Continuities in Poland s Permanent Transition

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1 Continuities in Poland s Permanent Transition

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3 Continuities in Poland s Permanent Transition Harald Wydra Assistant Professor Institut für Politikwissenschaft Universität Regensburg Germany

4 First published in Great Britain 2000 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / First published in the United States of America 2000 by ST. MARTIN S PRESS, LLC, Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wydra, Harald. Continuities in Poland's permanent transition / Harald Wydra. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Poland Politics and government National characteristics, Polish. 3. Post communism Poland. I. Title. JN6760.W '09438'09049 dc Harald Wydra 2000 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources

5 For Anne The Continuity of Second Reality 5

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7 The Continuity of Second Reality vii Contents List of Abbreviations Preface viii x 1 The Continuity of Second Reality 1 Part I 29 2 The Continuity of Transition 31 3 The Continuity of Historical Antagonism 57 4 The Continuity of Backwardness 83 Part II The Continuity of the Image of the West The Continuity of the Image of Solidarity The Continuity of the Image of The Continuity of Expecting Discontinuities 188 Notes 205 Bibliography 232 Index 250 vii

8 List of Abbreviations AWS BBWR CBOS CMEA EC EU FPD KLD KOR KPN NATO OECD OKON OKP OPZZ PC PL PRL PRON PSL PZPR RdR ROAD ROP SdRP Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność (Solidarity Electoral Action) Bezpartyjny Blok Wspierania Reform (Non-Party Bloc for the Support of Reform) Centrum Badania Opinii Spoĺ ecznej (Centre for Public Opinion Research) Council for Mutual Economic Assistance European Community European Union Forum Prawicy Demokratycznej (Forum of the Democratic Right) Kongres Liberalno-Demokratyczny (Congress of Liberal- Democrats) Komitet Obrony Robotników (Committee for the Defence of Workers) Konfederacja Polski Niepodlegĺ ej (Confederation for an Independent Poland) North Atlantic Treaty Organization Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Obywatelski Komitet Ocalenia Narodowego (Civil Committee for National Salvation) Obywatelski Klub Parlamentarny (Civic Parliamentary Club) Ogólnopolskie Związki Zawodowe (All-Polish Trade Unions) Porozumienie Centrum (Center Alliance) Porozumienie Ludowe (Peasant Accord) Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa (Polish People s Republic) Patriotyczny Ruch Ocalenia Narodowego (Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth) Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (Polish Peasant Party) Partia Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza (Polish United Workers Party) Ruch dla Rzeczypospolitej (Movement for the Republic) Ruch Obywatelski Akcja Demokratyczna (Civic Movement Democratic Action) Ruch Odbudowy Polski (Movement for Poland s Reconstruction) Socjaldemokracja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Polish Social Democracy) viii

9 List of Abbreviations ix SLD UB UD UW ZChN Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej (Democratic Left Alliance) Urząd Bezpieczeństwa (Security Service) Unia Demokratyczna (Democratic Union) Unia Wolności (Freedom Union) Zjednoczonie Chrześcijańsko-Narodowe (Christian National Alliance)

10 Preface This book is concerned with continuities in Poland s transition. To my knowledge, the relevant literature has not yet posed the question of continuities as an analytical problem of its own right. Two central reasons may be adduced for such a state of affairs. First, the events of 1989 were profound political upheavals that have fundamentally changed the map of Europe ever since. A new political and societal order has been shaping up as epitomized in the democratization of politics, privatization of the economy, individual and political freedom, or a fundamentally new orientation of international allegiances. Second, the conceptual apparatus in the social sciences ruled by systemic variables such as democracy vs. autocracy or capitalism vs. command economy prefigured an almost unanimous judgement of the events of Eastern Europe arguably provides for the richest and most fascinating field of study of political and social change. Discontinuities have thus been the guiding pillars of research. Under the impact of the demise of communism, researchers have largely eschewed to tackle the problem of continuities. While continuities are generally not denied, they are often attributed to pathological remainders in collective mentalities or dysfunctionalities which, in turn, impede the modernization and democratization of state and society. I am keen to propose an alternative reading of Poland s transition. Making up for an apparent shortcoming in this regard, my intention in this book is to analytically link continuities in post-1989 Poland to the pre-1989 past. Evidence strongly suggests that discontinuities such as democratic and interest-driven politics or civil society have not fully taken roots and are suspended in a lengthy transition. In tackling this problem, I was guided by two intuitions. First, the long-term process of transition suggests that 1989 was not the rupture-point that initiated the transition, as taken for granted in the relevant social science literature. Second, the first reality of political outcomes is dependent on continuities in a second reality which comprises pre-political fundamentals such as passions and identities. As to the subject matter, this book examines Polish politics and society at the end of the twentieth century under the premise that 1989 has not been the rupture-point for which it is commonly x

