(Keynote Lecture) Democracy in Poland: Progress, Backsliding and Resilience

Abstract

Democracy in Poland: Progress, Backsliding and Resilience Against the backdrop of global processes of democratization and autocratization, this keynote lecture will assess the state of Polish democracy. Since 1989, Poland has made remarkable democratic progress after years of authoritarian communist rule, but it has also recently experienced democratic backsliding. This democratic decline has been accompanied by resistance from sections of political and civil society. One aspect that has been largely overlooked in the literature is the role of women’s opposition and their contribution to democratic resilience. Women’s protest activism and electoral behaviour deserve particular attention. This lecture will bring together comparative and feminist perspectives to reflect on democratic developments within broader global trends. Anna Gwiazda is Professor of Comparative Politics in the Department of Political Economy at King’s College London, UK. Her research broadly engages with questions of democracy and gender, with a particular focus on women’s political representation and participation, gender and political parties, and feminist movements. She has edited special issues of Politics & Gender and East European Politics, published the book Democracy in Poland (Routledge, 2016) and authored numerous articles on democracy and women. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/anna-gwiazda