Powiatowa elita polityczna: rekrutacja, struktura, działanie
Gespeichert in:
| Format: | Buch |
|---|---|
| Sprache: | Polish |
| Veröffentlicht: |
Warszawa
Instytut Studiów Politycznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk
2006
|
| Schlagworte: | |
| Online-Zugang: | Inhaltsverzeichnis Abstract |
| Beschreibung: | Zsfassung in engl. Sprache u.d.T.: The county political elite |
| Beschreibung: | 358, [1] s. 24 cm |
| ISBN: | 8388490893 9788388490897 |
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| 245 | 1 | 0 | |a Powiatowa elita polityczna |b rekrutacja, struktura, działanie |c pod red. Jacka Wasilewskiego ; Instytut Studiów Politycznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk |
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| 500 | |a Zsfassung in engl. Sprache u.d.T.: The county political elite | ||
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Datensatz im Suchindex
| _version_ | 1804137267622576129 |
|---|---|
| adam_text | Spis
tresei
Jacek Wasilewski
Wprowadzenie. Elita polityczna średniego szczebla
-
problematyka
badania
........................................................................................................ 9
Jacek Wasilewski
Zarys socjologicznego portretu elity politycznej sześciu powiatów
........... 39
Irena Pańków
Społeczny kapitał rodzinny a kapitał przywódczy w demokracji
lokalnej
........................................................................................................ 65
Witold Betkiewicz
Demokratyczna i samorządowa reforma powiatów
-
porażka czy sukces
nowej instytucji?
......................................................................................... 103
Witold Betkiewicz
Samorządność czy administrowanie? Status powiatu postrzegany
przez pryzmat wykonywanych zadań
......................................................... 143
Ewa Nalewajko
Powiatowe partie polityczne
-
trudna adaptacja
......................................... 187
Agnieszka Dudzińska
O idei reprezentacji politycznej
.................................................................. 245
Agnieszka Dudzińska, Barbara Post
Powiatowe odmiany reprezentacji politycznej
........................................... 259
Zofia Kinowska,
Arma Radiukiewicz
Dwa obrazy aktywności obywatelskiej
-
perspektywa władz
samorządowych i perspektywa mieszkańców
............................................ 299
Bibliografia
................................................................................................. 339
Noty o autorach
........................................................................................... 351
Summary
..................................................................................................... 353
Summary
The County Political Elite
The book presents the political life of the county
(powiat),
an administrative
unit at the local level. In Poland, this is not the smallest of units. That place
is occupied by the commune
(gmina),
of which there number over two and
a half thousand, having, as a rule, a population count of between ten and twenty
thousand. There are over
300
counties, usually inhabited by several tens of
thousands. Within the Polish public administrative structure, above the county
the voivodship
(województwo)
of which there are
16,
the largest being the size
of a small European state
(4-5
million inhabitants).
The democratic reform of public administration in Poland was begun in
1990
with the creation of the autonomous communes, but was only concluded
in
1998
when the self-governing counties and voivodships came into being.
In Poland, the county is thus a young and poorly-examined institution. It is
precisely for that reason that this research into counties was undertaken.
Local political life is depicted through the prism of the elite. The theoretical
basis for the research is first and foremost the theory of democracy and the
theory of the elites, followed by the theory of public administration. The
general aim is to demonstrate the degree of consolidation within Polish
democracy through the ongoing processes in the provinces and in relation
to local authorities and local political society.
The empirical foundation for the research consists of six case studies. In
2004,
field research was carried out in six counties located in various parts of
Poland. Of the six counties, three are rural and agricultural in nature and three
are urbanised and industrial.
The primary empirical data were collected via:
1.
A questionnaire: face-to-face interviews with members of the county
political elite. The county political elite was defined through positional
approach as office-holders and included all councillors, members of the county
353
Summary
executive board (usually consisting of three people) and leaders of the local
branches of political parties.
155
interviews were carried out in all.
2.
Recorded in-depth interviews with community leaders. Influential
local people were defined by a combination of positional and reputational
methods and included leading council members (chairman of the council),
chairs of committees and so forth, and other formal and informal local leaders,
named (on a snowball basis) by the respondents. This group included former
councillors and party activists, teachers, journalists, priests, businessmen and
so forth.
139
in-depth interviews were carried out in all.
