Support for a Populist Government in Poland

A Few Notes about Its Economic and Cultural Divides

in The International Journal of Social Quality
Author:
Michał Gulczyński PhD Student, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy michal.gulczynski@phd.unibocconi.it

Search for other papers by Michał Gulczyński in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
Restricted access

Abstract

In the recent years, one of the most popular subjects of research in political science has been the rise of populism. In Poland, an anti-establishment government has won a second electoral cycle in a row. However, unlike in Hungary, the opposition received a comparable share of the vote. In this article, I try to show how a country with a seemingly homogeneous population could have become so divided. I argue that the current polarization is based on the lack of social recognition of the less well-off citizens and areas, and on the lack of social cohesion: deeply rooted cultural and moral divisions in society overlapping with differences in economic situation. Those underlying causes explain why civil society in Poland is still able to mobilize, but they also let us predict that the divisions will not disappear soon. Although the political preferences of the youth suggest a strong demand for more pluralism, the new gender cleavage may deepen with time, based on a similar logic: diverging life courses and a lack of social cohesion and recognition exploited by polarizing parties. The explanations offered here contribute to the understanding of not only the success of anti-establishment parties in Poland but also of the differences between the Western and Central and Eastern European political mainstream.

Contributor Notes

Michał Gulczyński is a PhD Student at the Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, where he specializes in public policy and administration. His main research interests are European integration, political demography and voting behavior. Email: michal.gulczynski@phd.unibocconi.it

  • Collapse
  • Expand

The International Journal of Social Quality

(formerly The European Journal of Social Quality)

  • Bartoszewicz, M., W. Nowak, D. Sidyk, and M. Sztyber. 2020. Raport podsumowujący obywatelski monitoring sposobu prezentowania kandydatów na urząd Prezydenta RP: II tura wyborów prezydenckich [Report summarizing the civic monitoring of the way of presentation of presidential candidates: Second round of presidential elections]. Toruń: Instytut Dyskursu i Dialogu. http://indid.pl/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Raport-II-tura_wersja-ostateczna.pdf (accessed 18.02.2021).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Beck, W., L van der Maesen, and A. Walker. 2012. “Theoretical Foundations.” In Social Quality: From Theory to Indicators, ed. L. van der Maesen and A. Walker, 4469. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Bernhard, M. 2020. “What Do We Know about Civil Society and Regime Change Thirty Years after 1989?” East European Politics 36 (3): 341362. doi:10.1080/21599165.2020.1787160.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Bill, S., and B. Stanley. 2020. “Whose Poland Is It to Be? PiS and the Struggle between Monism and Pluralism.” East European Politics 36 (3): 378394. doi:10.1080/21599165.2020.1787161.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • CBOS (Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej). 2010. “Ocena Prezydenta Lecha Kaczyńskiego” [Assessment of the President Lech Kaczyński]. Komunikat z badań [Study report] 2010 (82). https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2020/K_027_20.PDF (accessed 18.02.2021).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • CBOS. 2020a. “Poczucie wpływu na sprawy publiczne” [Feeling of influence on public affairs]. Komunikat z badań 2020 (27). https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2020/K_027_20.PDF (accessed 18.02.2021).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • CBOS. 2020b. “Zaufanie społeczne” [Social trust]. Komunikat z badań 2020 (43). https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2020/K_043_20.pdf (accessed 18.02.2021).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • CBOS. 2020c. Polish Public Opinion 2020 (1). https://www.cbos.pl/PL/publikacje/public_opinion/2020/01_2020.pdf (accessed 18.02.2021).

  • CBOS. 2020d. Polish Public Opinion 2020 (3). https://www.cbos.pl/PL/publikacje/public_opinion/2020/03_2020.pdf (accessed 18.02.2021).

