Abstract
After Poland joined the European Union, strong conservatism, nationalism, populism, and authoritarianism arose in Poland and pushed the country onto the illiberal path. This political course is represented primarily by the Law and Justice (PiS) party, which governed the country in 2005–2007 and has been in power since 2015. The roots of Polish illiberalism are both domestic and foreign. The main manifestations of the illiberal and nationalist turn in Poland’s politics are as follows: the elimination of the separation of powers and violation of the rule of law, including violation of the independence of the judiciary; restriction of the right to assembly and repression of demonstrators; attack on the free media; control of schooling and higher education; centralization of governance, and taking away competences from local government; tightening the ban on abortion; inhumane treatment of immigrants from the Middle East; corruption and nepotism on an unprecedented scale; public surveillance and repression of people who criticize the authorities. These activities of the Polish authorities have consequences to foreign policy and international role of Poland, such as: a Euro-skepticism manifested in an anti-Brussels stance and in disputes with EU institutions, Germany, and France; close collaboration with illiberal Hungary, and with other illiberal movements abroad; nationalist and great-power approach with regard to Russia; the bi-lateralization and militarization of security policy. The consequences of this Poland’s policy are detrimental to itself and to the international environment.
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Notes
- 1.
However, the courts in most cases discontinued cases.
- 2.
By granting the license, the National Broadcasting Council adopted a resolution the purpose of which is in line with the purpose of the Lex TVN Act. The resolution states that if the Discovery Group does not sell TVN’s controlling stake, it may, for example, not obtain an extension of the license for other channels. And in some cases, the Constitutional Tribunal dependent on PiS may be included in the case.
- 3.
In November 2022, the ruling PiS, fearing that it might lose the elections, pushed through the Sejm a bill extending the term of local governments until April 30, 2024. This means postponing elections to these local governments.
- 4.
At the same time, 12 IMSI-Cachers testers, i.e., portable suitcases that function as BTS, were purchased. They are used to download information from the entire cellular network and obtain a record of all conversations and transmitted information. Pegasus and IMSI-Catchers are a kind of surveillance harvester that leaves no traces.
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Zięba, R. (2023). Illiberalism and Nationalism in Poland’s Politics. In: Zięba, R. (eds) Politics and Security of Central and Eastern Europe. Contributions to Political Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16419-4_5
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