New Institutionalism in Studies on Polish Society: Traditions, State of Research and Prospects

This article discusses studies on Polish society conducted from the perspective of new institutionalism. In addition to the review of studies, the interdisciplinary research field is characterised and its contribution to the development of global social sciences is indicated. The state of research is presented in the context of earlier original achievements of Polish social sciences: analyses of the communist system and systemic transformation. The predecessors of institutional studies representing the Polish reformist thought are also indicated. These intellectual trends form a rich tradition that can be a basis for contemporary research. Neo-institutional studies are an important contribution to the reflection on the transformation of Polish society. They also contain interesting, yet disperse comparative material for global research. At the end of the paper, it is proposed to: conduct institutional analysis of new fields, use the experience of systemic transformation to build the theory of institutional change and make greater use of the critical potential of new institutionalism.