The Principles of Economic Transformation in Poland after 1989 According to President Lech Wałęsa: A Research in Economics and Security Studies

The objective of this paper is to present the principles underlying the economic transformation in Poland after 1989 according to the President of the Republic of Poland, Lech Wałęsa. The research method applied was analysis and synthesis of materials from the Archives of the President of the Republic of Poland in Warsaw, which preserves unique and unpublished sources summarizing the activities of the President and the circles surrounding the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland and the President’s Political Services Office. The empirical results show that the main principles underlying the economic transformation in Poland after 1989 included: the consistency of political and economic reforms, rapid privatization and re-privatization, internationalization of trade, the establishment of state institutions to support economic transformation, promotion and protection of the national character of the economy, protective measures for the economically weakest groups. In the course of political and economic reforms, one of the greatest obstacles in the process of transformation turned out to be the mentality of a society oscillating around a totalitarian system, the inefficacy of legislative processes, and the application of foreign, not Polish solutions.