Poland's Constitutional Breakdown

Since 2015, Poland's populist Law and Justice Party (PiS) has been dismantling the major checks and balances of the Polish state and subordinating the courts, the civil service, and the media to the will of the executive. Political rights have been radically restricted, and the Party has
captured the entire state apparatus. The speed and depth of these antidemocratic movements took many observers by surprise: until now, Poland was widely regarded as an example of a successful transitional democracy.

Poland's anti-constitutional breakdown poses three questions that this book sets out to answer: What, exactly, has happened since 2015? Why did it happen? And what are the prospects for a return to liberal democracy? These answers are formulated against a backdrop of current worldwide trends towards
populism, authoritarianism, and what is sometimes called 'illiberal democracy'. As this book argues, the Polish variant of 'illiberal democracy' is an oxymoron. By undermining the separation of powers, the PiS concentrates all power in its own hands, rendering any democratic accountability illusory.
There is, however, no inevitability in these anti-democratic trends: this book considers a number of possible remedies and sources of hope, including intervention by the European Union.


Author: Wojciech Sadurski
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 07/16/2019
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.40w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780198840503

About the Author

Wojciech Sadurski, Challis Professor of Jurisprudence, The University of Sydney

Wojciech Sadurski is Challis Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Sydney and Professor at the University of Warsaw Centre for Europe.
He has written extensively on the philosophy of law, political philosophy, and comparative constitutional law. His most recent books include Constitutionalism and the Enlargement of Europe (OUP 2012) and quality and Legitimacy (OUP 2008).