Is Undermining the Moral Resources of Populist Rulers an Effective Tool of Civil Society Opposition? An Analysis Based on the Example of the Law and Justice Government in Poland.

The article investigates what effective opposition means when a populist party holds power and undermines the liberal democratic mechanisms and values. The paper concentrates on the civil society initiatives in Poland, which was the most active actor opposing the Law and Justice. It argues that the effectiveness of civil society’s opposition lies in limiting the moral resources of the authorities through delegitimization of the populist’s policies, imposition of an anti-populist frame, and mobilization of long-term opposition from various circles and recognized actors. Public institutions (both national and international) played a key role in this process by following the civic initiatives and recognizing them as justified. The paper also demonstrates that numerous civil society initiatives undermining moral resources of the populist party created, in the long-term, favorable conditions to the parties of the ‘democratic opposition’ lending credibility to their narrative and mobilizing voters in 2023 elections. The Polish case indicates that the opposition activities of civil society, in cooperation with other public actors, contributed to the removal of the populists from power. The article uses a database of responses to Law and Justice in their first term, semi-structured interviews conducted with NGOs and judiciary, and the documents produced by civil society actors, as well as academic, and press articles.