Ongoing Grants

COST Association, Brussels, Belgium
Implementation period: 27 November 2017–26 November 2021
Action participant: Dr Bartosz Pieliński

Empowering the next generation of social enterprise scholars
Social enterprises (SE) are organizations which combine an entrepreneurial dynamic to provide services or goods with a primacy of social aims. SE naturally cross various types of borders: sectoral (public, business, cooperatives, associations), resources (drawing them from the market, public procurement, grants, and philanthropy) and activity fields (personal services, finance, recycling industry, energy and transport, food supply chains…).

This EMPOWER-SE Action aims at:
(1) contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the diversity of SE models emerging across Europe and globally; their conditions of emergence and development; and their contribution to key industries for the development of sustainable societies by overcoming existing fragmentation in the levels of knowledge from both a geographical and a disciplinary point of view;
(2) empowering the next generation of SE scholars, focusing on expanding the SE scientific community to less research-intensive countries where it is still embryonic or non-existing; and
(3) fostering evidence-based policy from local to European levels and supporting the development of SE and their ecosystems in synergy with main industry representatives and stakeholders. The Action will implement networking mechanisms (working groups, conferences, meetings, workshops for policy-makers, local stakeholder talks, short-term scientific missions, training schools, communication tools including stakeholder briefs, and web-based dissemination) to connect fragmented communities and to contribute to closing the gap between the scientific community, policy-makers and society throughout Europe and beyond.

(Descriptions are provided by the Actions directly via e-COST.)

National Science Centre; OPUS, 20th edition
Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Adam Szymański
Implementation period: 7 July 2021 to 6 July 2023

The aim of the project is to examine democratic or autocratic changes within regional and local structures in the state and their relations with similar processes at the national (central) level – focusing on the impact of the national level on lower territorial levels. The choice of topic resulted from the fact that most studies on democratic or autocratic changes have so far focused on the national level, while they are also important at local and regional levels. There is therefore a clear gap to be filled. Research on this topic can reveal the full picture of democratic and autocratic changes and better understand these processes. The case of Poland in the years 2010–2022 (three full terms of local and regional structures) will be examined, including the pandemic period. This state was chosen because it is an interesting case of an EU member state that has three territorial levels, a combination of centralized and decentralized administration models, and different political profiles of local and regional authorities (including non-party individuals) and models of their political relations with central authorities.

National Science Centre; OPUS, 19th edition
Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Patrycja Grzebyk, Associate Professor
Implementation period: 22 January 2021 to 21 January 2025

The aim of the project is to prove that the following hypotheses are true:
• The current advisory opinion procedure in the International Court of Justice is not an effective tool for resolving legal disputes between states or other entities, actors in international relations
• Limitations of the advisory opinion procedure affect the value of the opinions themselves also in other (not so obviously contentious) cases
• Advisory opinions are disregarded by states in their practice and thus have little impact on the development of hard (treaty and customary) international law
• Narrow interpretation of requests for opinions and avoidance of clear answers to legal problems underlying imprecisely defined requests for legal clarifications results in abuses in the form of interpretations of these opinions in bad faith and thus does not serve the purposes of states/organizations
• The indicated deficiencies explain the relatively low interest of states in the advisory opinion procedure
• Practice indicates that individual UN bodies do not have a consistent approach to the usefulness of advisory opinions.
As a result of the project, the effectiveness of the advisory opinion procedure will be assessed in light of the objectives of the state/organization that initiated the submission of a given request for an advisory opinion, as well as the objectives of the ICJ. Those attempts to submit requests for opinions that were unsuccessful will also be evaluated. Understanding the very concept of the advisory opinion procedure and its deficiencies will allow states and international organizations to assess whether requesting an advisory opinion is a useful form of dispute resolution. The project will also answer the question of how advisory opinions shape international law, how they influence the very process of changing this law. The project will also explain what the main obstacles are to achieving full effectiveness of the advisory procedure, which will allow for the identification of necessary changes that should be introduced in the currently applicable regulations.

Project coordinator: UNIVERSITAET SIEGEN
Implementation period: 1 February 2020 – 31 January 2024
Action participant: Dr hab. Maria Theiss
Funding under: RIA – Research and Innovation action (H2020-EU.3.6.1.2.)

A new understanding of trust, distrust in governance

During the last decade, EU societies experienced a decrease in trust in governance. It’s a trend that undermines democracies. The EU-funded EnTrust project intends to offer a new understanding of trust and distrust in governance, aiming at sustainable democratic societies in Europe. It will create a theoretical base to understand the dynamic connection between trust and distrust. It will develop an empirical data set aiming to calculate how trust and distrust are growing concerning governance at local, national and European levels. The project will also map trust and distrust levels in European societies, systematically comparing levels of interaction. In-depth interviews with citizens and governance actors as well as analyses of online and social media content will be used by seven research teams.

In EnTrust, we will provide novel insights into trust in governance and measures to support sustainable and democratic societies in Europe. Our project has five overarching objectives:
a) Develop a multidisciplinary theoretical framework to understand the dynamic relationship between trust and distrust, in order to promote new forms of enlightened trust in democratic governance;
b) Provide a comprehensive empirical dataset based on mixed methods and geared to measure how trust and distrust are constructed at individual, meso, and macro levels in relation to governance actors across local, national and European levels;
c) Systematically compare and map trust and distrust across European countries to understand context-specific forms of trust and distrust, their conditions and consequences;
d) Develop role models and best practices enabling to promote enlightened trust; and
e) Engage in active exploitation, dissemination and communication activities to reach the highest possible impact of our findings.

EnTrust consists of an interdisciplinary and well-integrated consortium of seven research teams from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland and Serbia with expertise in sociology, psychology, political science, media and communication studies, as well as a civil society practitioner active at the EU level. Our work plan will generate novel theoretical and empirical insights on the basis of interlocked methods, including in-depth interviews and focus groups with citizens and governance actors, analyses of online and social media content, as well as a representative population survey and various experiments. Moreover, it will make use of innovative instruments to secure a high level of dissemination, exploitation and communication. Our goal is to provide tangible and viable recommendations for policymakers, civil society actors and the scientific community to improve trust relations.

European Commission: H2020
Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Grzegorz Gudzbeler
Implementation period: 1 September 2020–31 August 2023

Description: The EU-RADION project will provide an innovative solution to deal with selected shortcomings in CBRNe protection indicated in the ENCIRCLE Catalogue. The project will provide an operational radiological threat detection and identification system comprising several technological components. The components encompass radiological threat dispersion modelling and analysis tools, test sensor platforms including swarm of mini UGVs, tactical command tool, network controller and sensor integration unit.
The sensor integration unit (SIU) will be a novel detector, which includes several radiological threat sensing devices supported by hydrogen sensor and positioning module. The SIU will be adaptable to several platforms (including stationary, handheld and UGV mounted units) and capable of operating in both indoor and outdoor environments. Furthermore, the system will feature a computational tool allowing for estimating the dispersion of RN material and its potential source. Moreover, the Tactical Command tool (TC) will be the highest layer of the system responsible for providing a user interface to the system and integrating data acquired from measurement and computational components. This component will cooperate directly with the network controller (NC) in order to acquire data from radiological sensors. EU-RADION also assumes the implementation of UGV swarm concept for radiological threat detection and evaluation of its performance in CBRNe domain.
EU-RADION will be based on system-of-systems approach. All of the developed components will be designed as fully operational and independent modules. This will enhance the system interoperability and facilitate potential integration with other existing systems. The final system will be demonstrated in realistic environment (training tunnel).

