Good Change: The Rise and Fall of Poland’s Illiberal Revolution
The Rise and Fall of Poland’s Illiberal Revolution
Book •
Good Change: The Rise and Fall of Poland’s Illiberal Revolution explores the period between 2015 and 2023 when Jarosław Kaczyński and his Law and Justice Party (PiS) tried an experiment on how much illiberalism the electorate would bear.
It describes how the Law and Justice Party sustained a coalition committed to religiously inspired social conservatism, old-school left-wing welfarism, and antipathy to Moscow and Brussels while also unravelling democratic institutions.
The book argues that Poland has arguably developed the purest version of not having a left and a right, instead having a liberal movement and a solidarist movement.
It analyzes how the current liberal administration is road-testing how effectively illiberalism can be unpicked without antagonising the voters it needs to stay in office.
The book also examines the political landscape and future prospects of Polish illiberalism.
It describes how the Law and Justice Party sustained a coalition committed to religiously inspired social conservatism, old-school left-wing welfarism, and antipathy to Moscow and Brussels while also unravelling democratic institutions.
The book argues that Poland has arguably developed the purest version of not having a left and a right, instead having a liberal movement and a solidarist movement.
It analyzes how the current liberal administration is road-testing how effectively illiberalism can be unpicked without antagonising the voters it needs to stay in office.
The book also examines the political landscape and future prospects of Polish illiberalism.
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Stanley Bill
Ben Stanley
Stanley Bill and Ben Stanley, "Good Change: The Rise and Fall of Poland's Illiberal Revolution" (Stanford UP, 2025)
