The Potential of the Central Coalition’s Electoral Success in Mitigating PiS Populism in Poland

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 24 Sayı: 1

Attila Gökhun Dayıoğlu

https://doi.org/10.32450/aacd.1499060

Öz

This study examines the electoral defeat of Poland’s Law and Justice Party (PiS) and its significance for the future of right-wing populism in Poland and Europe. Utilising a comprehensive approach, it explores the populist policies implemented by PiS, the historical background of Polish elections, and the potential impact of the central coalition's electoral success on countering PiS populism. The article argues that while PiS's defeat signals a victory for Polish democracy and pluralism, the structural factors driving populism require ongoing attention. The findings suggest that addressing these factors is crucial for sustaining Poland’s commitment to pluralistic values. This research contributes to understanding populism's rise and the dynamics of political change in Poland, offering insights into broader European political trends.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Keywords: Poland, Law and Justice Party, Right-Wing Populism, Polish Elections, Democratic Pluralism.

Merkez Koalisyonu Seçim Başarısının Polonya'da PiS Popülizmini Azaltma Potansiyeli

Öz

Bu çalışma, Polonya'daki Hukuk ve Adalet Partisi'nin (PiS) seçim yenilgisini ve bunun Polonya ve Avrupa'daki sağ popülizmin geleceği açısından önemini incelemektedir. Bu makale, kapsamlı bir yaklaşım kullanarak, PiS tarafından uygulanan popülist politikaları, Polonya seçimlerinin tarihsel arka planını ve merkezi koalisyonun seçim başarısının PiS popülizmine karşı potansiyel etkisini araştırmaktadır. Makale, PiS'in yenilgisinin Polonya demokrasisi ve çoğulculuğu için bir zafere işaret ettiğini, ancak popülizme yol açan yapısal faktörlerin sürekli dikkat gerektirdiğini savunmaktadır. Bulgular, bu faktörlerin ele alınmasının Polonya'nın çoğulcu değerlere olan bağlılığının sürdürülmesi için hayati önem taşıdığını göstermektedir. Bu araştırma, popülizmin yükselişinin ve Polonya'daki siyasi değişim dinamiklerinin anlaşılmasına katkıda bulunmakta ve Avrupa'daki daha geniş siyasi eğilimler hakkında fikir vermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Anahtar Kelimeler: Polonya, Hukuk ve Adalet Partisi, Sağ Popülizm, Polonya Seçimleri, Demokratik Çoğulculuk.

