Background to Crisis: Policy and Politics in Gierek's Poland

The 1970s in Poland were marked by rapid social, economic, and political change that included the phenomenal expansion of Polish industry, the growth of economic ties with the West, food shortages, and substantial domestic unrest. The Polish government was faced with a large number of problems--foreign as well as domestic--that to date have not been amenable to lasting solutions. Efforts to solve one problem often have merely exacerbated difficulties in other areas. The authors of this volu...