Project implemented under Erasmus+ (Strategic Partnerships for Education)
Principal Investigator: Dr Barbara Kratiuk
Implementation period: 1 October 2019 – 31 May 2022

Description: The main objective of the Eurasian Insights: Strengthening the Indo-Pacific Studies in Europe (EISIPS) project is to strengthen research on the Indo-Pacific. Given that the broadly understood Indo-Pacific region is enjoying increasing interest from both policymakers and scholars, there is a growing demand for a better understanding of this region. Research on the Indo-Pacific and the creation of a framework that will allow for the education of future specialists on the region constitute the fundamental objectives of the project.

For the purposes of the project, research on the Indo-Pacific region is defined as a multidisciplinary research area focusing on the political, economic and social development of the region. The concept of the Indo-Pacific originally derives from geography and encompasses the areas of two oceans: the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, excluding the coasts of both Americas and polar regions. The Indo-Pacific extends from India and Pakistan, in the east through the countries of Southeast Asia to China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

There is a global need to build and strengthen research on the Indian Ocean for three main reasons. First, it is a region inhabited by over one-third of humanity. Second, the countries of this region are developing very rapidly, and their influence on global affairs is increasing. Third, from the EU perspective, this region is particularly important for the EU, as it constitutes the largest export market for European products.

Partners:
– Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland
– La Sapienza University Rome, Italy
– Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
– University of St Andrews, UK
– Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
– Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan

Associated Partners:
– The National Maritime Foundation, India
– International Christian University, Japan
– South Asia Democratic Forum, Belgium

http://www.eisips.eu/about-eisips/project.html

Project implemented under Horizon 2020 (Research Executive Agency – REA)
Coordinator: ITTI Sp. z o.o., Poland
Principal Investigator: Dr Magdalena Dobrowolska-Opała (from 1 March 2019)
Implementation period: 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2021

Project website: http://eu-sense.eu/home

Project implemented under Horizon 2020 (ERC, Research & Innovation Action, Innovation Action, Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions)

Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Jakub Zajączkowski
Implementation period: 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2021

The GLOBAL INDIA ETN will deliver a world-class multi-sectoral doctoral training programme focused on India’s emergence as a global and regional power, and its relationship with the EU. International research on India’s global role has not kept pace with the changes to India’s status as a growing economy and significant international actor. This is reflected in the lack of PhD level training programmes in Europe that have a focus on India. Europe lacks a knowledge base on India, the ETN addresses this by creating a multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral network bringing together six leading European universities, with six leading Indian universities, and six non-university partners (one as a beneficiary), all of whom have previously collaborated together. India’s actions as a global actor impact on the interests of the EU, and India as a democratic state could potentially be an ally for the EU on international issues that will affect the welfare and security of Europe. The quality of Indian democracy also shapes India’s actions as an international actor and therefore this programme examines the domestic challenges that are shaping Indian democracy and the key international actions of India that are most relevant to its relationship with Europe. The network’s training programme is grounded in the academic excellence of the universities and the complementarity of the strong, diverse range of non-academic partners – a representative business organisation, a consultancy SME; two think-tanks (in Brussels and New Delhi); a human rights organisation and a global company. The training programme requires that all ESRs will attend 9 network training events, providing workshops on skills (academic and practitioner), with inputs from all partners; complete an internship with a non-academic partner; and conduct an extended period of field-work based in an Indian University. Key measurable outputs of the network will be 30 journal articles, 60 policy briefs and an active media presence.

http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/208796_pl.html

National Science Centre; OPUS; 18th edition
Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Anna Kurowska
Implementation period: 10 July 2020 – 9 July 2024

Description: https://www.ncn.gov.pl/sites/default/files/listy-rankingowe/2019-09-16/streszczenia/463582-en.pdf

European Commission, COST
Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Dorota Heidrich
Implementation period: 4 July 2019–2023

Description: “Global Atrocity Justice Constellations” (JUSTICE-360) is an Action of the COST Association funded by the European Union (EU) from 2019 until 2023, with the reference number CA18228 (you can find the Action’s website in COST here). The Action’s Memorandum of Understanding, where detailed information can be found on the overview, research coordination and capacity building objectives, review of the relevant scholarship, novel contributions by the Action to that scholarship, working groups and their description, impact of the Action on society at large, dissemination plan, timetable (e.g. GANTT) and deliverables, risk analysis, and other relevant information, was approved by COST Association on 4 June 2019.

Project implemented under Horizon 2020 (Research Executive Agency – REA)
Coordinator: European University Institute, Italy
Principal Investigator on the Polish side: Dr hab. Wojciech Gagatek, Associate Professor
Implementation period: 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021

Integrating Diversity in the European Union (InDivEU) is a Horizon 2020 funded project that will start in January 2019 and run for three years. Its main objective is to provide Europe’s policy makers with an important knowledge hub on ‘Differentiated Integration’.

The challenge of ‘integrating diversity in the European Union’ is back on the EU agenda as the EU strives to forge a post-crisis future, reach out to European citizens and counter-balance the anti-EU populist discourse.

The InDivEU project aims to contribute concretely to the current debate on the ‘Future of Europe’ by re-assessing, developing and testing a range of models and scenarios for different levels of integration among EU member states.

InDivEU will use various methods and data sources to explore Differentiated Integration conceptually and normatively, describe its historical trajectory and patterns, examine its causes and effects, study alternative forms of flexibility, and provide evidence-based policy advice on designing future forms of Differentiated Integration.

InDivEU will combine excellent academic research with the capacity to translate research findings into policy design and advice. The research will be supported by professional expertise and knowledge in project management, exploitation, dissemination and communication

Project consortium includes key European universities, including European University Institute in Florence, ETH Zurich, Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, London School of Economics, University of Amsterdam and others.

 The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 822304.

National Science Centre; OPUS, 19th edition
Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Anna Kurowska
Implementation period: 11 January 2021 to 10 January 2025

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, some families have been directly affected by the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Many people have fallen ill, and some of them have died. However, indirectly, the pandemic has affected almost all families, as most countries in the world have implemented far-reaching social distancing policies, restricting the possibility of travelling abroad, closing schools, kindergartens, nurseries, some workplaces, parks or other public spaces, and limiting access to shops or places offering various types of services. The aim of our project is to assess the various, short- and long-term consequences of policies introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on the division of domestic and professional responsibilities between partners and their situation on the labour market (type of employment contract, job stability, earnings, position held) in Poland and in an international comparative perspective.

