Andrzej Rychard

Andrzej Rychard is a professor and member of the Polish Academy of Sciences where he directs the Institute for Philosophy. As a Professor of Sociology he is engaged in theoretical and empirical studies on the relations between the 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.

His main research interests broadly deal with institutional studies on the transition processes in Central and Eastern Europe: the relationship between political and economic institutions and their social implications in the broader framework of analysis of the factors affecting transformation, the political and social barriers to it, and its consequences. He studies the role of reforms “from above” and the significance of spontaneous changes as sources of transformation in the post communist countries. He is the author and/or co author of more than 100 scientific publications in Polish, English, Swedish and American professional journals, including books and monographs, author and/or co author of 19 research projects.