Customer Reviews (1)

How the People of Poland overthrew their Dictatorship
KOR chronicles the rise of the democratic opposition in Poland starting in 1976 in the aftermath of the riots in Gdansk to the imposition of martial law in 1981. We know now that the good guys won.

This is a detailed account of how a group of intellectuals formed a Committee for the Defense of Workers (the acronym is from its Polish initials.) It is also an account of the difficulties of bringing workers and intellectuals together, getting past the distrust and, er, class divisions.

It is difficult to read, written in the verbally thick style of Eastern European intellectuals. On the plus side, everything is documented and then some. The authors give readers the facts and trust readers to make their own judgement.

Reading this book you get a feel for the human element, the inevitable jealousies that occur when publicity can mean not just the difference between money and nothing, but literally the difference between life and death.

And of course the divisions of society never dissapear. Read how Archbishop Glemp felt it necessary to mention the number of Jews active in the dissident movement and how KOR activists came to call Glemp The Red Prince in consequence.

This is a wonderful book with many valueable lessons in the practical applicaiton of building a just society and I recommend it to everyone. ... Read more

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In the eyes of the world, no European country appeared more vulnerable to its enemies or less likely to establish peace with them than inter-war Poland.This is the first full-length study of relations between Poland and the U.S. following World War I, as Poland turned to America to buttress its precarious position.Pease lucidly examines how Polish leaders of the 1920s, discerning America's essential aim of fostering stability in Europe, sought to enlist U.S. political and financial support on behalf of their beleaguered state.Drawing on exhaustive archival research, Pease unravels the fascinating ties between these unlikely diplomatic partners.He reveals how Poland not only had to fight an uphill battle against inter-war America's isolationism, but also had to counter America's reluctance to underwrite a nation surrounded by two strong and hostile neighbors, Germany and the Soviet Union. Poland's plea for political and financial backing was ultimately denied by both the White House and Wall Street with dire consequences for Poland's future and Europe's fragile peace.Authoritative and original, this book is valuable contribution to our understanding of America and Europe during the interwar years. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

MUST READ! POLAND SAW THE FUTURE, AMERICA IGNORED POLAND'S PLEAS, AND THE REST IS HISTORY...
Poland jussnever received any help or relief. If America had acted on Poland's request for help, WWII could have hadless horrendous outcome for Poles, the world, and Jewry.

Poland just never gets relief. ... Read more

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This book fills a significant gap in the study of the establishment of communist rule in Poland in the key period of 1944–1950. It shows that nationalism and nationality policy were fundamentally important in the consolidation of communist rule, acting as a crucial nexus through which different groups were both coerced and were able to consent to the new unfolding social and political order.

Drawing on extensive archival research, including national and regional archives in Poland, it provides a detailed and nuanced understanding of the early years of communist rule in Poland. It shows how after the war the communist Polish Workers Party (PPR) was able to redirect widespread anger resulting from the actions of the NKVD, Soviet Army and the communists to more ‘realistic’ targets such as minority communities, and that this displacement of anger helped the party to connect with a broader constituency and present itself as the only party able to protect Polish interests. It considers the role played by the West, including the endorsement by the Grand Alliance of homogenising policies such as population transfer. It also explores the relationship between the communists and other powerful institutions in Polish society, such as the Catholic Church which was treated fairly liberally until late 1947 as it played an important function in identifying who was Polish. Finally, the book considers important episodes – hitherto neglected by scholars – that shed new light upon the emergence of the Cold War and the contours of Cold War geopolitics, such as the ‘Westphalian incident’ of 1947–48, and the arrival of Greek refugees in Poland in the period 1948–1950.

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Trafficking in Migrants has become a growing global problem affecting a complex matrix of countries of origin, transit and destination, their international relations, security and economies. The book reviews literature on human trafficking and smuggling in Europe.

This review includes a discussion of the different elements involved in the analysis of trafficking and smuggling, such as the concepts, definition and international agreements and conventions dealing with human trafficking and smuggling.

The second part presents three case studies on Hungary, Poland and Ukraine and includes interviews with migrants and representative agencies for combating human trafficking and smuggling.