Kaynakça

• Al Jazeera. (2023, December 11). “Poland’s Parliament Elects Donald Tusk as Prime Minister”, Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com.
• Charlish, A., and Florkiewicz, P. (2023, December 13). “In Sea Change for Poland, New Government Is Sworn In”, Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/sea-change-poland-donald-tusk-sworn-pm-2023-12-13/.
• Dayıoğlu, A. Gökhun. (2023). “Macaristan’da Radikal Sağ: Popülist Radikal Sağ Politikaların Ana Akımlaştırılması”, Tasam Yayınları.
• Donovan, T. (2021). “Right Populist Parties and Support for Strong Leaders”, Party Politics, 27(5), 858-869.
• Dudek, D. (2022). “New or Just Amended? On the Legality of the “Major Change” to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland”, Studia Iuridica Lublinensia, 31(5), 35-53.
• DW. (2023, December 12). “Poland: Donald Tusk’s Government Wins Vote of Confidence”. Retrieved from https://www.dw.com.
• DW. (2023, December 11). “Donald Tusk’s Pro-EU Coalition Set to Take Power in Poland”, Retrieved from https://www.dw.com
• Ekiert, G. (2021). “Civil Society as a Threat to Democracy. The Power of Populism and People: Resistance and Protest in the Modern World”, 53.
• Euronews. (2023, December 13). “Poland’s New PM Donald Tusk Sworn in, Completing Transition of Power”, Retrieved from https://www.euronews.com
• Gajda-Roszczynialska, K., and Markiewicz, K. (2020). “Disciplinary Proceedings as an Instrument for Breaking the Rule of Law in Poland”, Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, 12(3), 451-483.
• Gwiazda, A. (2021). “Right-Wing Populism and Feminist Politics: The Case of Law and Justice in Poland”, International Political Science Review, 42(5), 580-595.
• Grabowska-Moroz, B., and Śniadach, O. (2021). “The Role of Civil Society in Protecting Judicial Independence in Times of Rule of Law Backsliding in Poland”, Utrecht Law Review, 17(2), 59.
• Guzek, D., Mihelj, S., and Šteˇtka, V. (2021). “I Don’t Vote Because I Don’t Want to Get Infected”, Political Communication in the Time of Coronavirus, 192.
• Halikiopoulou, D., and Vlandas, T. (2022). “Understanding Right-Wing Populism and What to Do about It”, Report by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
• Hoffman, M. (2018). “[PiS] Sing Off the Courts: The PiS Party’s Effect on Judicial Independence in Poland”, Vand. J. Transnat'l L., 51, 1153.
• Howarth, D. R., Norval, A. J., and Stavrakakis, Y. (Eds.). (2000). “Discourse Theory and Political Analysis: Identities, Hegemonies and Social Change”, Manchester University Press.
• Howarth, D., and Stavrakakis, Y. (2000). “Introducing Discourse Theory and Political Analysis”.
• Howarth, D., and Torfing, J. (Eds.). (2004). “Discourse Theory in European Politics: Identity, Policy and Governance”, Springer.
• Inglehart, R., and Norris, P. (2017). “Trump and the Populist Authoritarian Parties: The Silent Revolution in Reverse”, Perspectives on Politics, 15(2), 443-454.
• International Socialist. (2023). “Polish Election; Opposition Parties Win Following Defeat of Right-Wing Populist Law and Justice”, Retrieved from https://www.internationalsocialist.net
• ITV News. (2023). “Polish Opposition Leader Donald Tusk Declares Election Victory as Country Awaits Final Results”, Retrieved from https://www.itv.com
• Jankauskas, T. (2023). “Quality of Democracy in Poland: The Doctrinal Legal Analysis of the Polish Law and Justice Reforms between 2015-2020”, (Doctoral dissertation, Vilniaus Universitetas).
• Jaskiernia, J. (2017). “The Development of the Polish Party System”, Polish Political Science Yearbook, 46(2), 227-246.
• Jasiecki, K. (2018). “Conservative Modernisation and the Rise of Law and Justice in Poland”, New Conservatives in Russia and East Central Europe, Routledge, 130-153.
• Laclau, E., and Mouffe, C. (2014). “Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics”, Verso Books.
• Laclau, E. (2005). “On Populist Reason”, Verso, New York.
• Koszykowska, P. (2018). “The Rise of Right-Wing Populism in Poland”, (Doctoral dissertation, City University of New York).
• Malone, J. J. (2014). “Examining the Rise of Right-Wing Populist Parties in Western Europe”.
• Markowski, R. (2016). “The Polish Parliamentary Election of 2015: a Free and Fair Election that Results in Unfair Political Consequences”, West European Politics, 39(6), 1311-1322.
• Marcinkiewicz, K., and Stegmaier, M. (2016). “The Parliamentary Election in Poland, October 2015”, Electoral Studies, 41, 221-224.
• Mastracci, M. (2019). “Judicial Independence”, Journal of the Indian Law Institute, 61(1), 118-143.
