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August Zaleski Memorial Lecture in Modern Polish History

Polish Elections and the Pandemic of Populists


March 30, 2023
4:00pm - 5:30pm
Lower Level Conference Room, Adolphus Busch Hall

August Zaleski Memorial Lecture in Modern Polish History

Polish Elections and the Pandemic of Populists


March 30, 2023
4:00pm - 5:30pm
Lower Level Conference Room, Adolphus Busch Hall
March 30, 2023
4:00pm - 5:30pm
Lower Level Conference Room, Adolphus Busch Hall
Video recording 1h:33m

In the run-up to Poland's anticipated parliamentary elections for the Sejm and Senate this fall, Wojciech Sadurski will offer his assessment whether the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party can hold on to power. Critical factors influencing the outcome are the impact of Putin’s war against Ukraine and the steady advances of authoritarian populism.

In his latest book “A Pandemic of Populists” (Cambridge University Press, 2022), Sadurski argued that Poland serves as a microcosm of the world-wide decline of liberal democracy in the direction of authoritarian populism. Over the past few years, Poland’s constitutional breakdown, described in his earlier book "Poland's Constitutional Breakdown"' (Oxford University Press, 2019), has progressed even further, with the erosion of the rule of law, separation of powers, and resistance of the ruling elite to the European legal standards. Sadurski will examine this decline and how the war in Ukraine has created a rift between Poland and Hungary, weakened pan-European cooperation among various extreme right-wing parties, and created a disadvantage to the democratic opposition.

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Photo Credit: Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico, Piazza.

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