Also available:

Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Baltic States: Social and Legal Aspects - ISBN 9290681179
Mapping of Risk Areas of Environmentally-induced Migration in the CIS - ISBN 9290680725

The International Organization for Migration (IOM)

IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As an intergovernmental body, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration, advance understanding of migration issues, encourage social and economic development through migration and uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants.

Our publications focus on topics such as:

International Migration Law (IML)
Migration and Labour
Migration and Development
Migration and Environment
Migration Policy Trafficking in human beings
Migration and Health

IOM's flagship publication is its World Migration Report which provides policy makers and the general public with updated and authoritative information on international migration trends; identifies major policy issues as they arise; and discusses available policy options. ... Read more

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The on-going struggle in New Poland is not confined to the daunting questions of economic transformation, though these certainly have been seized center stage. Most troubling to the dreams of Polish democracy is the recent splintering of Solidarnosc, the party, and its estrangement from Lech Walesa, the man who led it to institutional power. This book affords the opportunity to ponder this paradox of change. By discussing social change and movements in general, as well as the situation in Poland in particular, the reader gains insight into how a social movement is born, how it achieves its goals, and how it is transformed. ... Read more

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An invaluable collection of studies on major social and political issues in post-World War II Poland as reflected in the Polish novel. ... Read more

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Poland and NATO is the third book by Jeffrey Simon on emerging post-communist countries to recently join NATO. As with the previous two volumes, this book contains a treasure of firsthand research grounded in primary source material and personal interviews with key civil and military leaders. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

About This Book
Jeffrey Simon examines the changing civil-military relationship in Poland as that country strives to gain full admission as a member of NATO. This work provides a conceptual framework drawn from the lessons of post-communist transition in Central and Eastern Europe.

"Transforming the Polish military, with its proud history and record of heavy involvement with political upheavals, into an instrument of a democratic state and strong NATO ally was a daunting task. This book explains and clearly documents the dimensions of the transformation -- all of its twists and turns, temporary failures and major steps forward."

"Another well-documented and profound analysis by Jeffrey Simon." Poland's experience of "turning armed forces into a constructive and reliable part of a truly democratic system may be both encouraging and instructive."

"...a rich and balanced account of Poland's defense reform after 1989."

Trade paperback, 194 pp, index, figures and tables, and 27 pp of Bibliographic Information (End Notes.)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
The 1989 Revolution and Democratic Control of the Military
Five Years of Political Instability

Parliamentary Elections: 1993
Presidential Election: 1995
Parliamentary Elections: 1997
Parliamentary Elections: 2001

Civil-Military Relations: Prospects ... Read more

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The subject of this volume is the social and political history of East-Central Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries, with particular emphasis on Polish society in the interwar period (1918-1939) and the role of the intelligentsia. The first part of the volume deals with key themes in the history of the 19th and 20th centuries: nationalism and the nation state, the role of culture in the recovery of Polish independence, the Versailles system and the growth of authoritarianism and fascism. The second part focuses on the history of Polish society in the 20th century, highlighting the extraordinary importance of the intelligentsia in modern Poland. Two articles also discuss the impact of new technologies and media in interwar Poland. ... Read more

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Privatization investment funds are the key feature of mass privatization programs in transitional economies.This book offers a thorough survey of mass privatization programs in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia, supported with extensive empirical analysis.

The study of 'top-down' privatization funds in Poland and 'bottom-up' funds in the Czech Republic and Slovenia offers different solutions to the problem of how toimprove the governance of privatization funds.

The authors argue that the institutional structure of closed-end investment companies and open-end mutual funds has not provided the right incentives to maximize the value for the shareholders.In addition too many regulations are in place in underdeveloped markets to protect new shareholders unaccustomed to exercising their ownership rights.Instead, the authors argue that they need to promote adjustment in fund portfolios and ownership structures in order to spur the development of capital markets and effective mechanisms of corporate governance. ... Read more

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Based on extensive research using both official and unofficial information from Poland and interviews with Solidarity activists, this book shows how the trials constituted an attempt to break the back of Solidarity by judicial measures. ... Read more

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Examines the Góral, a little-studied ethnic group in Poland.. ... Read more

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The primary concern of this book is to present a study of the rise and fall of national styles derived from the vernacular in design between the end of the 19th century and the 1930s, while also explaining the effects of the partition of Poland at the end of the 18th century in terms of nationhood. ... Read more