Poland Celebrates 20 Years of Voting
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James Joyner | Tuesday, June 2, 2009 |
As the 20th anniversary of the Solidarity movement’s triumph approaches, Poland finds itself divided politically and unhappy with its current state of affairs. As I argue in my New Atlanticist piece “Poland’s Democracy at 20,” this is a good thing.
Unhappiness with the quality of one’s politicians, too, is a sure sign of a maturing democracy. Gone are the days when Poles were excited to vote; that’s now simply expected. But the expectations of new democracies are absurdly unrealistic and thus inevitably dashed.
Twenty years ago, Poland was part of the Warsaw Pact; today it’s part of NATO. Then, it was on the outside looking in at Europe’s prosperity; now it’s a member of the EU. Then, it was under Soviet domination; now it’s free. Then, its people hated the government and they do again. At least this time, they’re free to complain about it without the risk of being arrested.
Much more at the link, including the irony of Solidarity threatening to shut down celebrations of its own movement with strikes.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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