Project implemented under Horizon 2020 (Marie Skłodowska-Curie action, Research and Innovation Staff Exchange – RISE)
Coordinator: Accademia Europea Di Bolzano, Italy
Principal Investigator on the Polish side: Dr Andżelika Mirska
Implementation period: 1 February 2019 to 31 January 2023

Local government both in Europe and in other parts of the world has had to face the challenge of metropolitan development in recent decades. Parallel phenomena related to population growth and urbanization have resulted, on the one hand, in the emergence of megacities, and on the other, increasingly depopulated rural areas. This growing gap between large cities and small local governments has had a significant impact in many respects: 1) the responsibilities of local authorities and their capacity to provide public services, 2) financial issues, 3) the structure of local government, 4) intergovernmental relations with central and regional authorities, 5) residents’ participation in the local decision-making process.

All activities within the project are directed towards the objective of increasing the capacity of both large cities and small local governments to cope with the far-reaching consequences of metropolitan development in the five areas mentioned above. Achieving this fundamental objective requires achieving specific objectives:

1) identifying good and bad practices in relation to the five areas of local government mentioned above through comparative legal and policy research, which draws on the exchange of findings and practical experiences of partners with complementary expertise from different parts of the world;

2) establishing the foundations for further joint research in these areas, extending beyond the duration of the project, by creating a lasting scientific network and effectively disseminating research results both within the regional networks of partners and worldwide;

3) encouraging the effective application of innovative solutions by local governments through close cooperation between the project’s academic partners and local decision-makers (represented, for example, by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe), which ensures inter-sectoral knowledge transfer.

The project is based on a knowledge exchange process through staff secondments between participating institutions. The cooperation of partners from different parts of the world (from Austria, France, Spain, Macedonia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Argentina, Australia, Ethiopia, India, Canada, Singapore, South Africa) guarantees the international character of this exchange, both in order to acquire expert knowledge for the European Research Area and to transfer it to other countries. At the same time, the inclusion of non-academic partners in the project ensures its inter-sectoral exchange dimension.

National Science Centre; SONATA; 15th edition
Principal Investigator: Dr Hanna Schreiber
Implementation period: 27 July 2020 – 26 July 2023

Description: https://projekty.ncn.gov.pl/index.php?projekt_id=462528

https://wnpism.uw.edu.pl/dr-hab-anna-kurowska-oraz-dr-hanna-schreiber-z-grantami-ncn/

Project acronym: ReNewEurope
Project start date 1 December 2020
Total project duration 28 months
Project end date 31 March 2023

National Agency of the Applicant Organisation
PL01 Foundation for the Development of the Education System

Project Description
The stereotypical perception of Central and Eastern Europe as potential sources of conflict, post-communist, post-Soviet and excessively oriental (especially the Balkans) is still present in European discourse. In this way of perceiving the new part of united Europe, we recognize the need for a new approach, the fundamental aim of which is to challenge dominant stereotypes. The path to achieving the set goal is to view the new Europe through the prism of its historical experiences
culture and interactions interweaving the fates of nations. One can easily discern the difficulties associated with a neutral and mutually respectful approach to history and politics in the region. Therefore, we set ourselves the goal of building a more positive
image of the region through active cooperation among young people as an approach that is still not sufficiently developed and shaped, yet holds enormous potential. In a changing Europe, one of the greatest problems remains the stereotypical acceptance of the “Other,” or the “unknown” in a broader sense. The same applies when looking at dominant narratives and attitudes directed toward the Balkans and the wider Central and Eastern European region. Although there is a great tradition of discovering and studying the region, “Old” Europe still has difficulty understanding this “new” part of itself. The challenge before us is not only understanding, but also integrating the “new Europe,” taking into account integration processes in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula as well.
The main target group of our project is academic staff, teaching staff and students. The main objective of the project is to develop an innovative, holistic and integral approach to training university professors, assistant professors, researchers and scholars to
conduct the educational process in the field of Balkan and Central and Eastern European studies through a mobile summer school focused on four main areas: (i) minorities and majorities; (ii) the rule of law and European integration; (iii)
identity and nationalism; and (iv) politics and religion.

The specific objectives of the application are:
– Raising awareness among university professors and assistants of the need to organize and conduct mobile schools on the history of the Balkans and Central and Eastern Europe in order to overcome existing stereotypes and prejudices
among students in this regard.
– Developing the competences of university professors and assistants in organizing and conducting mobile schools with students interested in the history of the Balkans and Central and Eastern Europe.
– Emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of the region in “old” and “new” Europe by defining the main principles and methodological approaches stimulating the socio-cultural competences of teaching staff.

Applicant organisation
UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW, Poland

Partner organisations
UNIVERSITATEA TRANSILVANIA DIN BRASOV, Romania
SVEUCILISTE U ZAGREBU, Croatia
PAX RHODOPICA FOUNDATION, Bulgaria
UNIVERZITET U BEOGRADU, Serbia

Project Coordinator:
Dr Spasimir Domaradzki
s.domaradzki2@uw.edu.pl

Project Assistant:
Ewa Bogusławska
e.boguslawska@uw.edu.pl

Steering Committee:
Prof. Goran-Pavel Šantek
Ivana Radic Milosavljevic Ph.D.
Dr Arabela Briciu
Dr Hristo Berov
Project Participants:
Prof. Marko Babić (University of Warsaw)
Prof. Piotr Tosiek (University of Warsaw)
Prof. Jacek Wojnicki (University of Warsaw)

Principal Investigator: Piotr Sosnowski, MA
Implementation Period: 2022-06-27 to 2025-06-26
Funding: NCN OPUS

The project analyzes the consequences for international relations of the de facto (empirical) statehood of Iraqi Kurdistan. Although this entity is not a sovereign state, it officially assumes beneficial roles and functions in international relations, such as “partner in the war on terrorism,” “trade partner,” “mediator,” “provider of humanitarian aid,” or “entity providing protection.” The project poses the question of the benefits that sovereign states, such as Turkey or the USA, derive from establishing relations with Iraqi Kurdistan (and vice versa), as well as the perception of these benefits by the inhabitants of Iraqi Kurdistan.

National Science Centre; OPUS, 18th edition
Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Anna Kurowska
Implementation Period: from 2020-07-10 to 2024-07-09

Since the introduction of parental leave in Sweden in 1974, an increasing number of European and non-European countries have introduced this type of leave in order to enable not only working mothers, but also working fathers, to provide personal care for their children. Parental leave is gradually becoming more generous (in terms of length and amount of parental benefit). In some countries, part of parental leave is reserved exclusively for fathers. Empirical research shows that fathers’ use of parental leave is important for his relationship with the child, the stability of the relationship/marriage, and gender equality both in the labor market and at home. However, many men do not exercise their right to parental leave. For example, in Germany, where parents receive two additional, well-paid months of leave on the condition that each of them takes at least two months of this leave, the percentage of fathers who do not take parental leave at all exceeds 60 percent. Also in many other countries, the vast majority of fathers do not exercise their
right, and the percentage of non-users often exceeds 90 percent. To what extent is fathers’ non-use of parental leave the result of free choices made by fathers? Are fathers’ decisions to take leave the result of making a free choice? Existing research has not yet answered these questions. Dr hab. Anna Kurowska proposes an innovative and comprehensive theoretical framework, and also develops new methods aimed at examining the extent to which people make free choices regarding the use or non-use of their social rights, services or benefits. Her theoretical and methodological concept will be applied in the project to an empirical analysis of the extent of fathers’ freedom of choice in (not) using their right to parental leave and the factors limiting this freedom in four countries: Japan, Germany, Poland and Sweden.

