The Exclusionary Nationalist Discourse of Radical Populist Right-Wing Parties in Contemporary Poland

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.21.2024.92.04

Keywords:

radical right populism, Poland, nationalism, cultural Marxism, refugees, atheism

Abstract

The objective of the paper is to analyse the nationalist political message of radical populist right-wing parties in Poland from 2015 to 2022. The authors apply a wide theoretical approach to the study of right-wing populism. The text exemplifies the category of ‘enemies’ of Poland and Polishness on the basis of three groups. The first analysed category is that of ‘the leftists’ and ‘cultural Marxists’, who are accused of undermining the ‘true’ roots of European civilisation. This part is followed by an analysis of a related but distinct category, namely atheists, who allegedly constitute a threat to the Catholic identity of Poles. The last group under analysis is refugees – especially Muslim refugees – who are presented in a racialised and even racist manner. The conclusions emphasise the undemocratic nature of the discourse of the Polish radical right.

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Author Biographies

  • Sławomir Czapnik, University of Opole, Poland

    Professor of political science in the Department of Political Science and Administration at Opole University. He has published more than 100 papers in Polish and English and is the author of an interview with Zygmunt Bauman. His research interests include the thought of Karl Marx and Marxism, liquid modernity, the theory of communication and critical studies in security. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Polish academic journal Studia Krytyczne/Critical Studies.

  • Marek Mazurkiewicz, University of Opole, Poland

    Assistant professor in the Institute of Political Science and Administration, Faculty of Political Science and Social Communication at the University of Opole. His research interests include politics at the local level, Polish-German relations and issues concerning national and ethnic minorities. He is the author, co-author and editor of 10 books and several papers on Polish local democracy, the German minority in Poland and related topics.

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09-12-2024

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“The Exclusionary Nationalist Discourse of Radical Populist Right-Wing Parties in Contemporary Poland”. 2024. Politeja 21 (5(92): 71-98. https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.21.2024.92.04.

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