Arkadiusz Lewandowski and Marcin Polakowski – Post-Communist Populism in Poland: The Case of the Law and Justice Party

Abstract

The article analyses the issue of populism in Central Europe, a region where original features of this phenomenon have emerged, determined by the system transformation and the circumstances of a post-communist state. The authors aim at systematising theoretical discussion on populism and search for important determinants of its post-communist variety. They also suggest a theoretical model of post-communist populism that is equated with styles of political activity, expressed by specific movements and political parties. Additionally, the researchers define the basic features of post-communist populism, i.e. deprivation, threats to identity, a lack of trust in élites, and how the system was shaped after 1989. Such theoretical frames allow the authors to analyse the activity of the Law and Justice party at an ideological level as well as in terms of its political actions in order to find in them the features of post-communist populism.