trines from Physiocrats till our days). In the second and third chapters of the Book IV they had made a critical analysis of the socialist doctrines. The authors explained the social and eco nomic states in the 19th century which led to these theories, and why the main of their theses were wrong. In our paper we name fissures the concepts proved by Gide and Rist as being wrong.

Political Participation, Volunteering During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hungary

Author(s): Dániel Mikecz,Dániel Oross / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020