Sunday, March 13, 2005

Political Corruption in Poland
Sources of Corruption in Post-Communist Poland


The full PDF document can be found by clicking "HERE"
By Aleksander Surdej
Clientelism in the Silesian Coal Mining Industry
By Kaja Gadowska
Forschungsstelle Osteuropa an der Universität Bremen
Klagenfurter Straße 3, D-28359 Bremen
Tel. +49 421 218-3687, Fax +49 421 218-3269
http://www.forschungsstelle-osteruopa.de
Arbeitspapiere und Materialien – Forschungsstelle Osteuropa, Bremen
Working Papers of the Research Centre for East European Studies, Bremen
No. 65:
Political Corruption in Poland
March 2005
ISSN: 1616-7384
About the authors:
Kaja Gadowska, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy of the
Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Her research interests concentrate on the impact of clientelist networks
on the process of political and economic transformation in Poland after 1989, and the problem of
corruption of political and economic elites. She is author and co-author of a number of articles on social,
political and economic changes in post-communist countries published in academic journals and edited
books; she was awarded several academic honours and prizes (e.g. the First Klemens Szaniawski Prize
and the First Stanisław Ossowski Prize for the best PhD dissertation in Social Sciences and Humanities,
the President of the Jagiellonian University Individual Prize for Political and Economic Clientelism. A
Systemic Analysis of Clientelistic Networks in the Restructuring of the Polish Coal Mining Industry After
1989) and was a grant holder of the CEU (postgraduate studies, M.A. in Sociology and Politics). She is
also a member of editorial board of Studia Socjologiczne, a Polish sociological quarterly.
Aleksander Surdej, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Department of European Studies of the Cracow
University of Economics. His research interests focus on the policies of social regulations and on the
political economy of post-communist transformations in Central Europe. He is an author and co-author of
many articles, book chapters and policy reports published in English, Italian and Polish in academic publications
and the publications of policy research centres like the World Bank or UNU WIDER. He was a
Fellow of the Royal Institute of Advanced Social Studies in the Netherlands, Jean Monet Fellow at the
EUI Florence and a grant holder of the CEU. Recently he has published a major book in Polish on “Structure
and Process: Dilemmas of Institutional Architecture of Regulatory Policies”. He is an editor-in-chief
of “Panstwo i rynek” (State and Market) – a Polish language internet journal devoted to public policy
analysis available at: www.pir.org.pl
Link

Saturday, March 12, 2005

Corruption Scandal in Poland
The largest Danish telecompany TDC is involved in a corruption scandal in Poland, which involves the Polish president and his wife. They have given her a large amount of money and got in return the licences for mobile telephone traffic in Poland. They deny everything and call it a contribution to the projects of the president's wife.

Sianette Kwee


Very interesting news about the largest Danish telecom operator 'TDC' in embarrassing licences/cash arrangements with the Polish President's wife! Actually, quite recently I tried to get a research grant from the Danish Research Council, but I was turned down (surprise?!)... I guess the Polish President's wife needed the money...
Link

Thursday, March 10, 2005

WARSAW – Five Polish army officers and two civilian contractors who served in Iraq have been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes for contracts to rebuild the country, the military police said on Thursday.

Poland has 1,700 troops stationed in south-central Iraq and has been one of Washington's staunchest allies in the U.S.-led military operations in the Gulf state.

"Of the seven people arrested, five are army officers and two work for the army," Colonel Edward Jaroszuk told private news channel TVN-24.

Daily Zycie Warszawy said on Thursday the arrests took place in late February, when the officers were found with piles of cash as they returned home from Iraq.
Link