National Science Centre; HARMONIA; 10th edition
Principal Investigator: Dr Seweryn Dmowski
Implementation Period: from 2019-04-17 to 2023-04-16

The project concerns the perception of football club rivalries in the Visegrád Group countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary). Its main objective is to identify and analyze this socio-political and cultural phenomenon and to create, based on respondents’ answers, a “heat map” of rivalries between football team supporters in Central and Eastern Europe. The primary aim of the proposed project is to examine how supporters perceive the essence of their relationships with rival supporters and their hierarchy of importance, as well as to understand their motives and the deeper socio-political and cultural factors that condition these rivalries.

Research material will be collected through the largest quantitative and qualitative study of football supporters in Europe to date. The study will consist of two consecutive components: qualitative (a series of 20 in-depth individual interviews with devoted supporters from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary) and quantitative (a CAWI survey designed to obtain responses from approximately 100,000 supporter respondents from Central and Eastern Europe). The results of the first component will help create an appropriate questionnaire for the second component, whose results will in turn provide answers to the project’s key research questions. The results of both components will be complementary and will allow for a better understanding of the significance of socio-political and cultural determinants of football rivalries.

The issue of the perception of football club rivalries in Europe has not previously been the subject of academic research on such a scale. The project may have a significant impact on the development of scientific knowledge of phenomena that are directly conditioned by football rivalries, such as: supporter and media interest, level of satisfaction with football consumption, supporter engagement, and various forms of pathological behavior and public disorder (violence, hooliganism, hate speech, racism, homophobia, and xenophobia).

National Science Centre; BEETHOVEN; edition 2
Principal Investigator: Dr. Anna Karolina Kurowska
Implementation period: from 2018-02-01 to 2023-01-31

Research objective: In our project, we primarily examine the moderating role of cultural context for the strength and direction of relationships between public childcare and work-life balance solutions at the enterprise level and women’s employment and their ability to achieve work-life balance. The first study in the project (study 1) aims to analyze the impact of the reform introducing (a) entitlement to, and subsequently (b) compulsory one-year preschool preparation for five-year-olds in Poland on women’s employment, taking into account the moderating role of the local cultural context. In the second study (study 2), we analyze the relationships between informal and formal childcare and the impact of access to informal care on mothers’ ability to engage in paid work in different regional cultural contexts—in Poland and East and West Germany. The third study (study 3) aims to analyze the impact of introducing work-life balance solutions at the enterprise level on women’s employment in these enterprises in different regional contexts—Poland, East and West Germany. The final study (study 4) aims to compare the relationships between working from home and the ability to achieve work-life balance among mothers and fathers in Poland, West and East Germany.

Methodology: We use quantitative methods, applying appropriate estimation techniques and identification strategies (instrumental variables—in studies 1 and 2, and lagged values of variables in study 3). In study 4, we use Structural Equation Modelling to measure the latent variable of capability to achieve work-life balance while simultaneously analyzing the relationships between working from home and the capability to achieve this balance. We utilize unique data sources for comparative analyses that are particularly appropriate for research in our project. First, in studies 1, 2, and 4, to capture individuals’ attitudes and behaviors, we use two waves of the Generations and Gender Survey in Germany and Poland (2005/2008; 2010/2014). Second, in study 3, to capture work-life balance solutions at the enterprise level, we use Asset4—a Thomson Reuters database that collects information from various sources, such as CSR reports, annual reports, and websites for the largest enterprises—30 German companies on the DAX list and 20 Polish companies on the WIG20 list—over a 10-year period (2005-2015).

Impact of expected results on the development of science, civilization, and society:

Our project will contribute to expanding scientific knowledge by filling research gaps identified in the literature and developing an interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach to explaining the determinants of mothers’ engagement in paid work. The project results will also be significant for better understanding differences in the effectiveness of similar family policy solutions in different countries or regions. Ultimately, the project will provide useful guidance for designing more effective institutional solutions and improving family well-being in both countries.

Added value from Polish-German cooperation: By combining the Polish and German teams, we jointly create an interdisciplinary team composed of economists and social policy experts with experience not only in conducting empirical research but also in making theoretical contributions to the development of their fields. Moreover, Poland and Germany constitute an exceptionally appropriate pair of countries for conducting analyses in our project for several reasons. First, East and West Germany and Poland differ significantly in terms of access to formal and informal childcare. Poland is a country characterized by significant differences in the level of access to formal and informal childcare at the local level. Germany, on the other hand, is a country with long traditions of high-quality regulated formal care at the central level, with medium (western part) and high (eastern part) levels of availability. Access to informal care is lower in Germany than in Poland. Second, Poland and Germany differ significantly in terms of working conditions/work culture, which facilitates the study of the significance of cultural context for the relationships between formal work-life balance solutions at the enterprise level and women’s employment. Third, as recent research shows, Poland, East and West Germany differ significantly in terms of social attitudes toward the roles expected of mothers and fathers, including the optimal division of childcare between mother and father. This makes it possible to examine the significance of culturally conditioned gender roles for the relationships between working from home and the capability to achieve work-life balance among mothers and fathers.

National Science Centre; OPUS; edition 13
Principal Investigator: Dr. hab. Anna Wojciuk
Implementation period: from 2018-01-19 to 2023-01-18

This study will explain how institutions in countries with very different traditions and historical experiences become similar to one another. The phenomenon of institutional imitation between countries has been described in detail by scholarship in recent decades, but existing approaches do not systematically show the processes that allow overcoming the initial sense of threat to one’s own order to ultimately lead to situations in which a foreign organizational model begins to be perceived as attractive and worth implementing at home. I wish to study this phenomenon using the example of education systems, because: first, education is crucial for building modern states; second, education is an area where content fundamental to building the identity of social groups is transmitted; and third, school is a place where the state “meets” its citizens and influences their socialization. This analysis will be conducted using the example of the evolution of the Chinese education system between 1840 and 1990. China is an interesting case because the Western institutional model encountered a distinct, well-established indigenous school model dating from the 13th-14th century. Therefore, resistance to institutional change should be strongest there. During the period studied, the evolution of Chinese institutions was associated with various influences: first, the imperial examination system was confronted with schooling introduced by European missionaries; then the Japanese education model (itself modeled on German and American institutions) gained significant influence; another important factor was the proximity of the British system operating in Hong Kong; finally, during Mao’s era, the Soviet education model was introduced in China. In the 1980s-1990s, during Deng Xiaoping’s reforms, many changes were made adapting Chinese education to international (Western) standards.

