ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the interrelated topics of socioeconomic development, the international political economy, and international relations. It examines Poland’s distinct capitalist transformation and assesses the extent of the crucial linkage between democracy and delivery. The chapter explores whether Poland’s interaction with the post-Cold War international environment has reinforced the new democracy, examining in particular the role of the international political economy in enhancing Poland’s democratic and capitalist prospects. It also examines the new constitutional arrangements and political institutions of the Third Republic, including the important question of executive-legislative relations and the checks-and-balances system. Especially in the formative period of a new regime, this represents a key source of electoral behavior. The electoral law provided for proportional representation in cities and large towns and simple majority results in all other areas. The electoral law was hypersensitive to the electoral support accorded small parties, since no minimum threshold was required to obtain Sejm representation.