  • Czapiński, J. 2015. “Stan społeczeństwa obywatelskiego: Diagnoza społeczna 2015, Warunki i Jakość Życia Polaków—Raport” [State of civil society: Social diagnosis 2015. Conditions and quality of life of the Poles. A report.” In Diagnoza społeczna 2015 [Social diagnosis 2015], ed. J. Czapiński and T. Panek, 332372.Warsaw: Rada Monitoringu Społecznego.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Czyżewski, M., K. Dunin, and A. Piotrowski. 1991. “Cudze problemy czyli wstęp do sepologii” [Somebody else's problems or an introduction to sepology]. In Cudze problemy: O ważności tego, co nieważne. Analiza dyskursu publicznego w Polsce [Somebody else's Problems: On the significance of the insignificant, an analysis of public discourse in Poland], ed. M. Czyżewski, K. Dunin, and A. Piotrowski, 1536. Warsaw: OBS.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Do Rzeczy. 2016. “Kaczyński nawiązał do protestów: Odrzucamy zasadę darwinizmu społecznego” [Kaczyński referred to the protests: We reject the principle of social darwinism]. https://dorzeczy.pl/kraj/16522/Kaczynski-nawiazal-do-protestow-Odrzucamy-zasade-darwinizmu-spolecznego.html (accessed 18.02.2021).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Ekiert, G., J. Kubik, and M. Wenzel. 2017. “Civil Society and Three Dimensions of Inequality in Post-1989 Poland.” Comparative Politics 49 (3): 331350. doi:10.5129/001041517820934230.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Enyedi, Z. 2020. “Right-Wing Authoritarian Innovations in Central and Eastern Europe.” East European Politics 36 (3): 363377. doi:10.1080/21599165.2020.1787162.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Favero, A. 2020. “The Influence of Gender on Attitudes towards the EU among the Polish ‘Winners of European Integration.’” European Political Science Review 12 (1): 1934. doi:10.1017/S1755773919000304.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Fomina, J., and J. Kucharczyk. 2016. “The Specter Haunting Europe: Populism and Protest in Poland.” Journal of Democracy 27 (4): 5868. doi:10.1353/jod.2016.0062.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Gdula, M. 2017. Dobra zmiana w Miastku: Neoautorytaryzm w polskiej polityce z perspektywy małego miasta [Good change in Miastko: Neo-authoritarianism in Polish politics from the perspective of a small town]. Warsaw: Krytyka Polityczna. https://krytykapolityczna.pl/instytut/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/10/Dobra-zmiana-w-Miastku.pdf (accessed 18.02.2021).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Głowiński, M. 2009. Nowomowa i ciągi dalsze [Newspeak and continuations]. Kraków: Universitas.

  • Górska, P. 2019. Polaryzacja polityczna w Polsce: Jak bardzo jesteśmy podzieleni? [Political polarization in Poland: How much are we divided?]. Warsaw: Centrum Badań nad Uprzedzeniami. http://cbu.psychologia.pl/uploads/f_bulska/Polaryzacjapercent20politycznapercent202.pdf (accessed 05.08.2020).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Grosfeld, I., and E. Zhuravskaya. 2015. “Cultural vs. Economic Legacies of Empires: Evidence from the Partition of Poland.” Journal of Comparative Economics 43 (1): 5575. doi:10.1016/j.jce.2014.11.004.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Gulczyński, M. (2019). “Kogo obchodzą mężczyźni?” [Who cares about men]. Polityka.pl, 17 May. https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/1793128,1,kogo-obchodza-mezczyzni.read (accessed 18.02.2021).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • GUS. 2020. “Zasięg ubóstwa ekonomicznego w Polsce w 2019 r” [Spread of economic poverty in Poland in 2019]. GUS, 30 June. https://stat.gov.pl/files/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/defaultaktualnosci/5487/14/7/1/zasieg_ubostwa_ekonomicznego_w_polsce_w_2019_r.pdf (accessed 18.02.2021).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Huntington, S. P. 1968. Political Order in Changing Societies. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

  • Kofta, M., and W. Soral. 2020. “Belief in the Round Table Conspiracy and Political Division in Poland.” Social Psychological Bulletin 14 (4): 119. doi:10.32872/spb.v14i4.2435.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Kotwas, M., and J. Kubik. 2019. “Symbolic Thickening of Public Culture and the Rise of Right-Wing Populism in Poland.” East European Politics and Societies: and Cultures 33 (2): 435471. doi:10.1177/0888325419826691.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Marcinkiewicz, K. 2017. “The Economy or an Urban–Rural Divide? Explaining Spatial Patterns of Voting Behaviour in Poland.” East European Politics and Societies: and Cultures 32 (4): 693719. doi:10.1177/0888325417739955.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Markowski, R. 2019. “Creating Authoritarian Clientelism: Poland after 2015.” Hague Journal on the Rule of Law 11:111132. doi:10.1007/s40803-018-0082-5.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Markowski, R. 2020. “Plurality support for democratic decay: the 2019 Polish parliamentary election.” West European Politics 43 (7): 15131525. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2020.1720171.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Markowski, R., and B. Stanley. 2016. “Rozłamy socjopolityczne w Polsce: iluzja czy rzeczywistość?” [Sociopolitical cleavages in Poland: Illusion or reality?]. Studia Socjologiczne 4 (223): 1440. http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/element/bwmeta1.element.desklight-d1ba0e2f-0e06-4608-b699-c3ef66b376d8.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • ODIHR (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights). 2020. “Special Election Assessment Mission. Republic of Poland, Presidential Election, Second Round, 12 July 2020.” Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions. https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/9/e/457210_0.pdf (accessed 18.02.2021).

