ABSTRACT
This chapter aims at presenting concise but multidimensional overview of the crucial socio-economic processes which were ignited in the 1989 and lasted throughout the systemic transformation of Poland from state socialism to democratic and capitalist country. It approaches transition from central planning to market economy, retrenchment of the state from numerous fields of social and economic life and social costs of those processes. The issues of alleged weakness of Polish civil society and the special role of intelligentsia in restoring and legitimizing of capitalist order are also presented, followed by the overview of Polish political scene and conflicts that divided parties and the people throughout the period in question. The attention is paid to the systemic feebleness of the political and cultural left in Poland and the crucial role of Roman Catholic Church in both cultural and discursive sphere, as well as in policy-making. All these issues are discussed in context of processes which allowed for a conservative turn in Polish public sphere and significant shift to the right on a political scene, paving a way to two consecutive landslide victories of Law and Justice party in parliamentary elections. These phenomena provide the context for discussion on the political activities and affiliations of Polish football fandom depicted in forthcoming chapters.
