Populism of the Government on the Polish Socio-Political Scene (2015–2023)

Abstract

After three waves of populism in the Third Polish Republic, the phenomenon surged after 2015, when the United Right coalition, led by the Law and Justice party, took power. Its program was filled with sweeping political, economic, and cultural changes. The aim of the article is to analyze populism on the Polish socio-political scene in the years 2015–2023. A working hypothesis is related to this: after 2015, populism among political actors in Poland increased, particularly among the parties in the ruling coalition, becoming one of the most important instruments of governance. The research questions serve to test this hypothesis: Has populism gained strength in Poland since 2015? To what extent did it influence the activities of the parties in the ruling coalition? Based on theoretical knowledge describing the phenomenon of populism and related examples from Polish socio-political life, is it possible to identify its (populism’s) specificity in Poland? The research positively verified the hypothesis, identifying trends confirming the growth of populism in Poland during the period under review. The adopted methods included content analysis (reports and data analyses, politicians’ statements), quantitative and qualitative research (concerning the state of democracy), and comparative analysis, which allowed for a comparison of the scale of populism in Poland to other countries during the period under review.