NCN Preludium edition 18
Principal Investigator: Wojciech Mincewicz, MA
Implementation period: 2020-07-27 to 2023-07-26

Description: https://projekty.ncn.gov.pl/index.php?projekt_id=464144

National Science Centre; PRELUDIUM 10
Principal Investigator: Oliwia Piskowska, MA
Implementation period: from 2016-10-11 to 2022-12-10

The aim of this project is to examine public discourse in Kyrgyzstan and its relationship with the country’s foreign policy. Kyrgyzstan is a state in post-Soviet Central Asia—a unique region lying at the crossroads of great civilizations and a conglomerate of cultures, where Soviet, Islamic, nomadic, and many other elements overlap. This region is the field of the so-called New Great Game, i.e., rivalry among major powers—the United States, Russia, China, as well as regional powers such as Turkey or Iran. Each of these states seeks to pursue its interests there in the most effective way, which often has a negative impact on the social, political, and economic situation of the local republics. This project will examine how Kyrgyzstan—a five-million-strong state with the highest degree of democratization and imitation of Western transformation models in the region—perceives the struggle of great powers and its own position in this game. This will supplement our knowledge of the dynamics of international relations in this region with an internal perspective.

National Science Centre; PRELUDIUM; edition 14
Principal Investigator: Kamil Matuszczyk, MA
Implementation period: from 2018-07-13 to 2023-07-12

The main scientific objective of the project is to deepen knowledge about the relationship between the increase in the number of immigrants providing services in the home care sector for the elderly in Poland and the quality of these services. Particular attention will be paid to changes occurring in the area of immigration policy and senior policy (with particular emphasis on long-term care) as a consequence of increased migration to the care sector. Migration to the care sector, as a result of the phenomena of defamilization of care, atomization of the family, and the lack of systemic solutions in the home care sector, leads to differentiation in the level of quality of care services. At the same time, the role of informal entities, which are subject to limited control by state institutions, is growing. Consequently, the grey economy in home care is developing, and elderly people receive low-quality care services.

Ministry of Science and Higher Education, DIALOG
Principal Investigator: Prof. dr. hab. Konstanty Adam Wojtaszczyk
Implementation period: 2019-01-24 to 2022-07-23

National Centre for Research and Development, Security and Defence
Leader of the scientific consortium with business participation: Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice
Principal Investigator from UW: Dr. Grzegorz Gudzbeler
Implementation period: from 2018-12-17 to 2023-09

The main objective of the project is to develop and create a modern WiSG simulator that can be effectively used to train Border Guard personnel in improving procedures for the use of weapons and special measures, as well as conducting comprehensive exercises in the control of persons, vehicles, and goods—through the implementation of an innovative Interactive 3D Multimedia Cave. WiSG will enable the improvement of a wide range of skills: from planning actions depending on the imposed and changing operational situation, through decision-making under conditions consistent with the Border Guard’s competence, use and application of shooting skills and special measures, to providing first aid and preparing appropriate documentation. The system will be equipped with a vector map of Poland and locations indicated by the Client, which will be photorealistically reproduced in the simulation environment.

National Science Centre; OPUS; edition 17
Principal Investigator: Dr. hab. Natalia Maria Garner
Implementation period: 2020-12-01 to 2024-02-29.

Project description

National Science Centre; OPUS; edition 12
Principal Investigator: Dr. hab. Elżbieta Kossewska
Implementation period: from 2017-07-17 to 2022-07-16

The aim of the project is to describe the fate of Polish emigration in Palestine in the years 1939-1948 against the background of local and global political events and global migration movements during and after World War II. During World War II, Palestine was one of the largest and most important centers of civilian and military life of Polish emigration in the Middle East. Polish refugees, together with Jews who emigrated from Poland before and during the war, created a unique community there. The worlds of established residents of Palestine, especially those originating from Poland, and Polish-Jewish refugees mutually permeated in the political, cultural, and social space, creating a shared history. Given that the problem of statehood (in the case of Jews—creating a state, in the case of Poles—regaining it) constantly accompanied Polish emigration, in the project I pose the leading question about the impact of the state (or its absence) on shaping the identity of refugees and the fate of ethnic communities, as well as the constitution of values according to which they live.

National Science Centre; OPUS, edition 19

Principal Investigator: Dr. hab. Patrycja Grzebyk, Associate Professor

Implementation period: from 2021-01-22 to 2025-01-21

The aim of the project is to prove that the following hypotheses are true:

• The current advisory opinion procedure in the International Court of Justice is not an effective tool for resolving legal disputes between states or other entities, actors in international relations
• Limitations of the advisory opinion procedure affect the value of the opinions themselves also in other (not so obviously contentious) cases
• Advisory opinions are disregarded by states in their practice and thus have little impact on the development of hard (treaty and customary) international law
• Narrow interpretation of requests for opinions and avoidance of clear answers to legal problems underlying imprecisely defined requests for legal clarifications result in abuses in the form of interpretations of these opinions in bad faith and thus do not serve the purposes of states/organizations
• The indicated deficiencies explain the relatively low interest of states in the advisory opinion procedure
• Practice indicates that individual UN bodies do not have a consistent approach to the usefulness of advisory opinions.

As a result of the project, the effectiveness of the advisory opinion procedure will be assessed in light of the objectives of the state/organization that initiated the submission of a given request for an advisory opinion, as well as the objectives of the ICJ. Those attempts to submit requests for opinions that were unsuccessful will also be evaluated. Understanding the very concept of the advisory opinion procedure and its deficiencies will allow states and international organizations to assess whether requesting an advisory opinion is a useful form of dispute resolution. The project will also answer the question of how advisory opinions shape international law, how they influence the very process of changing this law. The project will also explain what the main obstacles are to achieving full effectiveness of the advisory procedure, which will allow for indicating the necessary changes that should be introduced in the currently applicable regulations.

National Science Centre; OPUS, edition 18

Principal Investigator: Dr. hab. Anna Kurowska

Implementation period: from 2020-07-10 to 2024-07-09

Since the introduction of parental leave in Sweden in 1974, an increasing number of European and non-European countries have introduced this type of leave to enable not only working mothers but also working fathers to provide personal care for their children. Parental leave is gradually becoming more generous (in terms of length and amount of parental benefit). In some countries, part of parental leave is reserved exclusively for fathers. Empirical research shows that fathers’ use of parental leave is important for their relationship with the child, relationship/marriage stability, and gender equality both in the labor market and at home. However, many men do not exercise their right to parental leave. For example, in Germany, where parents receive two additional, well-paid months of leave on the condition that each of them takes at least two months of this leave, the percentage of fathers who do not take parental leave at all exceeds 60 percent. Also in many other countries, the vast majority of fathers do not exercise their right, and the percentage of non-users often exceeds 90 percent. To what extent is fathers’ non-use of parental leave the result of making free choices? Are fathers’ decisions to take leave the result of making a free choice? Existing scientific research has not yet answered these questions.

Dr. hab. Anna Kurowska proposes an innovative and comprehensive theoretical framework, as well as develops new methods aimed at examining the extent to which people make free choices regarding the use or non-use of their social rights, services, or benefits. Her theoretical and methodological concept will be applied in the project to an empirical analysis of the extent of fathers’ freedom of choice (not) to exercise their right to parental leave and the factors limiting this freedom in four countries: Japan, Germany, Poland, and Sweden.