In addition, a short mail survey was carried out among half of all the county
councillors in Poland. Over
2,550
self-administered questionnaires were posted
and
854
were returned (a response rate of
33.5%).
The main aim of the mail
survey was to discover whether the councillors in the six counties are similar
to, or distinct from their peers across the country.
Moreover, in each county a focus group interview was carried out with
a group of inhabitants. The aim was to discover the citizens general stance
towards the local authority.
The main results of the research may be summarised as follows:
•
The county political elite is the product of a powerful selective process,
during which the young, women, the less-well educated, those from families
of a lower status and so forth are eliminated. Generally, the recruitment of the
local elite follows a course which is astonishingly similar to the selection of
the regional and national elite. In effect, the socio-demographic features of the
county elite are close to those of the national elite. In the main, they are middle-
-aged, middle-class men with a higher education. In the local elite, three
milieux dominate; managers, white-collars and small business. The agricultural
milieu is extremely poorly represented and, to all intents and purpose, that of
the working-class is absent. Amongst the professions, teachers stand out as
being strongly over-represented in local government.
•
A striking feature of the members of the local political elite, irrespective
of background, be it one of relatively high status, agricultural or working-class
is the family capital, in social, cultural, patriotic, or similar terms, which they
bring with them. It appears that the family backgrounds of the respondents were
very often characterised by activities in some field which distinguished them
in their milieu
-
involvement in various enterprises or participation in historic
events (on a national or local scale). In general, these were not Ordinary
354
Summary
families; they were families of tradition, conscious of their place in the world,
known and respected in the neighbourhood, working for the common good.
Thus, the respondents are not infrequently perpetuators of a family tradition of
serving others and of public service. It would seem that the role of the family
background, a classic ascriptive variable in the recruitment of the local elite, is
vital. It reveals itself in two ways; through typical variables (for example, the
father s education, income), but also through the
socio-cultural
capital of the
family, which is not necessarily linked to formal status.
•
Members of the county elite are experienced activists, having been involved
for years in various forms and on various rungs of public life. There are few
novices amongst them; many of them are those who, before
1989,
belonged to the
ruling, communist Polish United Workers Party or in other ways (for example,
as councillors) were involved in practice in the
ancien
regime. Generally, the
opening of new structures of political opportunity such as the creation of the
counties in
1998
did not bring new people into local politics. On the contrary,
a significant majority of the new places were taken by previous activists,
including those from the era of The People s Republic of Poland.
•
During discussions held in the
mid-1990 s
about the second stage of
the administrative reforms, the fiercest controversy was that concerning
the counties. Three standpoints were taken; that the counties should not be
introduced, their being a dispensable rung in the administrative structure; that
the counties should not have autonomous status, but be a hierarchical element,
encompassing a narrow field of competence and dealing only with matters
which are clearly beyond the scope of the commune; and finally, that the
county have full autonomous status (modelled on the commune) and a wide
competence. What prevailed was a modification of the third concept, which
means an autonomous self-governing county (with an elected County Council as
the representative of the community of inhabitants), but with relatively limited,
enumerated competencies. The critics have not put up their weapons and even
now claims are made that the counties in their present form are unnecessary. In
such a situation, it was worthwhile taking up the issue empirically; it was thus
translated into operational terms as follows. The democratic and autonomous
status of the county means that representatives selected by inhabitants through
competitive election will attempt to meet local needs and be responsive
to the inhabitants preferences. The counties differ from each other with regard
to numerous factors; it is therefore difficult to assume that the needs and
355
Summary
preferences of the inhabitants would be the same. If autonomy and the self-
governing character of the counties is their genuine feature, then the counties
should differ from each other in the objectives they accomplish, in the priorities
attributed to individual objectives and, as a consequence, in the resources which
are allocated to a given objective by the self-governing authorities. However,
if the autonomous and self-governing nature of the county is simply a
façade,
if the counties in truth carry out what are clearly administrative functions and
their self-governing activists are more the state officials than representatives
of the inhabitants, then it is to be expected that the tasks being accomplished
by every one of the six counties will be more or less the same.
