Poland's Memory Wars

Essays on Illiberalism
Erscheinungsjahr 2018
ISBN: 978-963-7326-46-2
Verlag: Amsterdam University Press

Buch, Englisch, 294 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 582 g

This volume of essays and interviews by Polish, British, and American academics and journalists provides an overview of current Polish politics for both informed and non-specialist readers. The essays consider why and how PiS, Law and Justice, the party of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, returned to power, and the why and how of its policies while in power. They help to make sense of how “history” plays a key role in Polish public life and politics.

The descriptions of PiS in Western media tend to rework old stereotypes about Eastern Europe that had lain dormant for some time. The book addresses the underlying question whether PiS was simply successful in understanding its electorate, and just helped Poland to revert to its normal state. This new Normal seems quite similar to the old one: insular, conservative, xenophobic, and statist.

The book looks at the current struggle between one ‘Poland’ and another; between a Western-looking Poland and an inward-looking Poland, the former more interested in opening to the world, competing in open markets, and working within the EU, and the latter more concerned with holding onto tradition.

The question of illiberalism has gone from an ‘Eastern’ problem (Russia, Turkey, Hungary, etc.) to a global one (Brexit and the U.S. elections). This makes the very specific analysis of Poland’s illiberalism applicable on a broader scale.

Zielgruppe

Academic

Autoren/Hrsg.

Harper, Jo

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Ideologien
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Demokratie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Foreword, Acknowledgements, Introduction: Illiberal, Aliberal, Anti-liberal?, PART I. Essays on PiS Never Mind the Boleks!, PART II. PiS's Politics of History, PART III. PiS's Politics of Normality, Part IV. Interviews, Appendices, List of Contributors, Index

Über Autor(innen)

Jo Harper is a freelance British journalist based in Warsaw, writing for the BBC,Politico,Deutsche Welle and others. He is editor of Poland’s Memory Wars: Essays on Illiberalism (CEU Press, 2018) on the rise of PiS, and holds a PhD from the London School of Economics on Polish political history.