Authors

Mateusz Drozdowski¹;  ¹ University of the National Education Commission,

Discussion

Aim of the paper is to analyze interaction of two types of a political culture (British & communist), that resulted from intensification of bilateral relations between United Kingdom and the Polish People’s Republic in the second half of the 1980s. The discussed process, culminated in the Margaret Thatcher’s visit to Poland in November 1988, had far reaching-implications. Contrary to the United States, Great Britain tended to pursue a policy by the “soft power” means, understood as a persuasion, giving priority to the economy and intensive talks with both government and the opposition. British efforts were strongly supported by personal charisma of Margaret Thatcher, paradoxically recognized by the Polish communists. Moreover, the policy of the “Iron Lady” had a clear ideological component, expressed in a strong orientation on a market economy, accompanied by the conviction that the Polish way towards capitalism should be inherently connected with expending democracy and shaping a civil society. These contacts led to an encounter of two types of a political culture, understood as different sets of values, attitudes, practices, means and rules present in a political life, influencing relations between government and a society. The final goal is to identify potential results of that “clash” of political cultures, seen in the context of the political changes in Poland in 1989. The paper will be based primarily on the archival sources available in the National Archives in London.