Our analyses do not settle the issue without leaving room for debate, but they
do strongly suggest that the county elite are able to make use of the democratic
mechanisms for exercising authority. Acting in an extremely restricted sphere
(defined by the legislators, who imposed specific objectives on the counties),
the county authorities do not limit their functions to the straightforward
administration of areas entrusted to them, although such elements appear in
the counties under study. The introduction of self-governing authorities and
the ensuing political rivalry has, in the majority of cases, brought the expected
results. Local democratic authorities react to the needs and preferences of the
inhabitants and, in effect, their decisions and priorities are adapted to local
conditions. The local elite are adherents of the autonomous and self-governing
county and take, as the ultimate model for the county, the current communes,
which have a wider sphere of competence and their own ampler financial
resources, raised from local taxes.
•
The political parties are present in the county and are important players
in local politics. Suffice it to say that nearly half the members of the county
political elite are members of political parties. At the same time, the activities
of the political parties in the six counties are extremely diversified. In one of the
agricultural counties, the parties are on the margins of political life and a mere
20%
of the local elite are active in the parties; at the opposite pole is one of the
industrial counties, where as many as
75%
of the members of the elite belong
to the parties, which dominate local political life.
The political parties returned to the Polish political system recently and
thus the history of their local presence is a brief one. They encountered there
a variety of local political set-ups, forcing them to re-orientate and adapt
to the new system of political rivalry. Yet they themselves also had to adjust
to the local scene. In effect, local branches of the parties were subject to two
356
Summary
adaptations; to the new organisational structures of the parties (their own and
others) and to new local political society. Moreover, political parties on the
county level must always be encompassed within two institutional dimensions;
the party dimension and the self-governing local dimension.
The analysis of political parties in the counties is linked with the hypothesis
of a local political vacuum. The hypothesis claims that a political vacuum
exists between central state institutions and the central (national) political elite
formed into political parties on the one hand, and the voter-citizens on the
other. The political structures, including the political parties, are developed
at the top in Warsaw and a few other large cities; they are already weakened
in the voivodships and large towns and in the counties and communes, there
are mere traces. The political vacuum exists there. The radical version
of this hypothesis is inaccurate, for the parties (and other organisations of
political society) do have a local presence. On the other hand, in general these
organisations are shallow , which means that they encompass a comparatively
narrow group of people who are incapable of encouraging (or do not wish
to encourage) the wider mass of citizens to act. In effect, the hypothesis of the
local political vacuum demands further analysis. Even more so, in that in the
period covered by our research
(2004-2005),
an essential regrouping occurred
within the structures of the Polish parties; the parties of the left, mainly The
Democratic Left Alliance
(Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej)
lost their position
of strength and the role of the right-wing The Law and Justice Party
(Prawo
i Sprawiedliwość)
abruptly increased.
•
Two dimensions of political representation are taken into consideration.
On the one hand, the focus of representation is examined, with the answer being
sought to the question of whom councillors should represent and who they, in
fact, do represent. On the other hand, the style of representation is examined,
that is whether councillors are guided in their decision-making by their own
insight (the role of trustee ) or by the will of the voters (the role of delegate ).
On the first issue, we are able to say that at the declarative level, the dominant
attitude is universal
-
a councillor should represent first and foremost the
inhabitants of the county in their entirety. At the same time, the data reveal
the existence of a clear particularism, both territorial and environmental
in character. It may be assumed that both attitudes mark the extremes of
a continuum, within the framework of which councillors are placed; at one
time close to one attitude, at another close to the second, depending upon
specific issues. However, in situations where the interest of their own circle or
357
Summary
professional milieu is threatened, the councillors display a marked preference
for defending particularistic interests, even against the interests of the county
as a whole. A role is played here by electoral considerations, in other words, the
chance of re-election, which is played out within an electoral district rather than
the county in its entirety.
On the issue of style of representation, it may be said that representatives
incline more towards the model of the trustee, guided in making decisions
by their own judgement. The model of the delegate predominates only in
votes of a personal nature; however, the instructions do not originate from the
electorate, but from the political (party) clubs represented on the Council.
