Who is the Other? Populist Neo-Traditionalist Strategies of Othering in Poland 2015-2023

This paper explores how right-wing populists in Poland, in power between 2015-2023, use Othering to deepen the existing social divisions and create new ones. This happens at three levels: 1) targeting selected minorities (LGBT, feminists) as well as potential “disruptors” of social order (social activists), which may threaten the uniformity of interpretation of the world, promoted by national populists in Poland and the Polish Catholic Church; 2) othering of the EU of its supposedly elitist and leftist institutions and representatives; 3) othering liberal Western world and its “emissaries” in Poland, representing the post-materialist values, incongruent with the vision of neo-traditionalism based on the notions of uniformity, collectivism, traditionalism and particularism. These various, but interconnected ways of Othering go beyond targeting specific groups or ideological opponents, operating on the level of social order and the universe of fundamental values. The key role in the process of legitimizing and consolidating the power of the right-wing national populists has been played by the media, which not only transmitted the message of political leaders, but also actively contributed to the new narrative. This chapter is based on empirical research including 1) interviews with populist politicians in the press; 2) magazine covers of leading right-wing weeklies.