Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The Republic of Poland is one of the largest countries in central Europe, and in size of population (38.7 million people) ranks eighth in Europe. Of that population, 98 percent are of Polish ethnic origin, and over 90 percent are Roman Catholics. Politics in Poland takes place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. Poland's history is characterized by a long-lasting struggle for independence and a late democratization. In 1795 the country was partitioned by its neighbors and erased from the map of Europe until its reconstitution in 1918. After a short period of democracy (until 1926), Poland was ruled by an authoritarian government. The Second Republic was destroyed by the German invasion in 1939. After World War II, the People's Republic of Poland was created, a satellite state of the Soviet Union. By the late 1980s the workers’ and intellectuals’ reform movement Solidarnosc (“Solidarity”) was able to enforce a peaceful systemic transition. The era of communism ended in 1989, and Poland underwent a process of far-reaching political and socio-economic transformation. It is regarded as a consolidated democracy and one of the most successful transition countries of the former Eastern bloc. In May 2004 Poland became a member of the European Union. The country has a rather polarized multi-party system, which especially in the early 1990s was characterized ... log in or subscribe to read full text