• Millard, F. (2021). “Transitional Justice in Poland: Memory and the Politics of the Past”, Bloomsbury Publishing.
• Millard, F. (1994). “The Polish Parliamentary Election of September 1993”, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 27(3), 295-313.
• Özalp, G. O. (2016). “Avrasya Bölgesinin Stratejik Önemi ve Türkiye-Bölge Ülkelerin Savunma ve Güvenlik Alanlarında İlişkileri”, Akademik Bakış Dergisi, (54), 596-617.
• Pienkos, D. E. (2000). “Poland’s 2000 Presidential Election”, The Polish Review, 45(4), 435-443.
• Politico. (2015). “New Media Law Gives Polish Government Fuller Control”, Retrieved from Politico.
• Politico. (2023). “What Happens Next in Poland? 5 Things You Need to Know After a Landmark Election”, Retrieved from Politico.
• Przybylski, W. (2018). “Explaining Eastern Europe: Can Poland’s Backsliding Be Stopped?”, Journal of Democracy, 29(3), 52-64.
• Reuters. (2023, December 11). “Donald Tusk Eyes Thaw in EU Relations as Poland’s Prime Minister”, Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com.
• Reuters, (2023, December 12). “Donald Tusk Appointed Polish PM, Setting Stage for Warmer EU Ties”, Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com.
• Reuters. (2023, December 13). “In Sea Change for Poland, New Government is Sworn in”, Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com.
• RTE. (2023, December 13). “Donald Tusk Sworn in as Polish Prime Minister”, Retrieved from https://www.rte.ie.
• Rydliński, B. M. (2023). “The State of Social Democracy in Poland. In The Social Democratic Parties in the Visegrád Countries: Predicaments and Prospects for Progressivism”, Springer International Publishing, 137-175.
• Rydgren, J. (2004). “Explaining the Emergence of Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties: The Case of Denmark”, West European Politics, 27(3), 474-502.
• Sadurski, W. (2018). “How Democracy Dies (in Poland): A Case Study of an Anti-Constitutional Populist Backsliding”, Revista Forumul Judecatorilor, 104.
• Sadurski, W. (2019a). “Poland’s Constitutional Breakdown”, Oxford University Press.
• Sadurski, W. (2019b). “Polish Constitutional Tribunal under PiS: From an Activist Court to a Paralysed Tribunal, to a Governmental Enabler”, Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, 11, 63-84.
• Santana, A., and Rama, J. (2018). “Electoral Support for Left-Wing Populist Parties in Europe: Addressing the Globalization Cleavage”, European Politics and Society, 19(5), 558-576.
• Scheppele, K. L. (2018). “Autocratic Legalism”, The University of Chicago Law Review, 85(2), 545-584.
• Sierakowski, S. (2023a). “What’s Next for Poland? Project Syndicate”, Retrieved from https://www.project-syndicate.org/
• Sierakowski, S. (2023b). “What Donald Tusk’s Return Means for Poland”, Project Syndicate. Retrieved from https://www.project-syndicate.org/
• Simon P. W. (2023). “Eight Years of Populist Rule in Poland Comes to an End Retrieved from”, https://www.populismstudies.org/eight-years-of-populist-rule-in-poland-comes-to-an-end/.
• Stavrakakis, Y. (2017). “Discourse Theory in Populism Research: Three Challenges and a Dilemma”, Journal of Language and Politics, 16(4), 523-534.
• Stanley, B., and Cześnik, M. (2019). “Populism in Poland”, Populism Around the World: A Comparative Perspective, 67-87.
• Stanley, B. (2023). “The Deconsolidation of Democracy”, Europe Today: A Twenty-First Century Introduction, 192.
• Szczerbiak, A. (2003). “Old and New Divisions in Polish Politics: Polish Parties’ Electoral Strategies and Bases of Support”, Europe-Asia Studies, 55(5), 729-746.
• Szczerbiak, A. (2007). “Social Poland Defeats ‘Liberal Poland’? The September–October 2005 Polish Parliamentary and Presidential Elections”, Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, 23(2), 203-232.
• Szelewa, D. (2020). “Recurring Ideas: Searching for the Roots of Right-Wing Populism in Eastern Europe”, European Journal of Cultural Studies, 23(6), 989-997.
• Trumm, S. (2018). “The ‘New’ Wave of Populist Right-Wing Parties in Central and Eastern Europe: Explaining Electoral Support for the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia”, Representation, 54(4), 331-347.
• Vanessa G. (2023). “Donald Tusk Becomes Poland’s Prime Minister with the Mission of Improving European Union ties”, Retrieved from https://qz.com.
• Wyrzykowski, M. (1992). “Constitutional Changes in Poland 1989-1991”, Bull. Austl. Soc. Leg. Phil., 17, 25.
• Youngs, R., Alemanno, A., Boucher, S., Chwalisz, C., Gostyńska-Jakubowska, A., Grabbe, H., ... and Thillaye, R. (2019). “Reshaping European Democracy: A Year in Review”.