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The Russian invasion of Ukraine caused a flow of refugees to Poland on a scale unprecedented in Europe since Second World War. Polish civil society, soon joined by government institutions, responded by offering the refugees, who counted in millions, shelter, material and social welfare assistance and legal accommodation. The war next door turned Poland into an EU and NATO frontline country, which led to more intense contacts between the Polish government and its Western partners, including the United States. This, however, did not help the government, which had marginalized itself within the EU by its own past actions, to resolve its disputes with the European Commission and the Court of Justice. Similarly, the uniform condemnation of the Russian aggression by all major political parties did not bridge the gap between the governing Law and Justice party and the opposition or even reduce the intensity of political conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poland has reached the threshold of pluralism by the same process that Western pluralistic democracies passed through, giving rise to a range of political and ideological opinions. Poland is neither fully integrated on political opinions nor is deeply divided into groups incapable of forming coalitions. Liberalism, socialism, conservatism and populism are all reflected in the political views of the pluralistic public.

The state of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is of great concern to the European Union and Western observers. The issues that concern political parties in the countries are quite different from the West, but could result in a successful democratic transition and consolidation in the region.

George Sanford, Poland. The Conquest of History. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1999, xi + 124 pp. 'ONE CANNOT HOPE TO SUMMARISE over a thousand years in a great nation's history [...]