Review of Nationalities

Political science of religion in Poland – genesis and reception of a new subdiscipline

Alina Polak-Woźniak — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 12:21:36 +0100

The political science of religion is a relatively young subdiscipline of political science that examines the relationship between religion and politics. Its development was delayed by the dominant secularization narrative in the West, which marginalized the impact of religion on the functioning of states and societies for a long time. However, events such as the Islamic Revolution in Iran (1979) and the collapse of communism in Central Europe underscored the necessity of incorporating religious aspects into political science analyses. A key figure in this subdiscipline was Miroljub Jevtić, who was among the first to systematically study the influence of religion on politics and founded the Politics and Religion Journal.

In Poland, the pioneer of the political science of religion was Bogumił Grott, who in the 1990s analyzed the relationship between religion and political ideologies. Initially, this subdiscipline was closely linked to historical research, as reflected in the research agenda proposed by Kazimierz Banek and in studies that covered broad historical contexts. Stefan Dudra and Ryszard Michalak also contributed to the development of this field by exploring the intersection of religion and politics in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. It was not until the 21st century that the political science of religion emerged as an independent field of study, significantly shaped by academic conferences organized by the Jagiellonian University, the University of Zielona Góra, and Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University.
Today, the political science of religion is an interdisciplinary research domain that analyzes the relationship between religious institutions and secular authorities, the impact of religion on nationalism, political ideologies, and international relations. Its relevance continues to grow in the context of contemporary religiously motivated conflicts and dynamic socio-political transformations.

The role of Ibadi Islam in the shaping of Omani national identity

Żaklina Dworska — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Ibadism, as the dominant religious tradition in Oman, has played a pivotal role in shaping
the country’s national identity and political trajectory. This study examines the intricate relationship
between Ibadism and state formation under the leadership of Sultan Qaboos bin Said, analyzing how
religious doctrine functioned as both a legitimizing force and a framework for governance. Whilst the
historical evolution of Ibadism has been explored by previous researchers, there remains a paucity of
understanding of its role in contemporary Oman, particularly in the context of political modernization
and diplomatic positioning. The present article addresses this lacuna by employing a multidisciplinary
methodological approach, including historical analysis, comparative research, and case studies of Omani
political reforms. The findings reveal that the integration of Ibadism into the state structures under
Sultan Qaboos has facilitated political stability, social cohesion, and Oman’s emergence as a neutral
mediator in regional affairs. By successfully balancing religious conservatism with modern governance,
Oman has maintained its autonomy while promoting a unique model of political and religious
coexistence. Moreover, the legacy of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq perpetuates this heritage by further
integrating classical Ibadism with contemporary political practice.

The influence of religion on the creation of the Islamic Declaration of Human Rights

Alina Polak-Woźniak — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The Cairo Declaration of Human Rights (CDHRI), adopted by the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC), presents an alternative to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),
grounded in Islamic principles and Sharia law. While the UDHR emphasizes universal equality and
freedoms, the CDHRI focuses on the religious foundations of human rights, with an emphasis on
male equality and qualified rights for women, subject to varying interpretations of Islamic law. The
CDHRI also includes provisions for social rights, such as work and healthcare, but non-Muslims may
face discrimination. It stresses the protection of life, family, and equal parental rights, while allowing
for religious freedom, but its principles are deeply intertwined with Islamic theology and the cultural
context of the Muslim world.

The role of the Roman Catholic Church in creating socio-political change in Poland at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries

Agata Płachecka — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0200

This article presents the key activities of the Roman Catholic Church as a creator of key sociopolitical
changes in Poland at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. The adopted research perspective
takes into account both specific actions and legal acts indicating the Roman Catholic Church as
a political subject, as well as presents its most important activities influencing the political system. The
role of the Roman Catholic Church in the process of political transformation with particular emphasis
on the challenges at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, which are the subject of interest of the
Catholic social teaching, is particularly highlighted.

The evolution of the theory of nation-building: from Starosolsky to Harari

Yewhen Sinkevych, Victoria Hron — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

The purpose of the research is to reveal the essence of the nation as a complex socio-economic
and spiritual-cultural phenomenon through a comparative analysis of modern and traditional approaches
to the problems of social evolution of mankind. The research was carried out on the basis of
the principles of systematicity, objectivity, comprehensiveness and historicism by applying the methods
of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, abstraction, analogies, as well as problematic, comparative
and retrospective methods. From our point of view, the modern Ukrainian social scientists,
who in one way or another touch on the problems of nation-building, are not familiar with the latest
concepts of Western historical science. We are talking, in particular, about the ideas of one of the brightest
researchers in the field of so-called transnational history, the Israeli futurologist, Yuval Noah Harari. It
is interesting to analyze his views in comparison with the opinions of Volodymyr Starosolsky, a representative
of the classical national school of political science, who, unfortunately, is also little known to
the Ukrainian scientific community. A detailed study of the materials on the topic allows us to assert
that the nation is not only a temporal phenomenon, but also to a large extent a spatial phenomenon.
On the one hand, the nation and the national state arose as a political superstructure over the system
of non-economic coercion and the transfer of knowledge, separated in the modern era into independent
functions. On the other hand, we should speak about the unique experience of industrialization
of the Euro-Atlantic zone, transferred to other regions in the process of transforming these regions
into peripheral areas of the Western European market. Like any social thing, the nation goes through
periods of nascent growth and transformation in its development. This process is accompanied by successive
evolutionary changes in the mental sphere, the essence of which is the permanent expansion
of the zone of consumption of man-made content due to the reduction of the zone of contact with the
natural environment. In this way, there is a transition from customary to project methods of forming
societies, and the paradigm of scientific understanding of the national phase of civilizational progress
is also undergoing a transformation.

