Between the Global and the Local: The Rise and Decline of Solidarity in Poland, 1980-2008

• Other Authors: Lukasik, Gregory A., 1964- (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Sociology
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-1004

From its triumphant emergence in the Lenin shipyard in Gdansk in August 1980, the trade union Solidarity emerged as a major social and political force in Poland, eventually contributing to the collapse of communism in that part of Europe in 1989. Since then, however, Solidarity has greatly diminished in size and significance. This dissertation, based on data from Solidarity Weekly from 1989 to 2008, as well as other secondary sources and a dozen in-depth interviews with union leaders in Poland, tries to uncover the cause of Solidarity's decline by looking at both global and local factors. The global factors involve the ascendance of economic neoliberalism in the world in the 1980s and 1990s that also became dominant as economic policy orthodoxy in Poland in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Here, the role of transnational financial institutions as well as groups of Western economists is particularly important to the success of neoliberalism in Poland. These institutions and persons have been from the beginning involved in shaping the economic reforms that established a market economy in the early 1990s but also negatively affected blue collar workers and labor unions. Furthermore, I found that multinational corporations have played an active part in diminishing the role of trade unions in Poland. These foreign entities have purchased a significant number of Polish formerly state-owned enterprises, including banks, and often actively engaged in tactics to avoid unions. No small part in these developments was played by the collapse of the international trade patterns of Poland established after World War II that was caused by the economic and political collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Finally, the global factors include new cultural trends that have spread all over Eastern and Central Europe in the form of consumerism and pop culture. These trends have negatively affected Solidarity who relied on traditional values of patriotism, sacrifice, and social solidarity to attract members to the organization. My research also points to the importance of local factors that have mediated the influence of globalization with respect to the decline of Solidarity. The first of these factors can be called "social movement inertia" of Solidarity. Solidarity, since its birth in 1980 existed as a trade union but acquired all the characteristics associated with a social movement. Those characteristics, so beneficial in Poland under communism, became a hindrance to Solidarity as a trade union. Here, particularly important are the attempts of the leadership of Solidarity to use Solidarity as a social movement for change and as a political party to win power. No small part of those efforts by the leadership of Solidarity was shaped by the collapse of the Polish economy and the emergent "nomenklatura capitalism" that was seen as a threat to reforms. Finally, I found that the attitudes of workers and intelligentsia that comprised Solidarity, heavily influenced by Polish cultural traditions and history, contributed to the dominant perception of socialism as a discredited ideology and practice and have led to the embrace of capitalism by workers and union leaders. === A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sociology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. === Summer Semester, 2009. === June 5, 2009. === Poland, Neoliberalism, Globalization, Labor Movements === Includes bibliographical references. === Jill Quadagno, Professor Directing Dissertation; Dale L. Smith, Outside Committee Member; Patricia Yancey Martin, Committee Member; Irene Padavic, Committee Member.