National Science Centre; OPUS, edition 19

Principal Investigator: Dr. hab. Anna Kurowska

Implementation period: from 2021-01-11 to 2025-01-10

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, some families have been directly affected by the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Many people have fallen ill, and some of them have died. However, indirectly, the pandemic has affected almost all families, as most countries in the world have implemented far-reaching social distancing policies, restricting the possibility of traveling abroad, closing schools, kindergartens, nurseries, some workplaces, parks, or other public spaces, and limiting access to shops or places offering various types of services. The aim of our project is to assess the various short- and long-term consequences of policies introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on the division of domestic and professional responsibilities between partners and their situation in the labor market (type of employment contract, job stability, earnings, position held) in Poland and in an international comparative perspective.

National Science Centre; OPUS, edition 20

Principal Investigator: Dr. hab. Adam Szymański

Implementation period: from 2021-07-07 to 2023-07-06

The aim of the project is to examine democratic or autocratic changes within regional and local structures in the state and their relationship with similar processes at the national (central) level—focusing on the impact of the national level on lower territorial levels. The choice of topic resulted from the fact that most studies on democratic or autocratic changes have so far focused on the national level, while they are also important at local and regional levels. There is therefore a clear gap to be filled. Research on this topic can reveal a full picture of democratic and autocratic changes and better understand these processes. The case of Poland in the years 2010-2022 (three full terms of local and regional structures) will be examined, including the pandemic period. This state was chosen because it is an interesting case of an EU member that has three territorial levels, a combination of centralized and decentralized administration models, and different political profiles of local and regional authorities (including non-party individuals) and models of their political relations with central authorities.

National Science Centre; OPUS, edition 20

Principal Investigator: Dr. hab. Andrzej Szeptycki

Implementation period: from 2021-10-01 to 2023-09-30

The project aims to analyze armed conflicts in which the Russian Federation has been involved in the post-Cold War period. The main objectives of the project are as follows: assessment of the role of the use of force in contemporary Russian foreign policy; assessment of the specificity of contemporary Russian military actions at the strategic and tactical level; assessment of the adequacy of strategies and means chosen during these conflicts to the objectives pursued and justifying values; assessment of the level of compliance of Russia’s behavior and actions in military operations with relevant norms of international law (including humanitarian law); comparison of Russian and Western ways of conducting wars.

National Science Centre; MINIATURA, edition 5

Principal Investigator: Dr. hab. Łukasz Zamęcki

Implementation period: from 2021-08-16 to 2022-08-15

The aim of the application is to obtain funds for preliminary empirical research that will enable verification of the applicant’s original explanatory model for support for extreme populist movements (definition of populism based on the works of Mudde, Norris, Stanley), created based on the concept of nostalgic deprivation (cf. Gest, Reny, Mayer) and research results on collective contestation related to the politicization of collective identity by Bert Klandermans. The study will be conducted using the method of studying nostalgic deprivation and causes of radicalization of political attitudes (including sense of grievance, collective identity). In the future, the model, verified thanks to Miniatura funds, will be able to be developed and will enable the inclusion of phenomena related to identity politicization and social polarization resulting from the role of social media

Research University Excellence Initiative; New Ideas POB V

Principal Investigator: Dr. hab. Natalia Garner

Implementation period: from 2021-09-01 to 2023-02-28

Mass migration to European Union countries poses many challenges for us. One of the most important is cooperation and production of public goods despite the differences that divide us. However, research shows that we are much less willing to extend trust—a resource necessary for cooperation—to members of out-groups than to members of our own group. Our study will use experiments—laboratory and survey—to examine the extent to which an immigrant’s generation or asylum seeker status combined with that person’s social status affects the trust that person is given by members of other groups. The results will allow us to understand not only whether cultural difference or rather unequal social status negatively affects intergroup trust in the context of the migration crisis, but also what legitimizing role the state plays in this process.

National Science Centre (185,769 PLN)

Principal Investigator: Dr. Kamil Ławniczak

Implementation period: July 7, 2022 – July 6, 2025

The subject of the project is the consensual nature of the decision-making process in the Council—the fact that in most cases no opposition is recorded, despite the formal possibility of deciding by majority vote rather than unanimously. The prevalence of consensus in the Council is unexpected and surprisingly stable. The aim of the project is to determine how negotiators understand the meaning of their actions leading to a situation in which none of them openly opposes the solution being discussed, including whether there is tension between the obligation to represent the government and the practice of consensus. The project is empirically and problem-oriented and is part of the so-called “practice turn.” It adopts an interpretivist methodology and qualitative methods aimed at generating rich and in-depth empirical material. Interpretivist social sciences place the creation of meanings, i.e., how people understand their lifeworld, including their own actions, at the center of researchers’ interests. The main method of generating data in the project is individual in-depth interviews conducted during field research.

National Science Centre; FUGA; edition 4
Principal Investigator: Dr. Dominika Maria Mikucka-Wójtowicz
Implementation period: from 2015-10-01 to 2019-10-12

Although the literature on the broadly understood Europeanization of the post-Yugoslav area is quite extensive, political parties have been neglected in it so far. This is a significant oversight, because—as Simon Hix rightly emphasized—both national and EU politics are party politics. Moreover, the functioning of party systems significantly affects the stability of political systems, and this fact is particularly important when we study the political reality of states with such an important geopolitical location as post-Yugoslav states and with such a difficult path to democracy (excluding the special case of Slovenia). The Europeanization of parties is understood in research as a two-track process. On the one hand, it consists of parties’ responses to changes in their operating environment related to the ongoing process of European integration (the so-called indirect dimension of Europeanization). On the other hand, changes that occurred under the influence of cooperation between national political groupings and transnational federations of political parties (Europarties), groups representing them in the European Parliament (EP), and in the case of Central European parties also with sister formations from Western Europe.

The aim of this project is to examine the impact of the Europeanization process on changes occurring within national political parties and party systems of five post-Yugoslav states that have at least official candidate status for EU membership (Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia) or are already full members (Slovenia, Croatia). In the case of parties, attention in the analysis will be paid to programmatic and organizational changes occurring under the influence of Europeanization, while in studies of party systems, an attempt will be made to assess the impact of Europeanization on changes in their format (emergence of new parties or splits in old groupings) or mechanisms (changes in patterns of party rivalry and cooperation).

The research will apply triangulation of theories, methods, and research techniques. On the one hand, it will consist of combining theories from the field of European studies, primarily the neo-institutional and—having common roots with it—moderately constructivist paradigm of research on European integration and theoretical approaches from the field of dynamically developing research on Europeanization with theories of party change and development. On the other hand, combining qualitative methods with quantitative ones and combining several data collection techniques for analysis (analysis of existing data, conducting semi-structured interviews and a survey). The conclusions drawn from the conducted research will then be confronted with conclusions from the literature on analyses of this process in Central European states. Such a broad analysis should enable both indicating specific internal (national) and external factors that may affect the course and intensity of the Europeanization process of parties and party systems, as well as creating a new model for its research.

