Heft36 1 - SFB 580 - Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

AGNIESZKA REFERENCES LITERATUR K. CIANCIARA
SUMMARY
3
POLISH BUSINESS – POLITICS RELATIONS
AND THEIR IMPACT ON NATIONAL LOBBYING
AT THE EU LEVEL
Agnieszka K. Cianciara
There are differences in businesspolitics
relations between CEEC and
Western Europe that stem from the
specificities of the post-communist capitalist
model. The communist heritage, as well
the three simultaneous processes of change
(transformation to capitalism and democracy,
Europeanization, globalization) have created
hybrid institutions at the CEE national level.
Polish capitalism is characterized by significant
public sector, weak corporate governance
mechanisms, relatively poor business climate,
inefficient governance structures and weak
institutionalization of civil and social dialogue,
as well as extremely weak legitimization of
lobbying. This is translated into specific types
of relations between business and political
elites: clientelistic relations of state-owned
companies, oligarchic relations of biggest
national private companies and weak organization
of SMEs, while professional lobbying
strategies are used mostly by multinational
companies. How do these domestic patterns
of relations between business and politics
affect mobilization, resources and strategies
of Polish business interest representation at
the EU level? It appears that post-communist
formal and informal heritage still plays an
important role in politics-business relations.
In the Polish case, this is manifested in the
degree of embeddedness in domestic
clientelistic and oligarchic networks,
the level of internationalization and Seite Page page 45
resulting autonomy vis-a-vis national
political elites, as well as a lack of tradition,
institutionalization and legitimization
of pluralist interest representation.