Like in other nations across the world, there are several
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
organizations and parties operating in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
.
History and ideology
Past
An important element of
Polish nationalism
Polish nationalism is a form of nationalism which asserts that the Poles are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Poles. Norman Davies, in the context of Polish nationalism, generally defined nationalism as "a doctrine ... to create a n ...
has been its identification with the
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
religion with its roots in the
counter-reformation
The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...
of the 17th century, and one that became established clearly in the
interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
.
Although the old Commonwealth was religiously diverse and highly tolerant,
the Roman Catholic religious element with
messianic undertones (the
Christ of Nations
Christ of Europe, a Messianism, messianic doctrine based in the New Testament, first became widespread among Poland and other various European nations through the activities of the Reformed Churches in the 16th to the 18th centuries.Chris Coleborn ...
) became one of the defining characteristics of the modern Polish identity.
Roman Dmowski
Roman Stanisław Dmowski (Polish: , 9 August 1864 – 2 January 1939) was a Polish politician, statesman, and co-founder and chief ideologue of the National Democracy (abbreviated "ND": in Polish, "''Endecja''") political movement. He saw th ...
, a Polish politician of that era, was vital in defining that concept, and has been called the "father of Polish nationalism."
Dmowski was the leader of
National Democracy National Democracy may refer to:
* National Democracy (Czech Republic)
* National Democracy (Italy)
* National Democracy (Philippines)
* National Democracy (Poland)
* National Democracy (Spain)
See also
* Civic nationalism, a general concept
* Na ...
. After his death, more radically inclined youth broke off and created the
National Radical Camp
The National Radical Camp ( pl, Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny, ONR) refers to at least three groups that are fascist, far-right, and ultranationalist Polish organisations with doctrines stemming from pre-World War II nationalist ideology.
The cur ...
.
Modern
Following the collapse of a communist system in the country, the far-right ideology became visible. The pan-Slavic and neopagan Polish National Union (PWN-PSN) political party at its peak was one of the larger groups active in the early 1990s, numbering then some 4,000 members and making international headlines for its anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism. The
National Revival of Poland
National Rebirth of Poland ( pl, Narodowe Odrodzenie Polski), abbreviated to NOP, is an ultranationalist far-right political party in Poland registered by the District Court in Warsaw and National Electoral Commission. As of the 2015 election, ...
being a marginal political party, under the leadership of Adam Gmurczyk, operates since the late 1980s. It is a member of
European National Front
European National Front (ENF) was a coordinating structure of European ultranationalist parties. There had been one elected MEP from ENF in the past. He was the leader of the Italian New Force, Roberto Fiore.
Three parties of the European Nati ...
and a co-founder of
International Third Position
International Third Position (ITP) was a neo-fascist organisation formed by the breakaway faction of the British National Front, led by Roberto Fiore, an ex-member of the Italian far-right movement Third Position.
Development
Though a key formul ...
. The organization
Association for Tradition and Culture "Niklot" was founded in 1998 by Tomasz Szczepanski, a former NOP member, promoting Slavic supremacy and neopaganism. Since the mid-1990s, the ultra-Catholic
Radio Maryja
Radio Maryja is a religious and political socially conservative Polish radio station. It was founded in Toruń, Poland, on 9 December 1991, by the Redemptorist Tadeusz Rydzyk. The name "Maryja" is a traditional Polish form of the name "Mary", ...
station has been on air with an anti-modernist, nationalist and xenophobic program.
All-Polish Youth
The All-Polish Youth ( pl, Młodzież Wszechpolska) refers to two inter-linked Polish far-right ultranationalist youth organizations, with a Catholic-nationalist philosophy. Its agenda declares that its aim is "''to raise Polish youth in a Cath ...
and
National Radical Camp
The National Radical Camp ( pl, Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny, ONR) refers to at least three groups that are fascist, far-right, and ultranationalist Polish organisations with doctrines stemming from pre-World War II nationalist ideology.
The cur ...
were "recreated" in 1989 and 1993, respectively becoming Poland's most prominent far-right organizations.
In 1995, the
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
estimated the number of
far-right skinheads in Poland at 2,000, the fifth highest number after Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the United States. Since the late 2000s, native
White power skinhead,
White supremacy
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...
and
Neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
groups largely were absorbed into more casual and better organized "
Autonomous Nationalists".
On the political level, the biggest victories achieved so far by the far-right were in the
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
,
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
,
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
, and
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
elections. The
League of Polish Families
The League of Polish Families (Polish: ''Liga Polskich Rodzin'', LPR) is a conservative political party in Poland, with many far-right elements in the past. The party's original ideology was that of the National Democracy movement which was heade ...
won 38 seats in 2001, and 34 in 2005. In 2015, entering parliament from the list of
Kukiz'15, the far-right
National Movement gained 5 seats out of Kukiz's 42. In April 2016 National Movement leadership decided to break-off with
Kukiz's movement
Kukiz'15 is a right-wing populist political party in Poland led by Paweł Kukiz.
