This thesis attempts to contribute to our understanding of the emergence and the growth of the Solidarity Movement in Poland in the period of August 1980-December 1981. It is argued that Solidarity can be seen as a "hybrid" movement which combined "traditional" economic and syndicalist demands and "new" concerns with democratization of political life. A number of conducive factors, such as the fluidity and homogeneity of the Polish stratification system, the existence of a young, ambitious and alienated working class, concentrated in large enterprises and the perception of the social order in dichotomous terms, contributed to the emergence of an inter-class alliance of urban segments of Polish society against the political elite, which was widely perceived as being responsible for the acute economic, political and moral crisis of the late seventies. Also, the structure of Solidarity appears to contribute to its organizational and political success. It is maintained that the massive and rapid mobilization involved the activation of pre-existing informal ties among Polish workers. In this context, we also stress the importance of the charismatic leadership of Solidarity, especially that of Lech Walesa. Finally, we partly attribute the success of our movement to the failure of the weak, hesitant and internally divided political elite to contain the Solidarity movement and to respond to the crisis facing the nation. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

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