Non-indigenous citizens and “stateless” residents in the Gulf monarchies. The Kuwaiti bidun

"Since the discovery of oil, the political entities of the Persian Gulf have transformed themselves from desert sheikhdoms into modern states. The process was accompanied by rapid population growth. During the last 50 years, the population of the current Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, grew from 4 million in 1950 to 33.4 million in 2004, thus recording one of the highest rates of population growth in the world."(...

Poland and Current Transatlantic Relations

"Exactly 40 years ago, President John F. Kennedy - while visiting Frankfurt - suggested that ties between the United States and Europę were so close and so essential that both sides should consider not only economic cooperation, but possibly even a political union between these two pillars of the West. He said that “we - Americans - do not regard a strong and united Europę as a rival but as a partner.” He even proposed that a declaration of interdependence be made between what he described as “the new union emerging in Europę and the old American union”."(...

Establishing relations between Poland and Saudi Arabia: count Raczyński’s visit to King Abdulaziz in 1930 and Prince Faisal's visit to Warsaw in 1932

"Official contacts between Poland and rulers of the Arabian Peninsula were established in the 1920’s. This development was connected with the political situation in the two locations. The First World War had brought back independence to Poland, along with several other states in Europę, and eventful transformations also in Arabia. The fali of the Ottoman Empire, which included the territories of the Arabian Peninsula, resulted in a number of local sheikdoms gaining independence. In particular, in the center of the Peninsula, in Nejd, power was established and strengthened by Abdulaziz Ibn Abd ar-Rahman (called Ibn Sa’ud by Europeans). In the west, the Kingdom of Hijaz was set up in 1916 by sheriff Hussein Ibn Ali."(...

Democratizing the Arab states. The case of monarchies of the Gulf, 1991-2004

"The Arab Humań Development Reports 2002 and 2003, prepared by a group of leading Arab intellectuals under the auspices of the UNDP and the Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development brought a very pessimistic view of the Arab world.1 The combined gross domestic product of the 22 Arab countries was lesser than Spain’s. Labor productivity in these countries dropped between 1960 and 1990, while it soared elsewhere in the world. Even Africa outperformed the Arab world in rates of economic growth. An exploding population cannot be supported by scarce resources and every other citizen is ready to emigrate. At the same time, the wealthiest 85,000 Saudis have overseas assets of $700 billions."(...

The changing Middle East

Foreword "The Arab world has not been a happy or successful place for quite a while. As one o f Arab diplomats once said: “There is a sense of failure, which has opened a gap between the rulers and the ruled. It has led to a lack o f confidence in Arab culture, and hostility to foreign influences.” The Arab Human Development Reports 2002 and 2003, prepared by a group of leading Arab intellectuals under the auspices of the UNDP and the Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development confirmed such a very pessimistic view of the Arab world. The combined gross domestic product of the 22 Arab countries was lesser than Spains. Labor productivity in these countries dropped between I960 and 1990, while it soared elsewhere in the world. Even Africa outperformed the Arab world in rates o f economic growth. An exploding population cannot be supported by scarce resources and every other citizen is ready to emigrate."(...

Elections and Parliamentary Activity in the GCC States. Broadening Political Participation in the Gulf Monarchies since the 1990s

From introduction: "There is an overwhelming agreement that a deficit of freedom undermines human development. As is also well known, there is a dramatic gap between the levels of democracy in Arab countries and the rest of the world1. In particular, none of the 16 Arab majority countries has a democratically elected government. At the same time, the combined GDP of all Arab countries is less than that of Spain, and labor productivity in these countries dropped between I960 and 1990, while it soared elsewhere in the world. Even Africa outperformed the Arab region in rates of economic growth, etc."(...

POLAND in Europe, with America

"One of the measures of success in the world is to appear on the front cover of well-known journals. Since the end of the Second World War, Poland had not been at the forefront of the world media until the election of Pope John Paul II in 1979 and the establishment of the ‘Solidarity’ Independent Trade Union in 1980. During that period Poland would appear in the media relatively often, following numerous clashes of ‘Solidarity’ and the government, Pope’s visits to his native land and the ‘Round Table’ discussions, which brought down the communist system. In turn, for the next decade or so the world did not hear much about Poland."(...

Zachód i islam. Postawy ludzi dwóch światów

"Lata 2005 i 2006 przyniosły poważny wzrost napięć między światem islamu a Zachodem. Przez kraje muzułmańskie przelała się fala protestów przeciwko opublikowaniu w europejskich gazetach karykatur Muhammada; we Francji, Hiszpanii i Niemczech doszło do rozruchów o podłożu rasowym. Nowe napięcia wywiecie arabskim wywołały kolejne doniesienia o zachowaniu żołnierzy amerykańskich w więzieniu Abu Ghraib w Iraku; nasilił się konflikt Zachodu z Iranem dotyczący programu nuklearnego tego kraju; kontynuowane były ataki samobójcze arabskich terrorystów na Izrael. Coraz więcej ludzi zadawało sobie pytanie, czy kontrowersyjna teza Samuela Huntingtona o zbliżającym się konflikcie cywilizacji Zachodu i islamu nie jest jednak prawdziwa. Odpowiedź na to pytanie nie jest łatwa i wiąże się w dużym stopniu z subiektywnym postrzeganiem wydarzeń na świecie."(...