•
Active citizenship, as seen through the eyes of the power-holders and
the eyes of the inhabitants, provides two divergent pictures. A dichotomous
division is clearly visible: us and them . From the point of view of the
elite, them , that is the inhabitants, form a passive, entitlement-orientated
group which is easily manipulated. In turn, us , that is the representatives
of authority, are active, we act for the common good, which the inhabitants
do not sufficiently appreciate. From the point of view of the inhabitants, the
most important difference between us and them is the involvement in dirty
politics. They are a group of dishonest wheeler-dealers whilst us , beyond
those sleazy arrangements, bear the consequences of their behaviour. However,
each group discerns positive exceptions. Members of the elite discern active
citizens and the inhabitants feel respect towards certain representatives of the
elite. Nevertheless, antagonism, mutual distance and mistrust seem to run deep
and to a large degree paralyse communication and co-operation.
Despite the differences by which the political realities are defined, both the
representatives and the inhabitants discern a deficit of citizenship within the
county. The majority are agreed that things would be better if the community
were to be more active. Both groups point to similar causes of passivity. They
agree in placing the blame on the country s general situation. The respondents
attribute a specific role in discouraging citizens from becoming engaged in
public life to politicians ongoing involvement in compromising scandals. In the
opinion of the county elite, this destructive influence is the effect of the activities
of politicians at the top . However, the inhabitants stress that politics as such is
dirty, irrespective of the level; the same at the top as it is at the bottom .
The clash of opinion between the respondents of both groups as to the role
the civil society plays in the county is interesting. The clear conviction amongst
358
Summary
the councillors, that the authorities feel that they are controlled by the citizens,
does not match with the perception on the part of the citizens, who believe
themselves to powerless.
The deficit in citizenship in Poland is enormous. It is manifest in a lack of
trust in state institutions and in fellow citizens, poor turn-out at elections and faint
interest in politics. On the other hand, a longing for joint pro-community activities
is also demonstrated. In the light of our data, it may be confirmed that citizenship is
more of a postulate than a reality. Nonetheless, the fact that it is a value recognised
by both the elite and the masses provides certain ground for optimism.
Contents
Jacek Wasilewski
Introduction. The middle-ranking political elite: a research problem
........ 9
Jacek
Wasilewski
A sociological portrait of the political elite in six counties
........................ 39
Irena Pankow
Family capital and leadership capital in local democracy
.......................... 65
Witold Betkiewicz
The democratic reform of county administration. The success or failure
of the new institution?
................................................................................. 103
Witold
Betkiewicz
Self-governing body or an agent of state bureaucracy? The status
of the county as perceived through its tasks
............................................... 143
Ewa Nalewajko
County branches of political parties: a difficult adjustment
....................... 187
Agnieszka Dudzińska
A concept of political representation
.......................................................... 245
Agnieszka Dudzińska,
Barbara Post
County variants of political representation
................................................. 259
Zofia
Kinowska, Anna Radiukiewicz
Two perceptions of civic activity: the inhabitants perspective
and the local authorities perspective
.......................................................... 299
|
| adam_txt |
Spis
tresei
Jacek Wasilewski
Wprowadzenie. Elita polityczna średniego szczebla
-
problematyka
badania
. 9
Jacek Wasilewski
Zarys socjologicznego portretu elity politycznej sześciu powiatów
. 39
Irena Pańków
Społeczny kapitał rodzinny a kapitał przywódczy w demokracji
lokalnej
. 65
Witold Betkiewicz
Demokratyczna i samorządowa reforma powiatów
-
porażka czy sukces
nowej instytucji?
. 103
Witold Betkiewicz
Samorządność czy administrowanie? Status powiatu postrzegany
przez pryzmat wykonywanych zadań
. 143
Ewa Nalewajko
Powiatowe partie polityczne
-
trudna adaptacja
. 187
Agnieszka Dudzińska
O idei reprezentacji politycznej
. 245
Agnieszka Dudzińska, Barbara Post
Powiatowe odmiany reprezentacji politycznej
. 259
Zofia Kinowska,
Arma Radiukiewicz
Dwa obrazy aktywności obywatelskiej
-
perspektywa władz
samorządowych i perspektywa mieszkańców
. 299
Bibliografia
. 339
Noty o autorach
. 351
Summary
. 353
Summary
The County Political Elite
The book presents the political life of the county
(powiat),
an administrative
unit at the local level. In Poland, this is not the smallest of units. That place
is occupied by the commune
(gmina),
of which there number over two and
a half thousand, having, as a rule, a population count of between ten and twenty
thousand. There are over
300
counties, usually inhabited by several tens of
thousands. Within the Polish public administrative structure, above the county
the voivodship
(województwo)
of which there are
16,
the largest being the size
of a small European state
(4-5
million inhabitants).