It was formed in 2015 as a loose movement that registered itself as an association in 2016 and later as a political party in 2020. Initially, it was connected with ...
, but only one
MP followed the party's instructions. The ones that decided to stay with
Kukiz'15, together with few other Kukiz's MPs, formed parliamentary nationalist association called "National Democracy" (Endecja). In 2019, the
Confederation
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
had the best performance of any far-right coalition to date, earning 1,256,953 votes which was 6.81% of the total vote in an election that saw a historically high turnout. Together the coalition (although de jure a party) earned 11 seats, 5 for
KORWiN, 5 for
National Movement, and 1 for
Confederation of the Polish Crown
The Confederation of the Polish Crown ( pl, Konfederacja Korony Polskiej, KKP), often shorted to The Crown ( pl, Korona, links=no, label=none), is a far-right political party in Poland. It is led by Grzegorz Braun.
It has been described as natio ...
.
Members of far-right groups make up a significant portion of those taking part in the annual "Independence March" in central Warsaw, which started in 2009, to mark
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
. About 60,000 were in the 2017 march marking the 99th anniversary of independence, with placards such as "Clean Blood" seen on the march.
Examples of influence
Islamophobia
There have been reports of hate crimes targeting
Muslim minority in Poland.
Far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
and
right-wing populist
Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establi ...
political parties and organizations fuel fear and hatred towards Islam and Muslims. Hate crimes such as arson and physical violence have occurred in Poland (despite having a Muslim population of only 0.1%, that is 30,000 out of 38 million). Politicians have also made racist and anti-Muslim comments when discussing
European migrant crisis; in 2015,
Jarosław Kaczyński
Jarosław Aleksander Kaczyński (; born 18 June 1949) is a Polish politician who is currently serving as leader of the Law and Justice party (known by its Polish acronym PiS), which he co-founded in 2001 with his twin brother, Lech Kaczyński, w ...
claimed that Poland "can't" accept any refugees because "they could spread infectious diseases." In 2017, the First Deputy Minister of Justice
Patryk Jaki
Patryk Tomasz Jaki (born 11 May 1985 in Opole) is a Polish politician, member of the European Parliament, former Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice (First Deputy Minister of Justice) and First Deputy Attorney General, former Chairman ...
stated that "stopping
Islamization
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...
is his
Westerplatte".
After the 2015 elections
In May 2016, despite criticism from human rights NGOs, opposition parties and left-wing organizations, of the appeasement of the far-right, the right-wing government of
Law and Justice
Law and Justice ( pl, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość , PiS) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Poland. Its chairman is Jarosław Kaczyński.
It was founded in 2001 by Jarosław and Lech Kaczyński as a direct su ...
(PiS) disbanded governmental advisory and coordinating body that dealt with "racial discrimination, xenophobia and related to them, intolerance" (Rada ds. Przeciwdziałania Dyskryminacji Rasowej, Ksenofobii i związanej z nimi Nietolerancji), by claiming that its mission was "useless".
[
]
See also
*
Political parties in Poland
This article lists current political parties in Poland, as well as former parties dating back as far as 1918. Since 1989, Poland has had a multi-party system, with numerous competing political parties. Individual parties normally do not manage t ...
*
Politics of Poland
*
Confederation (political party)
The Confederation Liberty and Independence ( pl, Konfederacja Wolność i Niepodległość), frequently shortened to just Confederation ( pl, Konfederacja), is a far-right political party in Poland.
It was initially founded in 2018 as a polit ...
References
Bibliography
* Ronnie Ferguson, Luciano Cheles, Michalina Vaughan (eds.) ''The Far Right in Western and Eastern Europe'',
Longman
Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC.
Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...
(1995), .
* David Ost, "The Radical Right in Poland", chapter 5 in: ''The Radical Right in Central and Eastern Europe Since 1989'' (1999), .
* Christina Schori Liang, ''Europe for the Europeans: The Foreign and Security Policy of the Populist'', Ashgate Publishing (2007), .
External links
The Left Wing, the Far Right and the Kaczynskis''
Der Spiegel
''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'' (2007)
Letter from Europe: Shaping the agenda of Poland's drift to the far right''
International Herald Tribune
The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France for international English-speaking readers. It had the aim of becoming "the world's first global newspaper" and could fairly be said ...
'' (2007)
Poland's populist government let far-right extremism explode into mainstream''
Vice News'' (2017)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Far-Right Politics In Poland
Far-right politics in Europe
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...