National Science Centre; OPUS; edition 11
Principal Investigator: Dr. hab. Adam Robert Szymański
Implementation period: from 2017-02-01 to 2020-01-31

POPULAR SCIENCE SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT

Although the number of countries conducting free and regular elections has grown in recent decades, their fairness often leaves much to be desired. The phenomenon of electoral manipulation is developing, extending far beyond simple fraud. The main objective of the research is to analyze the impact of these manipulations on the political regimes of countries (primarily so-called hybrid regimes – situated between democracy and authoritarianism), together with outlining a prognosis regarding their possible transformations. Researchers will focus on the issue of maintaining fair competition among political parties and equal opportunities in seizing power. The choice of this topic stems primarily from the observed dynamic development of various types of electoral abuses – concerning law, voter preferences and voting itself, which favor individual political forces and begin to affect various elements of the political system, e.g. the dominance of one political party, which in the longer term may lead to undemocratic changes. Political scientists have noticed this phenomenon in recent years and have developed primarily theoretical studies. However, they have not conducted in-depth studies of specific cases that would include their comparison and have not undertaken broader considerations on the impact of manipulation on systemic transformations. This project will serve this purpose. The main subject of research will be Turkey during the period of single-party rule by one grouping – the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the years 2002-2015 as one of the best examples for indicating electoral abuses and their impact on the transformation of the political regime. However, the researchers – political scientists who have been dealing with Turkish politics for many years and have been observing elections in Turkey for a long time – will also consider similar examples of countries (mainly from Eastern Europe and Latin America) for a fuller verification of the hypotheses put forward, headed by those assuming that unfair electoral practices lead to the existence of so-called borderline regimes, which balance between hybrid and authoritarian regimes, but due to the increase in electoral manipulation gradually move toward the latter type of regime. The two-year research will be conducted using extensive Polish and English-language literature (to a lesser extent Turkish) and available databases/reports on elections, their fairness and democracy. In addition, interviews will be conducted with: Turkish politicians, representatives of organizations monitoring elections, experts on electoral law, elections and democratization in Turkey. Partial research results will be presented on a dedicated website, also containing the most important information about the project. Final results will be published in a monograph in English in one of the prestigious publishing houses publishing books in this language. The results of work at a given stage will be consulted with experts from Poland and abroad.

National Science Centre; OPUS; 12th edition
Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Jacek Zaleśny
Implementation Period: from 2017-08-24 to 2020-01-23

The aim of the research project is to establish the constitutional specificity of constitutional review bodies in post-Soviet states. This is achieved by defining and explaining their constitutional character, their place in the system of state power, assessing the tasks assigned to them, the manner of their formation, their working procedures, the legal force of their rulings, the legal status of their members, and presenting conclusions regarding the optimization of the constitutional status of constitutional review bodies as institutions for the protection of the constitution.

National Science Centre; OPUS; 8th edition
Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Maciej Duszczyk
Implementation period: from 2015-07-20 to 2019-05-19

The main objective of the research is to answer the question of the significance of expected and obtained security in the labour market when making migration decisions. This will contribute to theories explaining economic migration processes, particularly push and pull theory, which describes factors stimulating and inhibiting migration processes. In addition, the project will also draw on the “new economics of migration” and the theory of “incomplete migration”. Our hypothesis is that expected and obtained security in the labour market is an additional (alongside wage levels or job supply) important factor influencing migration decisions.

National Science Centre; SONATA; 10th edition
Principal Investigator: Dr Alicja Cecylia Curanović
Implementation period: from 2016-06-14 to 2021-12-13

After the collapse of the USSR and during the first years of Vladimir Putin’s rule, the Kremlin officially disavowed the ideologization of politics, and the new president assured that Russia wanted to be a “normal power”. At that time, messianism (missionarism) was treated by most Russia scholars as a relic of the past that did not influence the political thinking of Russian elites. This assessment changed drastically under the influence of the so-called conservative turn and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The renaissance of Russian messianism began to be written about in leading journals (Financial Times, Economist), and analyses and commentaries appeared. However, this increased interest in the subject has not been accompanied by in-depth studies of the phenomenon.
In the vast majority of publications, messianism is used as a “skeleton key” to provide a simplified explanation of Russia’s foreign policy. Although the idea for this project was born long before the conservative turn, the Kremlin’s policy of retraditionalization of public discourse in recent years is an important argument for addressing this issue—extremely relevant for understanding the dynamics of Russian politics.
In my proposed approach, mission is the belief in the exceptionality of a given community (state/nation), which manifests itself in its special destiny (Rus. особенное предназначение). I assume that mission is defined by three interrelated features: (a) belief in a special destiny, (b) a sense of moral superiority (politics in terms of moral duty), (c) belief in acting in a non-particularistic interest. The aim of the research is to learn and understand the phenomenon of contemporary messianism in Russia’s foreign policy by establishing the content, context, and function of mission in Russian thinking about international relations. The subject of analysis is Russian official discourse on foreign policy in the years 2000–2014. I will therefore examine various forms of statements (speeches, interviews, commentaries, press conference statements, etc.) by state officials who have an influence on Russia’s foreign policy. The implementation of the project will allow us to understand not only the multiplicity and diversity of types of missions to which Russia aspires, but also the dynamics of the process of self-identification of the Russian state. This project will also enable insights into the universal mechanisms of political messianism. I hope that it will serve as a starting point for comparative research on states with different statuses—comparing Russia (recovering power) with the USA (dominating power) and China (rising power). The project is multidisciplinary, combining elements of political science, sociology, philosophy, and cultural studies.

Ministry of Science and Higher Education: Diamond Grant programme, 43rd competition
Principal Investigator: Aleksander Matthew Haleniuk
Implementation period: 2014-09-03 to 2021-03-02

The project proposed by the author is an opportunity to thoroughly examine the social position of Afrikaners, i.e. representatives of the white population of the Republic of South Africa and Namibia, within the existing democratic states in southern Africa.

The introduction to the project will be an analysis of the changes taking place in Afrikaner identity while simultaneously paying attention to the processes that have so far had the greatest contribution to its emergence and formation, including: the Great Trek, the Boer Wars, the Calvinist faith, and apartheid. An important element of the research will be an analysis of Afrikaners’ self-definition and their attitude to existing realities and the sense of being the only white tribe in Africa.

The project is also an attempt to scientifically address the stereotypes that weigh on this community. The author proposes a comprehensive examination and description of Afrikaner organizations such as AfriForum and Solidariteit, which aim to defend the interests of this community in the changing social relations in the Republic of South Africa, as well as a detailed analysis of the proposals and possibilities for creating autonomy or a separate Afrikaner state within the borders of contemporary South Africa, using the example of Orania and Kleinfontein—two towns inhabited exclusively by Afrikaners. An indispensable element of the project will be research conducted in the Republic of South Africa and Namibia in the third year of the project. An integral part of the project is to be the publication of a work summarizing the author’s research findings, which would introduce the subject of Afrikaners to the average Polish reader, and also supplement the current modest state of knowledge of Polish scholarship on this subject.

National Science Centre; HARMONIA; 9th edition
Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Wojciech Gagatek, Associate Professor
Implementation period: from 2018-05-08 to 2022-05-07

The project addresses the role of political parties in contemporary democracies. The key research question concerns the mechanism of party adaptation to changing circumstances that condition their relationship with society and the state. To capture organizational changes in political parties, the research will be conducted during the election campaigns for the European Parliament and the Polish Parliament, in May and autumn 2019 in all constituencies. The hypothesis assumes that a party is not an organizationally homogeneous entity. Within a single electoral cycle, parties may make different organizational choices to respond to different new challenges posed by the institutional environments of different levels.