The democratic reform of public administration in Poland was begun in
1990
with the creation of the autonomous communes, but was only concluded
in
1998
when the self-governing counties and voivodships came into being.
In Poland, the county is thus a young and poorly-examined institution. It is
precisely for that reason that this research into counties was undertaken.
Local political life is depicted through the prism of the elite. The theoretical
basis for the research is first and foremost the theory of democracy and the
theory of the elites, followed by the theory of public administration. The
general aim is to demonstrate the degree of consolidation within Polish
democracy through the ongoing processes 'in the provinces' and in relation
to local authorities and local political society.
The empirical foundation for the research consists of six case studies. In
2004,
field research was carried out in six counties located in various parts of
Poland. Of the six counties, three are rural and agricultural in nature and three
are urbanised and industrial.
The primary empirical data were collected via:
1.
A questionnaire: face-to-face interviews with members of the county
political elite. The county political elite was defined through positional
approach as office-holders and included all councillors, members of the county
353
Summary
executive board (usually consisting of three people) and leaders of the local
branches of political parties.
155
interviews were carried out in all.
2.
Recorded in-depth interviews with community leaders. Influential
local people were defined by a combination of positional and reputational
methods and included leading council members (chairman of the council),
chairs of committees and so forth, and other formal and informal local leaders,
named (on a snowball basis) by the respondents. This group included former
councillors and party activists, teachers, journalists, priests, businessmen and
so forth.
139
in-depth interviews were carried out in all.
In addition, a short mail survey was carried out among half of all the county
councillors in Poland. Over
2,550
self-administered questionnaires were posted
and
854
were returned (a response rate of
33.5%).
The main aim of the mail
survey was to discover whether the councillors in the six counties are similar
to, or distinct from their peers across the country.
Moreover, in each county a focus group interview was carried out with
a group of inhabitants. The aim was to discover the citizens' general stance
towards the local authority.
The main results of the research may be summarised as follows:
•
The county political elite is the product of a powerful selective process,
during which the young, women, the less-well educated, those from families
of a lower status and so forth are eliminated. Generally, the recruitment of the
local elite follows a course which is astonishingly similar to the selection of
the regional and national elite. In effect, the socio-demographic features of the
county elite are close to those of the national elite. In the main, they are middle-
-aged, middle-class men with a higher education. In the local elite, three
milieux dominate; managers, white-collars and small business. The agricultural
milieu is extremely poorly represented and, to all intents and purpose, that of
the working-class is absent. Amongst the professions, teachers stand out as
being strongly over-represented in local government.
•
A striking feature of the members of the local political elite, irrespective
of background, be it one of relatively high status, agricultural or working-class
is the family capital, in social, cultural, patriotic, or similar terms, which they
bring with them. It appears that the family backgrounds of the respondents were
very often characterised by activities in some field which distinguished them
in their milieu
-
involvement in various enterprises or participation in historic
events (on a national or local scale). In general, these were not Ordinary'
354
Summary
families; they were families of tradition, conscious of their place in the world,
known and respected in the neighbourhood, working for the common good.
Thus, the respondents are not infrequently perpetuators of a family tradition of
serving others and of public service. It would seem that the role of the family
background, a classic ascriptive variable in the recruitment of the local elite, is
vital. It reveals itself in two ways; through typical variables (for example, the
father's education, income), but also through the
socio-cultural
capital of the
family, which is not necessarily linked to formal status.
•
Members of the county elite are experienced activists, having been involved
for years in various forms and on various rungs of public life. There are few
novices amongst them; many of them are those who, before
1989,
belonged to the
ruling, communist Polish United Workers' Party or in other ways (for example,
as councillors) were involved in practice in the
ancien
regime. Generally, the
opening of new structures of political opportunity such as the creation of the
counties in
1998
did not bring new people into local politics. On the contrary,
a significant majority of the new places were taken by previous activists,
including those from the era of The People's Republic of Poland.
