Instrumentalisation of 'Defence of Democracy' in Poland after 2015

Acceptance of militant democracy poses a number of serious questions to the democratic system. First and foremost, that of how to delineate the borders of permissible actions in defence of democracy without destroying its foundations. Where is the line between self-defence of the system against assault and elimination of political opponents? And, ultimately, how to ensure that the majority exercising power cannot abuse democracy for the purposes of day-to-day political combat. These questions are particularly important in young democracies, such as Poland, where both the smooth functioning of a law-governed state and the quality of political culture are problematic. Analysis of the political situation in Poland after 2015 does not give much cause for optimism. It is precisely under the slogan of defence of democracy that changes destructive to the democratic system are being implemented. Transformation has come not only to the rule of law, but also political discourse, affecting both content and form. In an almost ironic fashion, political life has undergone a process of radicalisation, demonstrated by the inclusion of extremist content in official political discourse and the attendant radicalisation of social attitudes. For this reason, as well the central assumption of the present paper, paraphrasing Loevenstein, boils down to the claim that the abuse of the concept of militant democracy is serving as a Trojan horse to destroy the democratic order in Poland. By way of verification of this assumption, analysis will be conducted of changes made in Poland after 2015, in the axiological, political, normative, and institutional spheres.