The Interplay of Government and Civil Society in Poland's Contested Memory

The second chapter of Nathan’s dissertation will attempt to address a more nuanced understanding of Poland’s Law and Justice party (PiS) and their effort to instrumentalize relations with the sphere of civil society organizations (CSOs). The context of “memory” offers a unique vantage point on this state-CSO relationship, and further, how this relationship is driving a shift away from “liberal” norms. This chapter will illustrate this shift in both in a discursive sense as it relates to memory and historical narrative, but also in terms of practice, or how the state is able to influence and coerce non-governmental memory actors.

 To explore this process Nathan will examine two mechanisms of influence seen in both the “National Freedom Institute” (Narodowy Instytut Wolności) and the “Patriotism of Tomorrow” program (Patriotyzm Jutra), both associated with the Ministry of Culture and Heritage. With the help of these institutions, the PiS government has been able to foster a robust and ideologically aligned cadre of CSOs which work to further the party’s narrative, while at the same time embodying a new and illiberal mode of governance.  

About the speaker: 

Nathan was formerly a research assistant on the Horizon-2020 project “POPREBEL,” focusing on the emergence of populism in Central and Eastern Europe.  He completed his Masters degree in European studies at the Jagiellonian University, focusing on illiberalism and party politics in Poland.

Image credit: Nathan Alan-Lee