Andrzej Rychard

As Professor of Sociology I am engaged in theoretical and empirical studies on the relations among state, economy and society, social legitimation of the political and economic systems, sociology of health care systems, and the role of historical and cultural legacies in contemporary societies. My main research interests are in the area of broadly understood institutional studies on the transition processes in Central and Eastern Europe: the relationship between political and economic institutions and their social implications. This is studied in the broader framework of analysis of the factors affecting transformation, the political and social barriers to it, and its consequences. The role of legitimation and the role of other factors of stability is analysed. In my works I am also trying to to study the role of reforms “from above” and the significance of spontaneous changes as sources of transformation in the post ‑ communist countries.
Author and/or co‑author of more than 100 scientific publications published in Polish, British, Swedish and American professional journals, including books and monographs, author and/or co‑author of 19 research projects. Scientific Secretary of the national research program “Structure and Dynamics of the Polish Society (1982‑1985).