Poland's Memory Wars: Essays on Illiberalism

Description

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 Jarosław 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. Cover Title page Copyright page TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword Acknowledgement Introduction: Jo Harper, Illiberal, Aliberal, Anti-liberal? PART I Essays on PiS Jo Harper, Never Mind the Boleks! Andrzej Rychard, PiS: The End of the Beginning David Ost, Authoritarian Drive in Poland Brian Porter-Szűcs, The Triumph of National Communism Artur Lipiński & Agnieszka Stępińska, Polish Right-wing Populism Nicholas Richardson, Crisis, What Crisis? Jan Muś, Foreign Relations in the Age of Kaczyński PART II PiS’s Politics of History Joanna Średnicka, The New Romantics Jan Darasz, The History Men Ewa Stańczyk, Poland’s Culture of Commemoration Dariusz Czaja, Poland’s Theater of Death PART III PiS’s Politics of Normality Urszula Chowaniec, The Quest for the “Normal” Family Tomasz Basiuk, LGBTQ and Polish Patriarchy Remi Adekoya, An Identity Reset Conclusion: Jo Harper Part IV Interviews Jan Gross, History As We May Wish It To Be Neal Ascherson, 966 and All That Mikołaj Kunicki, The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same Mateusz Kijowski, History Repeats Itself Pawel Ukielski, Understand the War, Understand Poland Neal Pease, Defenders of the Faith Appendices Appendix I: Timeline Appendix II: Glossary The Cast Politics Concepts Romantic and Post-Romantic Poets and Dramatists List of Contributors Index Back cover