Embedded Files
Week 1: Poland’s Post-Election Hope Fades.
Week 1: Poland’s Post-Election Hope Fades.
After elections in Poland in 2023, which led to removal from power the Law and Justice political party, there was a sense of excitement and renewed faith in democracy. However, less than 2 years later, that faith and excitement has vanished. Donald Tusk’s government is losing support and supported by populists candidate - Karol Nawrocki - won presidency. Tusk’s decision to maintain key populist policies and rethoircs (regarding migration, borders, family benefits) has blurred his liberal stance. Poland’s expirence reflects “global trend” where liberal leaders oust populists but fail to offer a compelling vision, making democratic renewal feel like a temporary interlude, not a lasting change.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/05/poland-populism-democrats-donald-tusk
Week 2: Politics Slowing Poland's Geothermal Energy Growth.
Poland has the potential to use geothermal energy-heat from under the ground-to provide a lot of its heating needs. For example, the Szaflary project could supply Week 2: Politics Slowing Poland's Geothermal Energy Growth about one-third of district heating in the country. But development is slow. Politics play a big role: previous governments (including the right‑wing Law and Justice-PiS) supported geothermal energy, but the current government under Donald Tusk is focusing more on wind, solar, and nuclear power, leaving geothermal behind. Poland’s geology also makes it harder to use geothermal energy. These delays make it harder for Poland to reduce coal use and meet Europe’s energy and climate goals.
https://www.latitudemedia.com/news/in-coal-addicted-poland-partisan-politics-throttle-geothermals-growth/
Week 3: Is Poland Prepared for Modern War?
Poland has vaulted to being the biggest spender in the NATO relative to GDP, committing billions to tanks, helicopters and rocket systems. Yet defence analysts warn that much of this procurement is motivated by domestic politics rather than a coherent strategy aligned with modern‑war realities. For instance, high‑profile purchases like 96 US Apaches or the Korean FA-50 jets may be ill‑suited to the evolving threat of drone swarms and hybrid attacks. Critics argue Poland risks gearing up for “the war of the past” instead of the conflict it might actually face, particularly given recent drone incursions across its borders and the slow pace of developing anti-drone defences.
https://notesfrompoland.com/2025/10/25/flashy-hardware-fragile-strategy-is-poland-natos-biggest-defence-spender-preparing-for-the-right-war/
Week 4: Former Minister of Justice Loses Immunity, Accused on 26 Counts.
Week 4: Former Minister of Justice Loses Immunity, Accused on 26 Counts.
The Zbigniew Ziobro case moved through the Sejm this week: MPs voted to lift his parliamentary immunity and also approved his detention and temporary arrest. The immunity was removed in relation to 26 criminal charges, which include accusations of misuse and mis-allocation of funds from the Fundusz Sprawiedliwości (Justice Fund), acquisition of the Pegasus spyware system, forming and leading a criminal group, awarding improper subsidies and other abuses of office. Nine MPs from the Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS) party abstained from voting; the vote to allow his arrest passed with 244 in favour and 198 against.
Week 5: Social Polarization and Social Class in Poland.
Week 5: Social Polarization and Social Class in Poland.
This article explores how social polarization in Poland relates to class and social strata, using public opinon data from 2021, 2023 and 2025. The author expalins polarization as a situation where Poles are divided into opposing groups with different values and no single set of beliefs is shared by most of society. The report focueses on two main issues: same-sex civil partnership and Polands relationship with the EU. The findings show that options on these topics are divided not only between social classses, but also within them. Conservative views are generally more ommon, while liberal ones appear less widespread, especially on social issues. The study also discusses forgien policy attitudes, including views on European integration and relations with Ukraine. These results suggest that social class influences how people understand political change, contributing to lasting polarization in Polish society.
https://www.batory.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Pawel-Ruszkowski_Polaryzacja-a-klasy.pdf
Week 6: Euroscepticism in Poland.
Week 6: Euroscepticism in Poland.
Euroscepticism in Poland has intensified since 2015, particularly with the rise to power of conservative party Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość). Its nature is primarily elite-driven and parliamentary, rather than societal. While public support for Poland's membership in the EU remains very high, Eurosceptic attitudes are mainly expressed by political actors. Polish Euroscepticism is largly soft and strategic. PiS formally suports EU membership and describes its positon as "Euro-realism", yet frequently criticises the EU for overregulation and interference in national sovereignty. Euroscepticism is visible in election programmes and in public statements by leading politicians, which could raise concerns about "Polexit". Although leaving EU is not even official, this kind of continued anti-EU rethoric may gradually weaken publics trust in the European Union.
https://przegladeuropejski.com.pl/article/161940/pl
Week 7: Democracy deficit in Poland.
Week 7: Democracy deficit in Poland.
Poland's recent expirence shows how democracy can remain weak even after illiberal rule ends. Between 2015 and 2023 the governing part weakened democratic checks and balnaces by politicizing the courts, public media and key states institutions. Although a pro-democratic coalition won the ecelctions in 2023, reversing this big of a damage has been difficult. Efforts to restore independent intitutions sometimes relied on legally contested methods which is leading to constitutional disputes and continued polarization. As a result, public trust and democratic legitimacy remained limited. This reflects a democracy deficit: elections occur, but democratic quality is weakened by fragile rule of law, institutional instability and reduced accountability.
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/democracy-after-illiberalism-a-warning-from-poland/
Week 8: Populist polarization in Poland.
Week 8: Populist polarization in Poland.
In 2023, a referendum was held, which illustrates ow populist polarization can be used as a political strategy to deepen divisions within society. Populist polarization involves framing politics as a conflict between a unified "people" and threatening "others" - such as political elites, migrants or external actors. The questions of the referendum focused on issues like migration, privatization, retirement age and border security and those ideas were presented in simplified and emotionally charged ways. This framing encouraged voters to think in binary terms and reinforced existing social and political divides rather than promoting informed debate. The referendum was intended to mobilize voters by increasing feelings of conflict and fear. However, this strategy did not fully succeed. Opposition parties encouraged participation in the parliamentary elections while boycotting the referendum, resulting in low turnout and limited impact. This shows that although populist polarization can shape political discourse and mobilize support - it has clear limits and may fail when its legitimacy is effectively challenged.
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/9206
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