  • Onet. 2019. “Najważniejsze tematy kampanii wyborczej” [Most important topics of the election campaign]. Onet, 14 August. https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/kraj/najwazniejsze-tematy-kampanii-wyborczej-sondaz/yfz8ypd (accessed 18.02.2021).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Onet. 2020. “Wybory prezydenckie: Najważniejsze tematy kampanii” [Presidential election: Most important topics of the campaign]. Onet, 21 June. https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/wybory-prezydenckie-2020-najwazniejsze-tematy-kampanii/d29m2h1 (accessed 18.02.2021).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Panek, T., and J. Zwierzchowski. 2017. “Czy w Polsce zachodzi polaryzacja ekonomiczna?” [Is economic polarization occurring in Poland?] Zeszyty naukowe 49. Warsaw: Instytut Statystyki i Demografii SGH. https://ssl-kolegia.sgh.waw.pl/pl/KAE/struktura/IsiD/publikacje/Documents/Working_Paper/ISID_WP_49_2017.pdf (accessed 18.02.2021).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Radkiewicz, P. 2017. “The Axiological Clash as a Key Determinant of Expanded and Destructive Political Conflict in Poland.” East European Politics and Societies: and Cultures 31 (2): 382401. doi:10.1177/0888325416679695.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Radkiewicz, P. 2018. “Wzorce preferowanych wartości a wybory polityczne: O aksjologicznych przesłankach polaryzacji politycznej Polaków” [The patterns of preferred values relate to political choices: On the axiological premises of political polarization in Poland]. In Rozważania na temat kondycji polskiego społeczeństwa, ed. A. Pytka and K. Maciąg, 2438. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Naukowe TYGIEL.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Radkiewicz, P., and K. Skarżyńska. 2019. “Freedom, Freedom, but What Kind of Freedom? Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sense of Freedom as Predictors of Preferences for Political Community and Attitudes towards Democracy.” Social Psychological Bulletin 14 (3): 127. doi:10.32872/spb.v14i3.37565.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Sadura, P., and S. Sierakowski. 2019. Polityczny cynizm Polaków: Raport z badań socjologicznych [Political Cynicism of Poles: Report from Sociological Studies]. Krytyka polityczna [Political Critique], 17 September. https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/polityczny-cynizm-polakow-raport-z-badan-socjologicznych/ (accessed 18.02.2021).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Skarżyńska, K. 2018. “Psychologiczne i społeczne aspekty poparcia dla autorytarnej polityki” [Psychological and social aspects of the support for authoritarian policy] Przegląd Socjologiczny [Sociological review] 67 (2): 93117. doi:10.26485/PS/2018/67.2/4.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Snyder, T. 2018. The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America. New York: Tim Duggan Books.

  • Stępińska, A., A. Lipiński, A. Hess, and D. E. Piontek. 2017. “Poland: A Fourth Wave of Populism?” In Populist Political Communication in Europe, ed. T. Aalberg, F. Esser, C. Reinemann, J. Stromback, and C. de Vreese, 311325 (London: Routledge).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Swallow, P. S. 2018. “Explaining the Rise of Populism in Poland: The Post-Communist Transition as a Critical Juncture and Origin of Political Decay in Poland.” Inquiries Journal 10 (7). http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=1740.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Szukalski, P. 2020. “Migrujące młode kobiety: przyczynek do badań nad przyczynami lokalnej depopulacji w Polsce” [Migrating Young Women: a Contribution to Studies on Local Depopulation in Poland]. Demografia i Gerontologia Społeczna: Biuletyn Informacyjny [Social Demography and Gerontology: Information Bulletin] 4. http://dspace.uni.lodz.pl/bitstream/handle/11089/32281/2020-04percent20Feminizacja.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (accessed 18.02.2021).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Wysocka, O. 2009. “Populism in Poland: In/visible Exclusion.” In In/visibility: Perspectives on Inclusion and Exclusion, ed. L. Freeman. Vienna: IWM Junior Visiting Fellows’ Conferences, Vol. 26. https://www.iwm.at/publications/5-junior-visiting-fellows-conferences/vol-xxvi/populism-in-poland/ (accessed 18.02.2021).

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Zybała, A. 2019. “Kulturowe źródła konfliktu politycznego w Polsce” [Cultural roots of political conflict in Poland] Przegląd Socjologiczny 68 (3), 185205. doi:10.26485/PS/2019/68.3/7.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

Metrics

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 819 0 0
Full Text Views 5819 4144 444
PDF Downloads 758 237 4