The Polish Solidarity Movement

This book provides a groundbreaking analysis of democratization in Poland by placing Solidarity in the context of the major democratic upheavals of modernity; the French and American Revolutions.
This text provides an analysis of democratization in Poland by placing the Solidarity movement in the context of the major democratic upheavals of modernity; the French and American Revolutions. Departing from case studies of Solidarity that treat the movement in isolation, this study undertakes an historical comparison of the Polish movement with the ideals and institutions of democracy achieved in the last three centuries. Arista Maria Cirtautas explains that the institutionalization of a strong democracy in Poland will ultimately depend upon whether the similarities to the great tradition of democratic revolution outweighs the differences. Providing the historical and theoretical groundwork for future comparative study of contemporary democratic movements, the text addresses the most vital and pressing questions about the underlying meaning of an important social revolution.