The research covers four dimensions of analysis: party candidates in elections, party electoral programmes, the phenomenon of professionalization of political parties, and analysis of party finances. Within these areas, the following will be analysed: a) party rules for candidate presentation and their selection process, b) the process of formulating the electoral programme, c) techniques for conducting election campaigns, d) sources of campaign financing and the structure of party expenditure during the campaign.

The project will use various analytical techniques: from collecting publicly available data, interviews with local party elites and candidates in the European Parliament and Sejm elections, to analysis of local newspaper content.

The project is part of an international research consortium comprising, in addition to Poland, countries such as Belgium, Ireland, Germany, and Italy.

The project is being implemented under the Harmonia 9 programme of the National Science Centre under the direction of Dr hab. Wojciech Gagatek.

The members of the research team are experts (political scientists, sociologists, media scholars, and psychologists) selected from among many candidates. The researchers have undergone training in conducting interviews with politicians and collecting materials on election campaigns. They are the following individuals:

1. 1. Maria Wincławska
   2. Katarzyna Myślińska-Szarek
   3. Jakub Klepański and Karolina Pirianowicz
   4. Klaudia Wolniewicz-Slomka
   5. Arkadiusz Lewandowski
   6. Paweł Stępień
   7. Jakub Kowalik
   8. Ewelina Kancik-Kołtun
   9. Krzysztof Matuszek
   10. Joanna Grzechnik
   11. Agata Marciniak
   12. Mateusz Bartoszewicz
   13. Adam Jarosz
   14. Daniel Płatek

National Programme for the Development of the Humanities – “Universalia 2.1” module
Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Elżbieta Kossewska
Implementation period: from 2018-04-10 to 2021-12-09

The aim of the work is to characterize the journalistic and readership communities of Polish Jews organized around the party Polish-language press in Israel. The significance and role of this press in the process of adaptation of Jews who arrived from Poland to Israel in the years 1948–1970 was examined. During this time, the course of the adaptation process, various states of identity and intercultural tensions were recorded in the press, especially when the new olim [Jews arriving in Eretz Israel/Israel] were still suspended between the heritage of their country of origin and the values of the Jewish state, and only accession to the Hebrew-speaking majority ended their “cultural journey”. The research direction adopted in the work also made it possible to describe the history of Polish Jews in Israel, broadening the perspective to include previously unknown fragments of their activity, in particular directing the reader’s attention to their political and publishing activities. The work consists of seven chapters, and each of them, apart from the introductory chapter, is devoted to six Polish-language publications of Israeli parties. The first chapter describes political and ideological issues related to the promotion of the ethos of the Hebrew language and the quantitative increase in titles in the foreign-language press sector. Subsequent chapters, in chronological order, concern the Progressive Party and General Zionists, Mapai, Mapam, Maki, and the Bund.

Justification for the international standing of the publisher The global publishing holding Peter Lang (Peter Lang Academic Publishing) specializes in scholarly works and journals in the humanities and social sciences. It has a global system for the distribution and promotion of scholarly works and the largest scholarly database Scopus.

Peter Lang Publishing’s publications are present in international database listings and publishing catalogues. The publisher has its headquarters in Bern, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Brussels, Oxford, and Berlin, among other locations.

The project’s connection with the programme’s assumptions and the objectives and scope of the competition – the work “She Speaks Polish, but Laughs in Hebrew. The Polish-Language Press and the Cultural Integration of Polish Jews in Israel” was nominated for the Jerzy Giedroyc Prize. It was published in Polish and is the first study to document the history of Polish Jews in Israel so extensively and to describe the functioning of the foreign-language press in Israel’s political system. The work is interdisciplinary in nature, covering issues in the fields of history, political science, cultural studies, and sociology. The book was written mainly on the basis of archival sources (Polish, British, Israeli, French, American). The work presents a methodology that can be used to study ethnic groups, refugees, and multicultural societies. In the opinion of, for example, reviewers of the habilitation output, the work was considered pioneering, “unprecedented in the literature on the subject”.

National Science Centre; OPUS; 13th edition
Principal Investigator: Dr hab. Marcin Kaczmarski
Implementation period: from 2018-01-10 to 2021-09-09

The project focuses on two attempts to build a regional international order: the New Silk Road promoted by China and the Eurasian Economic Union created by Russia. Both initiatives are economic-political in nature, i.e. they envisage both economic cooperation and constitute an attempt to increase the influence of China and Russia in their neighbourhood. The aim of the project is to examine the extent to which the Chinese and Russian initiatives are shaped by local ideas and political traditions, and to what extent they are influenced by international norms concerning multilateral cooperation promoted by Western states. The project will analyse three main elements. The first are visions of regional order, i.e. the ways in which Chinese and Russian ruling elites think about international order, how they understand the concepts of “region” and “regionalism”. The second is the institutional shape of both initiatives, i.e. their legal foundations, international agreements, and the institutions they create. The third part of the research will be an analysis of the practical political and economic cooperation of Russia and China within the New Silk Road and the Eurasian Economic Union with three countries: Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Belarus. Two main reasons led to undertaking such a research problem. The projects of China and Russia are significant not only for these states and their neighbours, but also for the global international order. The way in which Russia and China shape their neighbourhoods will influence the relations of these states with the West and with each other. Secondly, we still know little about how political ideas and international norms shape international politics on a regional scale. While most research to date has focused on the European Union, which emerged and functioned under very specific conditions, few studies have been conducted on non-Western attempts to build regional order, especially those initiated and implemented by illiberal powers.

National Science Centre; SONATA; 12th edition
Principal Investigator: Dr Aleksandra Zubrzycka-Czarnecka
Implementation period: from 2017-07-05 to 2022-07-04

D-Housing. Democracy in Housing Policy

Having a roof over one’s head is one of the basic human needs. Decent housing conditions enable the proper functioning of individuals, families, and social groups. The housing crisis—felt in many European countries (e.g. Poland, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium)—is, however, proof that the housing needs of the population are not being met. This is also visible in statistics on the problem of homelessness. This situation appears as a challenge for researchers and for practitioners involved in housing. There is a lack not only of creditworthiness and budgetary resources to finance costly housing investments, but above all of a concept for the development of housing policy in the 21st century. To develop a vision of housing policy that could meet contemporary housing problems, theoretical tools and data obtained from research are necessary. The participation of social actors in shaping and implementing housing policy is an important element of this policy. However, within the theory of housing research, there is a lack of theoretical and analytical tools to study the above issues. In this situation, the concept of democracy in housing policy (CDHP) developed and empirically verified in the project may be useful for studying the legitimacy of housing policy and its impact on the effectiveness and innovation of public policy in the area of housing. The research will cover the housing policy of the City of Warsaw in the years 2000–2016. The research results will allow for a better explanation of the social reception of political actions in the area of meeting the housing needs of the population, which in turn may contribute to better design of these actions.