Polarization and de-democratization interplay – lessons from Polish parliamentary elections of 2023

The increase in political polarization in various countries raises a fundamental question: what long-term effects will polarized politics have on the democratic regime? In Polish case, at the macro-political level, deep political divisions have reduced the quality of legislative decision-making, undermined institutional norms and political competition standards, and encouraged politicians to pursue their goals outside formal institutions, inl. through the deformation and abuse of the judiciary. However, these divisions go far beyond the core of power, as polarization at the grassroots level pushes people across the country into distinct and mutually exclusive political camps (resp. "tribes," cf. Maffesoli). The rise of the "friend versus foe" attitude and the political identity in socio-political life manifests itself in many ways, from the rise of a highly biased media, through the dehumanization of supporters of the opposing political party, to the increase in political violence (e.g. the murder of Adamowski, the mayor of Gdańsk). Many other democracies around the world have struggled or are struggling with the difficulties of destructive polarization, which can be defined as the division of society into "mutually distrustful political camps in which political identity becomes social identity" (as McCoy, Somer). However, the 2023 parliamentary elections seem to be a step forward to reverse the trend in Poland. The paper aims, by analyzing the case of Polish elections, to argue that polarization may have a positive impact on pro-democratic mobilization. Moreover, this study can shed light not only on the ambiguity of the phenomenon of polarization and its connection with (de)democratization or (re)democratization, but also contribute to the understanding of how democracy may be defined in polarized systems.