•
During discussions held in the
mid-1990's
about the second stage of
the administrative reforms, the fiercest controversy was that concerning
the counties. Three standpoints were taken; that the counties should not be
introduced, their being a dispensable rung in the administrative structure; that
the counties should not have autonomous status, but be a hierarchical element,
encompassing a narrow field of competence and dealing only with matters
which are clearly beyond the scope of the commune; and finally, that the
county have full autonomous status (modelled on the commune) and a wide
competence. What prevailed was a modification of the third concept, which
means an autonomous self-governing county (with an elected County Council as
the representative of the community of inhabitants), but with relatively limited,
enumerated competencies. The critics have not put up their weapons and even
now claims are made that the counties in their present form are unnecessary. In
such a situation, it was worthwhile taking up the issue empirically; it was thus
translated into operational terms as follows. The democratic and autonomous
status of the county means that representatives selected by inhabitants through
competitive election will attempt to meet local needs and be responsive
to the inhabitants' preferences. The counties differ from each other with regard
to numerous factors; it is therefore difficult to assume that the needs and
355
Summary
preferences of the inhabitants would be the same. If autonomy and the self-
governing character of the counties is their genuine feature, then the counties
should differ from each other in the objectives they accomplish, in the priorities
attributed to individual objectives and, as a consequence, in the resources which
are allocated to a given objective by the self-governing authorities. However,
if the autonomous and self-governing nature of the county is simply a
façade,
if the counties in truth carry out what are clearly administrative functions and
their self-governing activists are more the state officials than representatives
of the inhabitants, then it is to be expected that the tasks being accomplished
by every one of the six counties will be more or less the same.
Our analyses do not settle the issue without leaving room for debate, but they
do strongly suggest that the county elite are able to make use of the democratic
mechanisms for exercising authority. Acting in an extremely restricted sphere
(defined by the legislators, who imposed specific objectives on the counties),
the county authorities do not limit their functions to the straightforward
administration of areas entrusted to them, although such elements appear in
the counties under study. The introduction of self-governing authorities and
the ensuing political rivalry has, in the majority of cases, brought the expected
results. Local democratic authorities react to the needs and preferences of the
inhabitants and, in effect, their decisions and priorities are adapted to local
conditions. The local elite are adherents of the autonomous and self-governing
county and take, as the ultimate model for the county, the current communes,
which have a wider sphere of competence and their own ampler financial
resources, raised from local taxes.
•
The political parties are present in the county and are important players
in local politics. Suffice it to say that nearly half the members of the county
political elite are members of political parties. At the same time, the activities
of the political parties in the six counties are extremely diversified. In one of the
agricultural counties, the parties are on the margins of political life and a mere
20%
of the local elite are active in the parties; at the opposite pole is one of the
industrial counties, where as many as
75%
of the members of the elite belong
to the parties, which dominate local political life.
The political parties returned to the Polish political system recently and
thus the history of their local presence is a brief one. They encountered there
a variety of local political set-ups, forcing them to re-orientate and adapt
to the new system of political rivalry. Yet they themselves also had to adjust
to the local scene. In effect, local branches of the parties were subject to two
356
Summary
adaptations; to the new organisational structures of the parties (their own and
others) and to new local political society. Moreover, political parties on the
county level must always be encompassed within two institutional dimensions;
the party dimension and the self-governing local dimension.
The analysis of political parties in the counties is linked with the hypothesis
of a local political vacuum. The hypothesis claims that a political vacuum
exists between central state institutions and the central (national) political elite
formed into political parties on the one hand, and the voter-citizens on the
other. The political structures, including the political parties, are developed
'at the top' in Warsaw and a few other large cities; they are already weakened
in the voivodships and large towns and in the counties and communes, there
are mere traces. The political vacuum exists there. The radical version
of this hypothesis is inaccurate, for the parties (and other organisations of
political society) do have a local presence. On the other hand, in general these
organisations are 'shallow', which means that they encompass a comparatively
narrow group of people who are incapable of encouraging (or do not wish
to encourage) the wider mass of citizens to act. In effect, the hypothesis of the
local political vacuum demands further analysis. Even more so, in that in the
period covered by our research
(2004-2005),
an essential regrouping occurred
within the structures of the Polish parties; the parties of the left, mainly The
Democratic Left Alliance
(Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej)
lost their position
of strength and the role of the right-wing The Law and Justice Party
(Prawo
i Sprawiedliwość)
abruptly increased.
•
Two dimensions of political representation are taken into consideration.
