Abstract
For many outside observers, postcommunist Poland has been recognized as a success story in terms of its transition toward a consolidated democracy.1 This is not to say that the country’s political life and institutions are a paragon of democratic virtue, but in comparative terms, it has defied critics by its ability to stay on course in the turbulent waters of transition. Polish politics are messy, but fundamentally democratic. One of the areas that has engendered the most doubt and discussion about Poland’s democratic prospects is civil-military relations, and in particular the key question of the establishment of democratic, civilian control over the armed forces. This issue has generated uncertainty both in Poland and abroad. As with Polish politics in general, initial impressions may give the picture of a less than satisfactory situation. In broad terms, it is clear that democratic control of the military exists both in principle and in practice, even if why it works can appear mysterious to outside observers. This uneasy perspective is largely due to the interplay of three major contributing factors: the historical legacy of military involvement in politics; the weakness of political and civil society in relation to the management of defence policy; and the scale and pace of constitutional-legal-institutional reform which has had to be undertaken.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
J. Lukowski, Liberty’s Folly: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Eighteenth Century, 1697–1795 (London: Routledge, 1991) 9–25.
See also J. A. Gierowski, The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the XVIIIth Century (Cracow: PAU, 1996).
J. Kowecki (ed.), Konstytucja 3 maja 1791 (Warsaw: PWN, 1981) 99–100.
S. Kieniewicz, A. Zahorski and W. Zajewski, Trzypowstania narodowe (Warsaw: Książka i Wiedza, 1992) 38–40.
Kieniewicz, Zahorski and Zajewski, Trzy powstania narodowe, 193; and R. F. Leslie, Reform and Insurrection in Russian Poland 1856–1865 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1963) 209.
A decree signed by Piłsudski on 22 November 1918 and a subsequent parliamentary resolution on 20 February 1919 confirmed him in his Supreme Commander role. See: M. Adamczyk and S. Pastuszka, Konstytucje polskie w rozwoju dziejowym 1791–1982 (Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Peda-gogiczne, 1985) 128–9.
See the following: R. E. Blobaum, Rewolucja: Russian Poland, 1904–1907 (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1995) 218–23;
E. Halicz, Partisan Warfare in 19th Century Poland: The Development of a Concept (Odense: Odense University Press, 1975) 9–29;
E. Kozłowski and M. Wrzosek, Dzieja oreza polskiego (Warsaw: MON, 1973) 258–66; and Leslie, Reform and Insurrection in Russian Poland 1856–1865, 1–43.
M. Kukiel, Zarys historii wojskowosci w Polsce (London: Puis, 1949) 197–237,
and A. A. Michta, Red Eagle: The Army in Polish Politics, 1944–1988 (Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1990) 38–56.
On the Pilsudski coup see: A. Garlicki, Przewr?t majowy (Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1979);
A. Polonsky, Politics in Independent Poland 1921–1939: The Crisis of Constitutional Government (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972);
M. Romeyko, Przed i po maju (Warsaw: MON, 1967);
and J. Rothschild, Piïsudski’s Coup d’etat, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1966).
On the imposition of martial law see: W. Jaruzelski, Stan wojenny dlaczego (Warsaw: BGW, 1992);
P. C. Latawski, ‘The Polish Military in Polities’, in J. Bielasiak and M. D. Simon (eds), Polish Politics Edge of the Abyss (New York: Praeger, 1984) 268–92;
Michta, Red Eagle: The Army in Polish Politics, 1944–1988; and G. Sanford, Military Rule in Poland: The Rebuilding of Communist Power 1981–1983 (London: Croom Helm, 1986).
J. J. Linz and A. Stepan, Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America and Post-Communist Europe (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996) 8.
A. A. Michta The Soldier-Citizen: The Politics of the Polish Army after Communism (London: Macmillan, now Palgrave, 1997) 82.
A. Żebrowski, Kontrola cywilna nad silami zbrojnymi Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej (Warsaw: Bellona, 1998) 43–8.
S. Koziej, Kierowanie obronq narodowa Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Warsaw: DBM Paper no. 37, 1996) 38–67.
J. Simon, Central European Civil-Military Relations and NATO Expansion, McNair Paper 39 (Washington: National Defence University, 1995) 58.
P. Latawski, The Transformation of the Polish Armed Porces: Preparing for NATO (London: RUSI, 1999) 19.
J. Gow and C. Birch, Security and Democracy: Civil Military Relations in Central and Eastern Europe, London Defence Studies 40 (London: Brassey’s, 1997) 37.
See P. Latawski, ‘Bilateral and Multilateral Peacekeeping Battalions in Central and Eastern Europe’, in S. Gordon and Francis T. (eds), Aspects of Peacekeeping (London: Cass, 2000).
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2002 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Latawski, P. (2002). Democratic Control of Armed Forces in Postcommunist Poland: the Interplay of History, Political Society and Institutional Reform. In: Cottey, A., Edmunds, T., Forster, A. (eds) Democratic Control of the Military in Postcommunist Europe. One Europe or Several?. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403905239_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403905239_2
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-42632-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4039-0523-9
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)