CENTRALIZATION TENDENCIES IN POLAND AFTER 1990 – CONTINUITY AND CHANGE

Abstract

The article discusses the issue of centralization tendencies in Poland. It constitutes an attempt to present this process in the context of the functioning of public administration in our country. The main research question is whether centralization was constantly present during the 30 years of creating a new model of public administration in Poland, or whether it was strengthened after 2015. The financial independence of local government units is also a crucial aspect of the analysis. The article correspondingly focuses on the resistance of the government administration during the implementation of local government reforms. Importantly, what is factored in as well is the change in the perception of the position and the role of local governments in the political system after the 2015 parliamentary elections by the new government camp. Analysis of the past provided the precedent premises for strong centralization tendencies, in particular, the traditions of the strong state administration of the Second Polish Republic after the May coup in 1926 and during the People's Republic of Poland