Relations with the Russian Federation in the programmes of selected Polish political parties: an outline of quatitative and qualitative analysys

Abstract

Particular political parties’ manifestoes constitute crucial elements of
public discourse. On the one hand, they are an emanation of the views held
by political parties and their voters, on the other hand, they form a basis for
political competition between particular formations, both during electoral
campaigns and in the periods between the elections. In the Polish political
reality, proposals concerning foreign policy make one of pivotal elements
of those political programmes. The article aims to present the results of
the research into the place of Russia and Polish-Russian relations in the
programmes of the most important political formations operating in Poland.
The author also attempts to review the political programmes for their
specificity as well as their internal structures and the nature of the proposals
that they include. As a result of the quantitative analysis, it has been concluded
that the relations with Russia constitute a crucial element in the political
programmes proposed by the majority of significant Polish political parties.
The qualitative analysis has made it possible to distinguish parties that call for
a determined and assertive policy towards Russia, parties that formulate their
views on Russia in a neutral way, as well as parties that call for improvement
and pragmatism in bilateral Polish-Russian relations.