A Culture War Over the Shape of Public Sphere in Poland

• In Event: Vice President-Designated Panel: Poland: Cultural Mechanisms of (Right-wing) Political Upheaval

Abstract

Most studies on the right-wing turn of Polish politics and the growing significance of far right (also populist) movements concentrate on the role of economic insecurity, changes in the political party system, and patterns of mobilization in civil society. This paper, building on my recent theoretical work on the role of culture in social and political transformations and the empirical-interpretive studies of right-wing performances, conducted with Marta Kotwas, deals with the evolution of public culture in Poland in recent years. We document and analyze the growing significance of right-wing performative spectacles and the maneuvers to gain control over the domain of collective memory, for example by increasing central governmental supervision of historical museums. We also reflect on the emerging counter-movements designed to protect the liberal-democratic sphere.

Author

• Jan Kubik, Rutgers, The State U of New Jersey / U College London (UK)