THE POLITICAL OPPOSITION IN POLAND

Neither in the post-World War II history of Poland nor in any other Communist ruled country has there ever been a political phenomenon even vaguely resembling the contemporary political opposition in Poland. It has a popular appeal and, unlike other opposition movements, it is not restricted to any particular social stratum. Although comprising many different, even contradictory, political and ideological attitudes and trends, it has managed to achieve a certain consensus. This, in turn, permits concerted activity independent of the established authority, without blurring the divergence of opinions of its component parts. It has a clear cut program of action which goes beyond purely cosmetic modifications of the prevalent socio-economic and political system. At the same time it remains within the bounds of law, thus making its suppression much more difficult. For several years now it has withstood all attempts to silence it by slander, threats, and harass ment. Several times it has even succeeded in forcing the ruling party to retreat, to seek accommodation, to tolerate tacitly its activities. Last but not least, it has been exceptionally articulate, widely disseminating its nonconformist views. This has been achieved by circulating samizdat books and periodicals inside the country without interference by the official censorship, and by distributing the writings of authors who live in Poland but publish abroad. The unique character of the contemporary political opposition in Poland should arouse the interest of a wide circle of scholars concerned with modern Poland, Eastern Europe as a whole, and the Communist movement and its recent evolution. Surprisingly enough, however, it has evoked serious interest among few observers ? other than Western journalists in search of sensational copy. Historians might well be wary of analyzing events which are still evolving and which therefore are difficult to assess and pigeon-hole. But what about political scientists or sociologists? Is their indifference due to ignorance, especially to the fact that most of the sources have been available only in Polish, a language in which even most of the experts in this field are hardly fluent? If that is indeed the case, the recently published book by Peter Raina should go a long way towards dispelling such real or imaginary misgivings. It is an impressive