Binaries of Polish Civil Sphere and the Recent Populist Turn

This paper offer a reflection on the Polish civil society and a populist turn observed in recent years, employing the framework of Alexander’s Civil Sphere Theory and his concept of binary codes (Alexander 2006). I approach civil sphere in Poland as a vibrant and ever changing arena where narratives compete and strive for legitimacy, creating the tension between different groups of engaged actors. In the Polish context, the status-class of intelligentsia remains a main carrier of civil sphere values and narrative (Smoczyński, Zarycki 2017), shaping the expectation toward the civil society and its elites. Intelligentsia was deeply involved in patriotic education and independence efforts as well as in Solidarity movement and is perceived as having a crucial role in preserving the national spirit, cultural heritage and patriotic ethos over the time. However, in recent years we could observe attempts to revaluate the “hegemonic role” of intelligentsia (Śpiewak, Kulas 2018, Kulas 2017) as well as criticism toward the “quasi-intellectuals” from the side of populist politicians (Leśniewicz 2016). Another significant actor defining the cultural codes of civil sphere is Solidarity movement. It remains the powerful symbol of Poland’s freedom as well as grassroots’ (and charismatic leaders’) potential to bring about a significant political change (Ekiert, Kubik 1999). While intelligentsia and members of Solidarity hold the symbolic higher moral ground, their ethos and values have the power to define what is civil and what is not. The contemporary Polish civic identity is therefore shaped around those basic symbols of historical continuity of national elites. Therefore, groups who want to yield symbolic power often underline or borrow the symbols of intelligentsia and Solidarity to add legitimacy to their actions. This can be illustrated by the current conflict between the ruling right-wing populist party and traditional leaders of civil sphere. I will argue that the populist party hijacks civil codes – particularly that of solidarity, law and justice – a redefines them for political use. In this new understanding justice is not universalistic, but aimed at the elites, including the political opponents and civil society actors “sponsored by foreign money”. We can argue that Polish civil sphere is defined by the split between a relatively successful and progressive “civil society”, visible mostly in secular and educated urban areas, and a more particularistic idea of nationalist (and often religious) solidarity, characteristic for its more rural and poor regions. This split, its contradicting narratives and structures, facilitated the successful rise of the populist claims in recent years. It’s not by accident that first actions of the successful Law and Justice government were focused on getting rid of the autonomy of the media (CS communicative institutions) and courts (CS regulative institutions). Employing civil sphere theory to the analysis of Polish context provides an illustration of the role of cultural values (binary discourse) and communicative and regulative institutions in the populist turn. By describing the strengths and weaknesses of civil sphere values and institutions, we can ascertain their effect on political situation.