On the one hand, the focus of representation is examined, with the answer being
sought to the question of whom councillors should represent and who they, in
fact, do represent. On the other hand, the style of representation is examined,
that is whether councillors are guided in their decision-making by their own
insight (the role of 'trustee') or by the will of the voters (the role of 'delegate').
On the first issue, we are able to say that at the declarative level, the dominant
attitude is universal
-
a councillor should represent first and foremost the
inhabitants of the county in their entirety. At the same time, the data reveal
the existence of a clear particularism, both territorial and environmental
in character. It may be assumed that both attitudes mark the extremes of
a continuum, within the framework of which councillors are placed; at one
time close to one attitude, at another close to the second, depending upon
specific issues. However, in situations where the interest of their own circle or
357
Summary
professional milieu is threatened, the councillors display a marked preference
for defending particularistic interests, even against the interests of the county
as a whole. A role is played here by electoral considerations, in other words, the
chance of re-election, which is played out within an electoral district rather than
the county in its entirety.
On the issue of style of representation, it may be said that representatives
incline more towards the model of the trustee, guided in making decisions
by their own judgement. The model of the delegate predominates only in
votes of a personal nature; however, the instructions do not originate from the
electorate, but from the political (party) clubs represented on the Council.
•
Active citizenship, as seen through the eyes of the power-holders and
the eyes of the inhabitants, provides two divergent pictures. A dichotomous
division is clearly visible: 'us' and 'them'. From the point of view of the
elite, 'them', that is the inhabitants, form a passive, entitlement-orientated
group which is easily manipulated. In turn, 'us', that is the representatives
of authority, are active, 'we' act for the common good, which the inhabitants
do not sufficiently appreciate. From the point of view of the inhabitants, the
most important difference between 'us' and 'them' is the involvement in dirty
politics. 'They' are a group of dishonest wheeler-dealers whilst 'us', beyond
those sleazy arrangements, bear the consequences of their behaviour. However,
each group discerns positive exceptions. Members of the elite discern active
citizens and the inhabitants feel respect towards certain representatives of the
elite. Nevertheless, antagonism, mutual distance and mistrust seem to run deep
and to a large degree paralyse communication and co-operation.
Despite the differences by which the political realities are defined, both the
representatives and the inhabitants discern a deficit of citizenship within the
county. The majority are agreed that things would be better if the community
were to be more active. Both groups point to similar causes of passivity. They
agree in placing the blame on the country's general situation. The respondents
attribute a specific role in discouraging citizens from becoming engaged in
public life to politicians' ongoing involvement in compromising scandals. In the
opinion of the county elite, this destructive influence is the effect of the activities
of politicians 'at the top'. However, the inhabitants stress that politics as such is
dirty, irrespective of the level; the same 'at the top' as it is 'at the bottom'.
The clash of opinion between the respondents of both groups as to the role
the civil society plays in the county is interesting. The clear conviction amongst
358
Summary
the councillors, that the authorities feel that they are controlled by the citizens,
does not match with the perception on the part of the citizens, who believe
themselves to powerless.
The deficit in citizenship in Poland is enormous. It is manifest in a lack of
trust in state institutions and in fellow citizens, poor turn-out at elections and faint
interest in politics. On the other hand, a longing for joint pro-community activities
is also demonstrated. In the light of our data, it may be confirmed that citizenship is
more of a postulate than a reality. Nonetheless, the fact that it is a value recognised
by both the elite and the masses provides certain ground for optimism.
Contents
Jacek Wasilewski
Introduction. The middle-ranking political elite: a research problem
. 9
Jacek
Wasilewski
A sociological portrait of the political elite in six counties
. 39
Irena Pankow
Family capital and leadership capital in local democracy
. 65
Witold Betkiewicz
The democratic reform of county administration. The success or failure
of the new institution?
