Combating an Ethnopopulist Takeover: Can Poland Return to a Liberal Democracy?
Public Deposited- Creator
-
Habegger, Luke
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Political Science
- Abstract
- I argue that liberal democracy is still achievable in Poland for three reasons. First, the success of President Duda and PiS was a product of specific conditions existing in 2015. By utilizing their nationalist, populist platform and the lack of EU action to prevent the PiS government’s replacement of independent judges with party loyalists, PiS took advantage of the existing political environment in a way that will not be as easily replicated in the future. With increased pressure from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and lost majority in the Polish Senate in 2019, the PiS government will have a weaker capacity to systematically undermine democratic norms and principles. Second, PiS’s influence over other democratic institutions is not as deeply-rooted as it is in the judiciary. The senate, media, electoral framework, and mass protests in Poland are largely independent and provide opposition groups with useful platforms to express discontent and even stop authoritarian legislation from passing, despite disadvantageous shifts in the playing field. Third, I argue that public opinion polls reveal that PiS is losing popular support and effective methods of appealing to Poles, suggesting cooperative opposition parties will become more competitive in future elections despite a somewhat polarized political environment.
- Date of publication
- 2021
- Keyword
- DOI
- Resource type
- Article
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Journal title
- North Carolina Journal of European Studies
- Journal volume
- 2
- Journal issue
- 1
- Page start
- 44
- Page end
- 53
- Language
- English
Relations
- Parents:
- In Collection:
Items
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Visibility | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Habegger_Layout.pdf | 2021-08-23 | Public | Download |