Mythic content in the concept of nation

Simon Radisavljevic — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0200

A myth, as a kind of universal collective illusion, persists for thousands of years and interferes
with the effort of people to live in a community and in syntony with their environment. The article studies
various psychological, sociological and political aspects of the role of mythical content in creating
and maintaining the concept of a nation. The myth of Serbian hero, Kraljević Marko, takes the central
place in this analysis, as it is used as a case study, contextualized in determined socio-historical events
and compared to other regional and European examples.

Multiculturalism in the new media

Adam Ilciów — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article emphasizes the importance of multiculturalism, paying great attention to its definition
and to the observations made by numerous authors. The difficulties in implementing multicultural
policies in the face of globalization changes are pointed out. People from different cultures find it difficult
to communicate with each other, while the state authorities and NGOs can support assimilation
and/or integration processes. The issue of the functioning of new media and their possible impact on
culture was an important point of consideration. Particular attention was paid to digital culture. The
article concludes with a generalizing summary.

Nation, nationalism, and the international order in the writings of Ludwig von Mises

Norbert Slenzok — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The subject matter of the present article is the position of Ludwig von Mises on nations and
nationalism. It is argued that Mises’s stance evolved over time, and he ultimately did not propose a
full-blown theory of these phenomena. Rather, as an economist and champion of liberalism, his main
focus lay in explaining the economic roots of national conflict and designing an international order
that could help resolve it. The paper commences with a reconstruction of Mises’s outlook on the
concepts of nation and nationalism. The next part deals with his theory of national conflict and ways
of minimizing it: the notions of domestic laissez-faire liberalism, freedom of trade and migration,
secession, and international organizations. Finally, several remarks are offered on the feasibility of the
conceptions expounded by Mises.

Resettlement of the Orthodox Lemkos to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1944-1946

Stefan Dudra — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0200

As a result of deportations to the USSR (1944-1946), more than 15 thousand Orthodox believers
left Lemkivshchyna. Most of the Orthodox parishes disappeared as a result of depopulation of
entire villages (before the resettlement there were 42 pastoral centers in Lemkivshchyna). These events
thoroughly depleted the social and material base of the Orthodox Church (among other things, it lost
most of its property: buildings, historic icons, books for church services and vital records). This forced
displacement led to a breakdown of parish communities and a disorganization in the structure of the
Orthodox Church which had been created in the inter-war period. Obviously, this breakdown had
a negative impact on the later process of rebirth of Orthodoxy in the area.

Change of political power in Armenia in 2018

Tigran Ohanyan — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0200

In November 2015, a new Constitution was adopted in Armenia, according to which the country
became a parliamentary republic. In 2017, parliamentary elections were held, and the Republican
Party of Armenia gained the majority in the Parliament. In April 2018, the Serzh Sargsyan’s presidency
was over, and the Parliament elected him as the Prime Minister. After the election of Sargsyan, Nikol
Pashinyan, the leader of the opposition party, the ELQ coalition, started campaign against him, which
shortly turned into mass demonstrations. The number of demonstrates increased daily, and on April
30, Sargsyan resigned. On May 8, Pashinyan was elected as the Prime Minister.

A deferred dream of the West, or which way is Georgia heading?