11 Preface xi taken. The often-evoked Polish drama has not come to an end, while the achievement of normality is arguable at least. In an alternative reading of Poland s transition, this book conceptualizes several continuities that have kept Polish politics and society in a permanent transition far before To this purpose, it elaborates a set of continuities in the second reality of political passions. Furthermore, a second concern of this book aims to contribute to theory building in the field of East European politics. It provides an analytical framework that is if modified and adapted to other countries essentially applicable to other countries in Eastern Europe. Poland s history is, admittedly, unique as are most national trajectories in history. Yet former Soviet-type societies share a common destiny. The collapse of communism has dismantled political and social institutions and has discredited an ideological project. Internally, the emotional and mental bonds linking each nation with moments of disruption in its own past may be common factors in the former Eastern bloc countries. The focus on the modalities of dissolution of order links up with the theoretical interest on the study of political and social order. Based on an in-depth study of a transitional society, this book proposes an alternative methodological and theoretical framework for the analysis of contingency in politics. This book emanates from a doctoral dissertation that I wrote at the European University Institute in Florence. The unique environment at the European University Institute has a great share in the elaboration of this book. Throughout my stay there I had the opportunity to meet fascinating people who shared some of their stimulating ideas with me. The inspiring intellectual communion at the European University Institute and the transitional theme of this book are thus interlinked. Manifold suggestions from different angles of the social sciences have enriched the inter-disciplinary approach applied in this book. I have tried to go beyond classical institutional analysis in order to extricate the paradoxes of continuities in discontinuities by taking recourse to conceptual tools from political science, sociology, anthropology, and history. The interdisciplinary conceptual design links up with the particular blend of cultural backgrounds that underlie this study. Elsewhere than in Florence, it would hardly have been possible that a German should write a book on Poland in English. This intellectual adventure necessarily entails some risks of gaps and shortcomings. Despite several research stays in Poland, first-hand material is necessarily limited and incomplete. As I had to provide myself with translations from

12 xii Preface the languages used into English, the reader should be aware of shortcomings as to style and content. Florence, however, was only the second step in my work on Poland. I started working on Poland at the University of Regensburg due to the initiative of Mathias Schmitz and Michael Zängle. Over the years I have had the opportunity to discuss parts of my research with Barbara Heyns, Jerzy Holzer, Tadeusz Kowalik, Kazimierz Kloc, Jacek Kuroń, Michael Müller, Yossi Shavit, Jan Zielonka, Ireneusz Bialecki, Bogdan Mach, Witold Morawski, Edmund Mokrzycki and Tadeusz Syryjczyk. My friends in Poland have helped me by providing practical advice and moral support. I am grateful to Paweĺ Kuglarz, Joanna Szwajcowska, and Beata Ziorkiewicz. For talks on the topic and for helpful comments I am indebted to Johan De Deken, Etienne Billette de Villemeur, Mario Drago, Simon Dubbins, Vladimir Gradev, Esther Hauk, Julie Lynch, Berta Moreno Torres, Guglielmo Meardi, Ewa Schwierskott, Tessa Storey, Aleksander Surdej, Adolf Trägler and Frederic Vandenberghe. I owe a great deal of my understanding of Eastern Europe to countless spirited conversations with Agnes Horváth. I am particularly indebted to theoretical discussions with Knut Mittendorfer, who left us all too early. Leslie Holmes encouraged me in moments of doubt, and has contributed a great deal to the publication of this book. Richard Sakwa has been unfailing in inspiring amicable advice, while Philippe Schmitter s very critical stance towards the argument of this book has been of great value in sharpening the focus of this study. The editorial quality of this book owes a good deal to Joanne Caddy, who read through and corrected an earlier draft. My copy-editor at Macmillan, Christina Zaba, considerably improved the book s quality of language and style, and her competent engagement in its subject-matter has made it a pleasure to work on the typescript. Finally, I am particularly grateful to the members of the thesis committee for their help in coming to terms with a complex problem. Zygmunt Bauman and Claus Offe provided sharp and generous criticism, while Colin Crouch has patiently supported several shifts in the direction of my research and always given the right advice at the right time. Above all, this book owes a great deal of its substance to Arpád Szakolczai, who encouraged me throughout four years to continue on an untrodden path of research, and who stimulated many of the ideas to be found in this book. His intellectual guidance and good spirit were coupled with an unfailing friendship. Most importantly, this book would not have been finished without Anne. Regensburg, May 1999