Den omdebatterade kammaren. En analys av argumenten för och emot den polska Senaten.

Sammanfattning: The future of the Polish Senate is the subject of a major debate, which has been going on since its reinstatement in 1989 as a result of the negotiations between the ruling communistic Labour Party and Solidarity. The aim of this thesis is to provide a reconstruction of the debate and of the arguments used, as well as to see if there are any links between the Polish debate and the general, international discussion on bicameralism. To reach the aim of the thesis I have made an argumentation analysis, using the pro et contra-method and by dividing the arguments in to three groups depending on their content. The study shows that the arguments tend to be either emotional or sober. The emotional arguments tend to focus on the Polish tradition and history as well as on the senators and the economy. The sober arguments focus more on the legislative aspect and the strength of the Senate compared to the lower house, the Sejm. The links between the Polish debate and the international discussion on bicameralism is clear. The historical development of the Senate is similar to the international development and many of the arguments stress the same things.