. 103
Witold
Betkiewicz
Self-governing body or an agent of state bureaucracy? The status
of the county as perceived through its tasks
. 143
Ewa Nalewajko
County branches of political parties: a difficult adjustment
. 187
Agnieszka Dudzińska
A concept of political representation
. 245
Agnieszka Dudzińska,
Barbara Post
County variants of political representation
. 259
Zofia
Kinowska, Anna Radiukiewicz
Two perceptions of civic activity: the inhabitants' perspective
and the local authorities' perspective
. 299 |
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| contents | Bibliogr. s. 339-350 |
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| spelling | Powiatowa elita polityczna rekrutacja, struktura, działanie pod red. Jacka Wasilewskiego ; Instytut Studiów Politycznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk Warszawa Instytut Studiów Politycznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk 2006 358, [1] s. 24 cm txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Zsfassung in engl. Sprache u.d.T.: The county political elite Bibliogr. s. 339-350 Klasy rządzące / Polska / powiaty / 1990- jhpk Demokracja lokalna / Polska / 1990- jhpk Reprezentacja polityczna / Polska / powiaty / 1990- jhpk Demokracja lokalna - Polska - 1990- jhpk Klasy rządzące - Polska - powiaty - 1990- jhpk Reprezentacja polityczna - Polska - powiaty - 1990- jhpk Politische Elite (DE-588)4076219-1 gnd rswk-swf Regionalpolitik (DE-588)4049043-9 gnd rswk-swf Polen (DE-588)4046496-9 gnd rswk-swf (DE-588)4143413-4 Aufsatzsammlung gnd-content Polen (DE-588)4046496-9 g Regionalpolitik (DE-588)4049043-9 s Politische Elite (DE-588)4076219-1 s DE-604 Wasilewski, Jacek 1950- Sonstige (DE-588)1237227984 oth Digitalisierung BSBMuenchen application/pdf http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=016243162&sequence=000003&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA Inhaltsverzeichnis Digitalisierung BSB Muenchen application/pdf http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=016243162&sequence=000004&line_number=0002&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA Abstract |
| spellingShingle | Powiatowa elita polityczna rekrutacja, struktura, działanie Bibliogr. s. 339-350 Klasy rządzące / Polska / powiaty / 1990- jhpk Demokracja lokalna / Polska / 1990- jhpk Reprezentacja polityczna / Polska / powiaty / 1990- jhpk Demokracja lokalna - Polska - 1990- jhpk Klasy rządzące - Polska - powiaty - 1990- jhpk Reprezentacja polityczna - Polska - powiaty - 1990- jhpk Politische Elite (DE-588)4076219-1 gnd Regionalpolitik (DE-588)4049043-9 gnd |
| subject_GND | (DE-588)4076219-1 (DE-588)4049043-9 (DE-588)4046496-9 (DE-588)4143413-4 |
| title | Powiatowa elita polityczna rekrutacja, struktura, działanie |
| title_auth | Powiatowa elita polityczna rekrutacja, struktura, działanie |
| title_exact_search | Powiatowa elita polityczna rekrutacja, struktura, działanie |
| title_exact_search_txtP | Powiatowa elita polityczna rekrutacja, struktura, działanie |
| title_full | Powiatowa elita polityczna rekrutacja, struktura, działanie pod red. Jacka Wasilewskiego ; Instytut Studiów Politycznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk |
| title_fullStr | Powiatowa elita polityczna rekrutacja, struktura, działanie pod red. Jacka Wasilewskiego ; Instytut Studiów Politycznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk |
| title_full_unstemmed | Powiatowa elita polityczna rekrutacja, struktura, działanie pod red. Jacka Wasilewskiego ; Instytut Studiów Politycznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk |
| title_short | Powiatowa elita polityczna |
| title_sort | powiatowa elita polityczna rekrutacja struktura dzialanie |
| title_sub | rekrutacja, struktura, działanie |
| topic | Klasy rządzące / Polska / powiaty / 1990- jhpk Demokracja lokalna / Polska / 1990- jhpk Reprezentacja polityczna / Polska / powiaty / 1990- jhpk Demokracja lokalna - Polska - 1990- jhpk Klasy rządzące - Polska - powiaty - 1990- jhpk Reprezentacja polityczna - Polska - powiaty - 1990- jhpk Politische Elite (DE-588)4076219-1 gnd Regionalpolitik (DE-588)4049043-9 gnd |
| topic_facet | Klasy rządzące / Polska / powiaty / 1990- Demokracja lokalna / Polska / 1990- Reprezentacja polityczna / Polska / powiaty / 1990- Demokracja lokalna - Polska - 1990- Klasy rządzące - Polska - powiaty - 1990- Reprezentacja polityczna - Polska - powiaty - 1990- Politische Elite Regionalpolitik Polen Aufsatzsammlung |
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