Piotr Sarama, Jakub Stawicki — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Georgia is a country created as a consequence of the fall of the Soviet Union. Like other countries
of this bloc, since the moment of regaining independence, Georgia still encounters problems that are
a result of difficult geopolitical location and relentless Russian pretensions in this region. Intemperate
gestures of the Russian Federation, in conjunction with the actions of ruling party, the Georgian Dream,
make Georgia a state fluctuating between the return to the Russian area of influence and rapprochement
with the Western world and values. The purpose of this article is to show in which direction the
Georgian foreign policy is heading, and what are the means of prosecution power by the government.
Georgia as an independent country, since 1991, has struggled with various internal, external and image
problems. The first Presidents of the republic were focusing on stabilization of internal issues, what
was happening in a painfully slow and often incapable way. Moreover, they were struggling with the
Soviet Union heritage, and Russian pression that was preventing them from taking their own direction
of foreign policy. Georgia in years 1991-2003 is described as a failed state due to chronic crises and
government inefficiency. The events that occurred in 2003 went down in history as the Rose Revolution.
Social discontent sparked protests on Georgian streets, where the citizens manifested their objection to
President Eduard Shevardnadze and multiple anomalies during the parliamentary elections. Peaceful
protests led the head of state to step down and be replaced by Mikheil Saakashvili. The Rose Revolution
began a new phase of Georgian politics. The new President made an attempt to implement a string of
reforms, and orient Georgian policy on the pro-Western course. These actions brought the country
many benefits. During the Saakashvili’s presidency, the Russo-Georgian war happened, which confirmed
that Russia will not reconcile itself to losing its influence in this region, and even try to increase it.
The President’s image was undermined in association with penitentiary system scandals. The society’s
exhaustion caused by Saakashvili and his party, the United National Movement, governance triggered
the next serious changes. In 2012, the Georgian Dream, a party created by Bidzina Ivanishvili, won
the parliamentary elections. Since this moment Georgia has fluctuated between Russia and the West.
The politicians of governing for years GD bother to maintain proper relations with Russia, simultaneously
creating the pretenses of willingness to continue the pro-Western course. The policymakers of
Georgian state notoriously break democracy standards. The following Georgian elections seemed to
depart from those standards. Georgia is sitting on a fence. Future is unknown, and the politicians of
GD are pushing country further away from accession to the UE and NATO. That policy enrages the
citizens and evokes anxiety in majority of international community. What will be the fate of Georgia?
Will the country return on the way of rapprochement with the West, or reorient to Russia? The answer
to those questions will be known in close future.

The Russian-Ukrainian war and the current state of relations between Ukraine and Poland

Olha Morozova — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0200

In the article, the author raises “the problem of Ukrainian-Polish relations and the change of
the Ukrainian-Polish narrative in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war of 2014 and the full-scale
invasion of the Russian army on the territory of Ukraine in 2022. The research methodology is based
on a systematic method of examining the problem, general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis
of sources, as well as methods of content analysis, discourse analysis, expert survey, etc. The author
comes to the conclusion that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine brought Ukraine and Poland closer
together. This gives reason to hope for further cooperation and understanding.

Catholic mosaic of the town of Szczebrzeszyn: community dynamics in a historical melting pot of cultures

Daniel Łukasz Kita — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article analyzes the dynamics of the Catholic community in the centuries-old and multicultural
town of Szczebrzeszyn, located in the southwestern part of the Lublin Basin. The Catholic
religion is presented as an integrating element of the local identity in the historical and contemporary
context. Elementary attention was given to the role of the Roman Catholic Church in shaping the
town’s cultural identity and its impact on relations between different religious groups. In addition, an
outline was included of the historical process in which Catholics consolidated their position, from the
14th century, through the period of partitions, to the socio-political transformations of the 20th and
21st centuries. The study was based on an analysis of literature on the subject, documents and a public
perception survey on the residents of Szczebrzeszyn. The conclusions demonstrate the key role of
Catholicism in maintaining the local continuity of tradition and adapting to social change. Moreover,
the work highlights the role of Catholicism as a pillar for building a multidimensional identity for the
town’s residents in understanding social challenges. The paper also highlights the multifaceted nature
of the Church’s influence both on the socio-cultural, spiritual level and in the importance of interfaith
dialogues in the process of social integration and preservation of the town’s cultural heritage.

Efficiency of public administration in reducing GHG emissions – a case study of a local government community

Karolina Godzisz — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0200

A broad discussion on the directions of public administration reforms has been going on among
scholars and practitioners since the 1980s and mainly refers to the aspects related to the exercise of
power, control systems and the efficiency of public administration. Changing political factors, related
to the formation of civil society and the formation of a new type of relationship between government
and citizens, have created the need for reforms in the approach to public management. In this context,
the qualities of the process of performing public tasks and the effects of these activities are becoming
particularly important. The concept of a low-carbon economy encompasses all activities aimed at reducing
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while respecting the principles of sustainable development, taking
into account competitiveness and innovation in the global market. Local government is responsible for
ensuring local energy security, ensuring sustainable development and, thus, for the sustainable use of
the environment. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of actions taken by local government
units in Poland to reduce the level of GHG emissions on the example of actions taken by municipalities
in the Lubusz Province using funding from the National Fund for Environmental Protection in Water
Management and the Marshal’s Office of the Lubusz Province in 2014-2020. The article is structured
as follows. It begins with a discussion of the specifics of the activities of local government units, in the
sphere of reducing the level of GHG emissions and in the context of the effectiveness of its activities.
Next, the methodology used in the study is presented. The next section analyses the research results
obtained in the context of the observations of other researchers. The article concludes with implications,
constituting the final part of the article.

Report of the 2nd Congress of the Polish International Studies Association Global International Relations: Challenges and Developments, 6-8 November 2024, Kraków, Poland

Żaklina Dworska — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Report of the 2nd Middle East Congress, 27-28 February 2025, Kraków, Poland

Omar Lekhchine — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0200